Your Source for Up-To-Date News and Research on the Collision Repair Industry
click here to subscribe to the FREE INSIGHT Editor's Desk News Alert Email
SUBSCRIBERS-ONLY
Today's News
INSIGHT This Month
INSIGHT Archives
Survey Center
Letter to the Editor
Business Tools
Subscription Information
CSI Reporting
Financial Analysis
IRS Audit Guide
Management/
Technical Info
Market Watch Rates
INSIGHT Inside this month's issue...
Feedback
Letter to the Editor
This article originally appeared in the February 2006 Issue of INSIGHT
Much Ado About What?
During this first month of 2006, Wall Street has been, I think, far too eager to push ever upward. As I pen this column, the Dow is up just under 120 points since today’s opening bell, and it’s just after noon.
After an entire year of little if any excitement in a Stock Market that seemed to barely move, this flurry of activity makes me a bit nervous. Investor optimism about earnings reports, notably from Microsoft, for one, is apparently the reason for the the jump in the Dow.
Keystone Automotive is off to a terrific start this year. On January 15, the aftermarket parts distributor was already up seven percent to just over $34, and today Keystone’s per share stock price is over $38. The company announced a record Q3 profit, up 77 percent from a year ago.
The Sherwin-Williams Company reported that earnings fell nine percent in the fourth quarter despite better sales, blaming an impairment charge that cut into results. Wall Street remained optimistic, however. The per share price for Sherwin-Williams stock, already rising at mid-month, jumped to $52 this morning.
Below is a chart tracking our INSIGHT Fund stocks. I definitely wish that I had purchased a lot more Keystone stock back when the company was still reeling from the State Farm case. The stock price is up almost five times more so far this year since then. Our fund has done pretty well with Progressive, LKQ, and Sherwin-Williams, too.
INSIGHT Fund 2006
| Stock | Purchase Price | # of Shares | Current Price | % Change | Value |
| PPG Industries | $62.62 | 100 | $58.47 | -7% | $5,847 |
| Keystone Automotive | $5.91 | 300 | $34.17 | 478% | $10,251 |
| 3M | $48.03 | 200 | $77.50 | 61% | $15,500 |
| St. Paul Travelers | $32.32 | 140 | $47.25 | 23% | $6,615 |
| Progressive | $24.21 | 68 | $116.67 | 221% | $7,934 |
| LKQ Corporation | $8.86 | 200 | $19.40 | 119% | $3,880 |
| United Auto Group | $31.40 | 200 | $40.52 | 29% | $8,104 |
| Sherwin-Williams | $16.81 | 340 | $46.01 | 174% | $15,643 |
| Boyd Group (in US$) | $4.60 | 3,000 | $1.64 | -64% | $4,920 |
-Charles Baker-
Feedback
Have a comment about this article? Send Email to Charles Baker, INSIGHT's Publisher
©2006 Collision Repair Industry INSIGHT
All Rights Reserved
FEATURED
LINKS:
INSIGHT Supports the NABC!
Do You?