• Subscribe
  • Log In
  • Home
  • Daily Diary
  • Asset Class
    • U.S. Equity
    • Fixed Income
    • Global Equity
    • Commodities
    • Currencies
  • Sector
    • Basic Materials
    • Consumer Discretionary
    • Consumer Staples
    • Energy
    • Financial Services
    • Healthcare
    • Industrials
    • Real Estate
    • Technology
    • Telecom Services
    • Transportation
    • Utilities
  • Latest
    • Articles
    • Video
    • Columnist Conversations
    • Best Ideas
    • Stock of the Day
  • Street Notes
  • Authors
    • Doug Kass
    • Bruce Kamich
    • Jim Cramer
    • Jim "Rev Shark" DePorre
    • Helene Meisler
    • Jonathan Heller
    • - See All -
  • Options
  • RMPIA
  • Switch Product
    • Action Alerts PLUS
    • Quant Ratings
    • Real Money
    • Real Money Pro
    • Retirement
    • Stocks Under $10
    • TheStreet
    • Top Stocks
    • Trifecta Stocks
  1. Home
  2. / Investing
  3. / Transportation

My Midyear Value Investing Highs and Lows

Bob Evans Farms and Kulicke & Soffa were among the first-half winners, while Ruby Tuesday and Fitbit were big disappointments.
By JONATHAN HELLER
Jul 10, 2017 | 10:00 AM EDT
Stocks quotes in this article: BOBE, KLIC, WMAR, CVU, VRA, GLW, SHOS, RT, FIT, FPI

It's hard to believe we already are past the midway point of 2017, which means it's time to take stock of this year's hits and misses. By nature, as a value investor, I'd generally be inclined to put the misses first, but likely would get some heat from my RealMoney editors for approaching it that way. So, I'll start with the positives instead.

The biggest winner has to be Bob Evans Farms Inc. (BOBE) , a special situation that is up more than 50% year to date and more than 100% over the past nine months. Bob Evans was the type of situation that value investors live for: a somewhat-forgotten, asset-rich name that ultimately sells off some assets -- in this case, its restaurant business -- to concentrate on a more lucrative business, namely prepared foods. I recently closed the position due to valuations, but am eager to identify the next one, which is easier said than done.

Double-net Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (KLIC) , which is up 25% year to date, is one of the cash-rich and profitable names that I've held out as a potential acquisition candidate. At of the end of last quarter, Kulicke & Soffa had around $8 per share in cash and short-term investments and just $16 million in debt. That cash balance may change given last week's acquisition of privately held packaging lithography name Liteq BV, but terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Kulicke & Soffa trades for about 13 times next year's consensus earnings estimates.

Double-net West Marine Inc. (WMAR) is up 23% year to date, with much of that increase due to late June's announcement that the company will be taken private at $12.97 a share. That's yet another double-net that has been taken out ; in this case, the price is too low.

A more recent positons I've taken this year that is working so far is CPI Aerostructures Inc. (CVU) , which is up about 40% over the last three months. A June acquisition, Vera Bradley Inc. (VRA) , is up about 10% since then -- nothing to write home about, but I still believe the name is cheap. The jury is still out on this one.

A more mainstream name, Corning Inc. (GLW) , continues to plow ahead and is up 26% so far this year.

One net/net I was wary of, Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc. (SHOS) , is down 50% so far in 2017.

The Losers

The biggest loser is struggling restaurant name Ruby Tuesday Inc. (RT) , which is down 39% year to date. This was another special situation, but the company's pursuit of "strategic alternatives" has not born any fruit, and the odds get longer as each day passes. This is a company likely worth more dead than alive. Ruby Tuesday has called for its annual shareholder meeting to be moved up to December because of its strategic review process, but I'm not viewing that as a positive at this point; it's still five months away.

Double-net Fitbit Inc. (FIT) is down 30% since I took an initial stake in mid-December and off 28% year to date. Still hated by the markets, the company is trying to find its way while suffering from the aftermath of its short-lived cult stock status and declining revenue and guidance.  Growth investors have moved on, leaving the value types to decide whether the company, which trades at just 1.97 times net current asset value and has more than $3 per share in cash, is a falling knife or worthy of purchase.

Farming REIT Farmland Partners Inc. (FPI) is down 19% year to date. It has lost all of its ground (pun intended) since merging with American Farmland and investors have soured on the name. Farmland Partners currently yields 5.8% and is one that I'll continue to hold while reinvesting dividends.

I've got some work to do, obviously.

Get an email alert each time I write an article for Real Money. Click the "+Follow" next to my byline to this article.

At the time of publication, Heller was long KLIC, WMAR, CVU, GLW, RT, FIT, FPI and VRA.

TAGS: Investing | U.S. Equity | Transportation | Technology | Consumer Staples | Consumer | Mergers and Acquisitions | Risk Management | Stocks

More from Transportation

As Plug Power Plummets, There Appears to Be More Risk Ahead

Bruce Kamich
Feb 25, 2021 2:03 PM EST

Let's check out the PLUG charts as traders react to the latest EPS numbers.

Luminar Technologies Is Likely to Give Back All of its Gains

Bruce Kamich
Feb 24, 2021 12:28 PM EST

Let's look at the charts and indicators.

The Sagas of a Cruise Operator and a Burger Joint Continue

Jonathan Heller
Feb 24, 2021 10:00 AM EST

Carnival Corp. continues to sell debt and equity as it works to stay afloat, while Steak n Shake deals with problems of its own.

Careful, the Rally in XPO Logistics Has Stalled

Bruce Kamich
Feb 23, 2021 10:44 AM EST

Let's check out the charts.

Here's What's Drawing Me to a Speculative Trade on Forum Merger Corp III

Timothy Collins
Feb 22, 2021 1:42 PM EST

FIII is the buyer of urban delivery van firm Electric Last Mile Solutions.

Real Money's message boards are strictly for the open exchange of investment ideas among registered users. Any discussions or subjects off that topic or that do not promote this goal will be removed at the discretion of the site's moderators. Abusive, insensitive or threatening comments will not be tolerated and will be deleted. Thank you for your cooperation. If you have questions, please contact us here.

Email

CANCEL
SUBMIT

Email sent

Thank you, your email to has been sent successfully.

DONE

Oops!

We're sorry. There was a problem trying to send your email to .
Please contact customer support to let us know.

DONE

Please Join or Log In to Email Our Authors.

Email Real Money's Wall Street Pros for further analysis and insight

Already a Subscriber? Login

Columnist Conversation

  • 11:51 AM EST REAL MONEY

    Watch Bob Lang and Doug Kass Discuss Short-Selling!

    Bob Lang and Doug Kass with an engaging and educat...
  • 11:32 AM EST JAMES "REV SHARK" DEPORRE

    This Weekend on Real Money

    Navigating a Market Correction
  • 11:29 AM EST GARY BERMAN

    Where Does the Nasdaq Go From Here?

    Where does the Nasdaq Composite (CCMP) index go fr...
  • See More

COLUMNIST TWEETS

  • A Twitter List by realmoney
About Privacy Terms of Use

© 1996-2021 TheStreet, Inc., 225 Liberty Street, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10281

Need Help? Contact Customer Service

Except as otherwise indicated, quotes are delayed. Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes for all exchanges. Market Data & Company fundamental data provided by FactSet. Earnings and ratings provided by Zacks. Mutual fund data provided by Valueline. ETF data provided by Lipper. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions Group.

TheStreet Ratings updates stock ratings daily. However, if no rating change occurs, the data on this page does not update. The data does update after 90 days if no rating change occurs within that time period.

FactSet calculates the Market Cap for the basic symbol to include common shares only. Year-to-date mutual fund returns are calculated on a monthly basis by Value Line and posted mid-month.

Compare Brokers

Please Join or Log In to manage and receive alerts.

Follow Real Money's Wall Street Pros to receive real-time investing alerts

Already a Subscriber? Login