• 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
    • Bruce Kamich
    • Doug Kass
    • 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. / Energy

Catch These Names in My 'Double-Net' Value Portfolio for 2017

An eclectic mix of 20 companies made my cut of stocks trading at 1x to 2x net current asset value.
By JONATHAN HELLER
Dec 30, 2016 | 11:00 AM EST
Stocks quotes in this article: AVT, TECD, AVX, BHE, UVV, MOV, CROX, TESO, GEOS, CSS, GENC, HURC, ESIO, AE, AXTI, BDE, WMAR, RAIL, FIT, KLIC

A new year means it's time for a new deep-value tracking portfolio. Indeed, over the next several weeks, I will be rolling out a handful of them.

Today we will focus on what I call "double-nets" -- stocks trading at 1x to 2x net current asset value. Last year's version featured double-nets that also paid dividends. Frankly, the first-year performance of that portfolio was disappointing -- it was up 13.2% versus 19.3 % for the Russell 2000 Index and 18.7% for the Russell Microcap Index. For 2017 I'll be dropping the dividend requirement.

Below are the criteria for inclusion:

  • Trades at 1x to 2x net current asset value (current assets less total liabilities)
  • Minimum market cap of $150 million
  • No development stage pharmaceuticals/biotechs

Twenty names made the cut, with market caps ranging from $165 million to $6.1 billion. The average market cap is $1.05 billion, with seven names sporting market caps in excess of $1 billion. All but four are profitable on a trailing 12-month basis. The portfolio has a price to book value of 1.17 and currently trades at about 1.68x net current asset value. Many of the companies hold a decent level of cash, and the average cash to market cap ratio is about 0.22. Last year, double-nets made for fertile ground in terms of acquisitions.

There are some familiar names on the list, including a few I've written about and own. Among them are boating retailer West Marine (WMAR) , FreightCar America  (RAIL) , a very beaten-up Fitbit  (FIT) and Kulicke and Soffa (KLIC) .

The portfolio also includes the following names, in order of market cap.

  • Avnet (AVT)
  • Tech Data (TECD)
  • AVX (AVX)
  • Benchmark Electronics (BHE)
  • Universal (UVV)
  • Movado (MOV)
  • Crocs (CROX)
  • Tesco (TESO)
  • Geospace Technologies (GEOS)
  • CSS Industries (CSS)
  • Gencor (GENC)
  • Hurco (HURC)
  • Electro Scientific Industries (ESIO)
  • Adams Resources & Energy (AE)
  • AXT (AXTI)
  • Black Diamond (BDE)

Universal, Movado, CSS Industries, AVX and Tesco were all constituents of last year's double-net dividends portfolio.

Overall, this is yet another eclectic mix of names, many of which may be unfamiliar to investors. That's not necessarily a negative. Sometimes it pays to look for opportunities within the market's underbelly, areas that are likely not overfished, and where some digging -- along with a strong stomach -- can bear fruit.

I will provide periodic updates on this portfolio.

Here's to a healthy and prosperous 2017!

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 WNAR, RAIL, FIT and KLIC.

TAGS: Investing | U.S. Equity | Technology | Energy | Industrials | Consumer | Stocks

More from Energy

See That Down the Road? It's the Big 'Green' Bubble, Ready to Pop

Jim Collins
Jun 24, 2022 1:30 PM EDT

Environmental, social, and corporate governance has created a monster and gullible investors should hit the brakes on their EVs and run from the Washington technocrats while they have the chance.

Weber's Rally Was Cooked Up By the Shorts and Something I Experienced First Hand

Jonathan Heller
Jun 24, 2022 10:00 AM EDT

It should be an interesting ride from here.

Will This Year's Energy and Commodity Trades Become Last Year's Tumbling Tech?

Helene Meisler
Jun 24, 2022 6:00 AM EDT

I can't remember the last time anyone asked me about Apple. No one cares.

Here's What You Need to Know About Investing in Energy

Jim Collins
Jun 23, 2022 1:00 PM EDT

The rudderlessness in DC has created an environment that's downright hostile to domestic exploitation of hydrocarbons.

Occidental Petroleum Could See Its Charts Improve as Buffett Ups His Stake

Bruce Kamich
Jun 23, 2022 8:03 AM EDT

The stock of the oil giant has been sliding of late but should receive a boost as the Oracle of Omaha buys more Oxy shares.

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

  • 08:55 AM EDT JAMES "REV SHARK" DEPORRE

    This Weekend on Real Money

    The 10 personality traits of successful traders an...
  • 12:08 PM EDT STEPHEN GUILFOYLE

    Stocks Under $10

    As a Portfolio Name Agrees to a Merger, Here's Our...
  • 10:44 AM EDT PAUL PRICE

    My Very Best Pick for the Next 12 Months

    American Woodmark . It rarely gets better than th...
  • See More

COLUMNIST TWEETS

  • A Twitter List by realmoney
About Privacy Terms of Use

© 1996-2022 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