Trade Ideas – Oct’10

Some trading ideas are occupying my mind at the moment. Much was said about the QE2 in the previous post but free capital must be employed and given my nervous, edgy nature these days, I prefer flitting in and out of positions hoping to compound to a modest proportion. While I am contemplating these opportunities that caught my eye yesterday, let me set the background score with these opening lines from Charles Dickens’ masterpiece about duality:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.

In fact some lines from the book are so very apt in the current global financial markets:

The Fed to all of us: “Keep where you are because, if I should make a mistake, it could never be set right in your lifetime”. Also, “For I’m the devil at quick mistakes, and when I make one it takes the form of Lead”

The global economy to its planners: “Crush humanity (read economy) out of shape once more, under similar  hammers (read printing presses), and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms”.

Inflation rate in US to whoever cares to listen: “It is a far, far better thing I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known”.

And so on. These are issues far beyond my full comprehension, so I’ll do what I am forced to do – seek some new punts and see what happens. I just can’t remain still for long. And rotting my money in the bank is criminal.

1. Jain Irrigation Systems: I know that this seems to be a fairly valued stock with it’s 1 yr forward P/E running at 30 and that it’s market cap is in the region of INR 8,700 crores (= USD 1.9 billion) on an expected FY11 sales figure of INR 4,200 crores (= USD 933 million). The stock has recently seen a 1 yr forward P/E band of 33-34 as well, so on that logic there could be some steam there. The company has compounded it’s revenues at a crazy 40% CAGR over the past 5 years using a mix of organic (!) and inorganic methods. So, the market obviously feels that this kind of growth will continue into the future (say 3 – 5 more years) and that’s why a P/E of <40 appears justified. But I am not sure if net earnings growth will also grow at the same clip. Currently, around 6% of the money that the company earns goes into servicing its debt. But I picked up a (moderate sized) position today as I feel that there is a short term 10% – 15% opportunity here. Another important point for me is that this company is from my home district, Jalgaon so I do feel my agrarian roots rising up as I sow this small packet of capital here. But really, the company is cool, having delivered world class drip irrigation methods to a country so sapped of water. It is now pioneering the concept of using drip techniques for paddy – the killer crop when it comes to water requirements. If that clicks, then it will be awesome for the country. From the chart above, I guess 1050-1075 seems to be a support level and given the Lower Bollinger Band touch, a negative plunge of the MACD and a code red, buy signal from the RSI, I will venture out here. A mental stop loss of 1000 is in place. 1000 also appears to be the next support? Lets see.

2. Balmer Lawrie: We have been hearing and reading so much about logistics and transportation being a huge opportunity that many of us may not even bother to check if the story still has some room for possible fresh investments. I have invested in and out of Balmer Lawrie in the past and like the logic for Jain Irrigation above, I guess this could turn out to a small, skim the top kind of opportunity. But in this case, I would be content to hold on to this stock for longer given that A) it is cheaper than Jain Irrigation and B) I am familiar with the company. I once worked in an office buidling next to a Balmer Lawrie Grease Division plant and I like to believe that the proximity and therefore some induction effect helped me make money on this counter in the past! I have not yet taken a position here but the chart on the right looks tempting to me.

 3. Banco Products: What I am really doing is flipping coins between Balmer Lawrie and Banco Products. This one is a Gujarat based company which has been around for 50 years but appears to be selling cheaply as well. It has made auto-equipment all these years and is now getting into cement business as well. Duh. It supplies it’s gaskets and radiators to companies like Tata Motors, TVS Suzuki, M&M, Maruti Udyog etc. It’s operating margins (@ 26%) are highest amongst peer group companies like Bosch, Bharat Seats and UCAL fuel systems. With an expectation of a FY’11 EPS of 12, the CMP gets discounted 9.25 times – that’s not bad. This really has been a turnaround story over the past couple of years with the share price jumping up from the 20s to the current 110 levels. Given the market cap of INR 800 crores (= USD 178 million) over an expected sales of INR 550 – 575 crores for FY’11, the stock still looks a tad cheap. Recently they acquired a company in Europe and are setting up a cement plant in Tanzania. Seems like these guys are confident of what they are doing. On the charts, I see a Bollinger Squeeze which to me means that it can shoot up or down from here. But the RSI and MACD are not there yet for me. I am biased towards Banco, so I think I’ll throw in some coins tomorrow. Let’s see.

4. Talwalkars Fitness; KSB Pumps; MIC Electronics were other punts that came to mind. And a long term possibility on TV Today (but that requires more thought, and I don’t have time at the moment. Maybe later this week).

(I had taken a position on 31Aug’10 in MIC Electronics and written about it in my Earths, Lights and Money post but got out with a 14%. It has corrected only around 8% since then. I’m not fully sure but I do want to hitch a ride on it again and again since the story appeals to me a lot)