91视频

Dear Mr. Berko: I owned 200 shares of Washington Water Power 7 7/8 percent TOPrS Preferred Securities A. I bought them in early 2000. I know I did not sell them, but I cannot find them in my statements. The last I remember hearing from Washington Water Power was when Mutual of New York or the AXA Group bought out my brokerage firm, Advest.

I can鈥檛 reach anyone at Advest, Mutual of New York or AXA who knows a darn thing about my stock. I鈥檝e sent you the last Advest statement in which they appear, and I would appreciate your advice and help. I鈥檓 going to be 81 next month and it would be a great birthday present for me if you could find them.
I would also appreciate your opinion on Atlas Energy and NV Energy. I would like to buy 400 shares of each for income and growth.

I鈥檝e been managing my portfolio of $591,000 since I was 40, but it鈥檚 been getting more difficult for me to make investment decisions. It鈥檚 been especially difficult in the past two years as I saw my value crash in January 2007 when I moved my account to Schwab. My wife and I would appreciate your help.

D.N.
Galesburg, Ill.

Dear D.N.: I don鈥檛 doubt that financial decisions are becoming increasingly difficult for you at age 81. The enormous volume of new and confusing equities that clutter today鈥檚 investment landscape is so complex that sometimes you have to be a genius to avoid being stupid.

Frankly, I did not know that Avista Corp. (AVA-$15.24) is what used to be the old Washington Water Power that provides electricity and gas to folks in Washington, northern Idaho and parts of Oregon. I have no idea why the company idiots changed the name to Avista. But your Washington Water Power Capital 1, 7 7/8 percent TOPrS, or Trust Originated Preferred Securities Series A, were called for redemption in April 2004. So, if you look at your last Advest statement, you will see that 200 shares of Avista were tendered in place of Washington Water Power. Perhaps it鈥檚 time to consider turning your portfolio responsibility over to a professional adviser.

NV Energy Inc. (NVE-$10.31), which used to be called Sierra Pacific Resources, sells power to eastern California and large parts of Nevada. It isn鈥檛 a company with much to brag about. Revenues should grow about 2 percent a year and, if net profit margins continue to improve, net income should grow from an anticipated 95 cents in 2009 to $1.20 by 2013.

According to Value Line, NV Energy鈥檚 dividend should grow by 50 percent from 40 cents to 60 cents a share in that same time frame. Not bad, that! But an attractive peg on which to hang your hat is the company鈥檚 book value. It鈥檚 rare to find a utility issue that trades below its book value, and NV Energy is one of the few.

The common stock trades at $10.31, which is more than 4 1/2 points less than the $13.70 book value. NV Energy yields a tad above 4 percent, which is slightly below the industry average. However, I think its $10.31 share price 鈥� when considering improved revenues, earnings and dividend 鈥� is about as low as it will go. So, I believe that NV Energy鈥檚 total return potential over the next three to four years can be slightly above average. Some on Wall Street believe that the share price could move to the $12-$16 level in the coming three years. On a scale of 1 to 10, I rank NV Energy on the soft side of 7. So buy it.

Atlas Energy Resources LLP (ATN-$18.51) develops and produces oil and natural gas from oil shale properties in northern Michigan and Indiana. It also has operations in eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, Tennessee, New York and West Virginia. As of 2008, Atlas had a working interest in 11,000 gas wells and proven reserves of more than 1 trillion cubic feet. Atlas鈥� $2.44 dividend (it earned $2.12) yields a darn attractive 17 percent, a large portion of which is considered return on capital and not taxable. I suspect that the company鈥檚 earnings might fall modestly this year due to lower energy prices, and there鈥檚 a possibility the dividend will also be reduced.

There are four analysts on the Street who follow Atlas closely. Each of them rates it a 鈥渟trong buy.鈥�

Meanwhile, the stock trades 2 points below its $16.80 book value. Revenues in 2008 were $788 million, management produced a net profit margin of 18 percent plus a solid 14.2 percent return on equity. The stock trades at a low seven to eight times 2009 earnings. I have no problem if you take a small speculative position in this issue.

Address your financial questions to Malcolm Berko, c/o The Daily Journal of Commerce, P.O. Box 1416, Boca Raton, FL 33429, or e-mail him at [email protected].
漏 Creators Syndicate Inc.