tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389144729834496735.post8957988023139041058..comments2024-03-17T05:15:55.634-04:00Comments on The Brooklyn Investor: Loews 2012 Annual ReportUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389144729834496735.post-78279867510174352372014-05-21T13:49:18.338-04:002014-05-21T13:49:18.338-04:00Yes I did. So they fired Lotta Value, oh well. T...Yes I did. So they fired Lotta Value, oh well. There isn't much going on at L, but as Tisch says, at the subsidiary level there is plenty of investing going on. The investments look boring, but they have returned a lot of cash over time. I think L's conservatism also makes things look boring, but that may not be a bad thing necessarily. They always say they don't want to do anything stupid. There is a chance that they are too conservative, but it's better for them not to play if they don't feel comfortable with anything. <br /><br />These are the kind of guys that wouldn't look good in a roaring bull market like we are seeing now. Well, Buffett is like that too but somehow managed to match the S&P 500 return last year.. <br /><br />Some of the things, I think, are cyclical too and cycles do turn. <br /><br />Thanks for dropping by. kkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06299974418283948333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389144729834496735.post-87756462779155238052014-05-20T17:24:15.160-04:002014-05-20T17:24:15.160-04:00Have you looked at the 2013 annual report? Seems l...Have you looked at the 2013 annual report? Seems like the dynamics have changed somewhat over the past year with both DO and BWP share prices getting crushed and trading at (what I believe to be) very attractive prices now. Also, seems like with both the huge writedowns of HighMount over the past few years and the higher natural gas price that those writedowns should stop and book value should begin to grow again at rates closer to the long term average. Based on the special dividend paid by CNA earlier this year and the dividends from DO and BWP (reduced in the case of BWP), Loews will receive dividends of 5.8% of enterprise value in 2014. I ran the adjusted book value calculation that you did in a previous post and based on my numbers, Loews is trading at a price/adjusted book multiple of .84, which is in-line with the past based on your calculations. As such, even though Loews's share price is trading where it was well over two years ago, it hasn't really gotten "cheaper," it is just trading at a historical range of adjusted book value as DO and BWP have fallen, CNA has risen, and massive writedowns have been taken on HighMount. However, I think buying Loews today is a good value primarily because both DO and BWP seem very underpriced in addition to the points about strong management that you have made in your previous posts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389144729834496735.post-83873183638607982932013-05-06T00:17:37.678-04:002013-05-06T00:17:37.678-04:00I wish I had more time to spend on Loews - I'v...I wish I had more time to spend on Loews - I've glanced at CNA briefly, but it seems like calendar year 2002(ish) reserves developed poorly. I'm not sure the details on it, but it's always been a point of caution for me.Ankit Guptanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389144729834496735.post-86401624386626478322013-04-08T09:14:00.558-04:002013-04-08T09:14:00.558-04:00I'm not sure if Buffett is frustrated by BRK&#...I'm not sure if Buffett is frustrated by BRK's stock price or not, but if he is then its probably because he's in the process of gifting his personal holdings to the Gates Foundation at a rate of about 5% a year. Since building this wealth has been his life's work, I'm sure he'd like to see it turn into as much money for Gates as possible.<br /><br />As far as the comic goes, its pretty odd. I'm normally suspicious of management that is overly promotional, rather than simply running the business, but Loews has kind of proven themselves with time. Maybe they just thought it would be funny.Parker Bohnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389144729834496735.post-7663307481586132912013-04-07T23:36:20.347-04:002013-04-07T23:36:20.347-04:00LOL. You are funny.LOL. You are funny.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389144729834496735.post-41913288787755073072013-04-07T18:02:12.492-04:002013-04-07T18:02:12.492-04:00Hi,
Indexing and equal-weight indexing are not ...Hi, <br /><br />Indexing and equal-weight indexing are not bad ideas at all. The period since 2007 is a pretty short time period so I wouldn't put too much emphasis on that. Note how many different time periods L has done well over it's history. <br /><br />I tend to think rational behavior by very competent people tend to do well over time, but not necessarily better than everything over every time period. <br /><br />Having said that, again, indexing and equal weight indexing are not bad alternatives. <br /><br />Thanks for reading and posting. <br />kkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06299974418283948333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389144729834496735.post-54142674475543685292013-04-07T17:17:33.393-04:002013-04-07T17:17:33.393-04:00All well and good. But you'd have +50% more i...All well and good. But you'd have +50% more if you would have just invested in RSP (S&P500 equal weight) instead of L since Dec 31, 2007.NormanBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05986709079442388236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389144729834496735.post-20933195797387229262013-04-07T08:08:39.029-04:002013-04-07T08:08:39.029-04:00Hi,
No, I didn't. Things were too busy arou...Hi, <br /><br />No, I didn't. Things were too busy around here so I decided not to go. kkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06299974418283948333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389144729834496735.post-87611702226020272462013-04-07T07:57:59.510-04:002013-04-07T07:57:59.510-04:00The new logo is a better concept but I hope they d...The new logo is a better concept but I hope they didn't pay real money for it. It is unfinished in my view. Corporation must be justified against Loews. They had this right before why would they change that? Sign of an amateur for sure.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389144729834496735.post-43329346587497468512013-04-06T23:04:51.023-04:002013-04-06T23:04:51.023-04:00Did you attend the Biglari annual meeting?Did you attend the Biglari annual meeting?Charlesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389144729834496735.post-46377757037751106972013-04-05T23:52:00.140-04:002013-04-05T23:52:00.140-04:00+1.
you keep 20% of your mkt cap in cash, you have...+1.<br />you keep 20% of your mkt cap in cash, you have no right to complain. get to work mr chairman.luckyscumnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389144729834496735.post-25997605704717550352013-04-05T16:30:41.437-04:002013-04-05T16:30:41.437-04:00Yes, I agree, but something is going on here as Bu...Yes, I agree, but something is going on here as Buffett too seems frustrated with an undervalued stock. <br /><br />When I saw the comic, I didn't jump up and down excited that things are finally going to happen, lol... nor do I think they have lost their minds. Maybe they just wanted to do something different. As long as they didn't go out and spend too much of our money, it's OK, lol... kkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06299974418283948333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5389144729834496735.post-1649916798742535502013-04-05T15:53:51.349-04:002013-04-05T15:53:51.349-04:00I dont get the comic. It's like Buffett said a...I dont get the comic. It's like Buffett said about Apple: "If you have the cash and you think your shares are undervalued, buy back the stock."<br /><br />Unless Tisch thinks he can get a return on his cash better than buying a $1 of his stock for XX cents, just shut up and buy back your stock. In fact, the LAST thing he should be doing is jawboning minority investors -- last time I checked, I prefer buying my popcorn on sale rather than in a movie theatre.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com