I've become to realise that generating investment ideas is not my forte. My forte lies in the analysis of a company that may have been brought to my attention either from another trader or via the press. Ideally I'd like to step this up a gear and develop a method for locating stocks that meet certain criteria. In the meantime however, I'll continue to locate trading ideas from other traders before doing my own analysis and making an investment decision.
Here are a selection of stocks that I'll be analysing for inclusion into the AtticFund.
1. Celsis International - laboratory services to the pharmaceutical industry. First thought - too volatile but nice sector, low debt and potentially consolidating before next move.
Investment Action - Too volatile for the AtticFund
2. Charter - Operates in the engineering industry with products penetrating the Oil & Gas and petrochemical Industries. Turnover is up from £870m in 2004 to £1,887m in 2008. 13.61 Debt/Equity.
Investment Action - Further investigation, look at the technicals.
3. Elementis - A speciality chemicals company with products penetrating construction, oil drilling and personal care markets. No real revenue growth in last 4 years.
Investment Action - No growth, not a candidate for the AtticFund.
4. Heritage - Canadian Oil & Gas exploration company with global presence. Licences in Africa (high risk operating countries). Tiny company - Turnover £1m in 2005 to £3.7m in 2007. Huge Debt/Equity Ratio.
Investment Action - Too small, too much debt. Not a candidate for the AtticFund
5. Petrofac - Facilities solutions to the Oil & Gas industry. Active in Dubai. Purchased Eclipse Petroleum technology in 2008. Turnover up from £950m in 2004 to £3,330m in 2008. 26 Debt/Equity ratio.
Investment Action - Further investigation, look at the technicals.
6. Tribal Group - Provision of Consultancy, support and delivery services to the public sector. Grown through acquisition in last 2 years.Turnover up from £152m in 2004 to £233m in 2008. 18 Debt/Equity.
Investment Action - Further investigation, look at the technicals. Exposure to the public sector is a good investment strategy at the moment.
7. Unite - Construction, management and rental of student accommodation. Operates under the Livocity brands offering accommodation for young professionals. Turnover £74m in 2004 to £133m in 2008. 215 Debt/Equity.
Investment Action - Too highly geared to be considered for the AtticFund
The next course of action is to look at the technicals. In the next couple of posts, I plan on detailing exactly what sort of technical analysis I undertake on these stocks. My aim however is to keep my strategy very very simple but to focus my attentions on managing the money.
