On multiple occasions, Warren Buffett has bluntly admitted that�Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK-A ) (NYSE: BRK-B ) enormous market capitalization will make it impossible for the company to duplicate its past rates of return going forward. That's no wonder, especially when we note by the end of 2012 he had grown Berkshire's per-share book value by 586,817% over the previous 48 years.
But that certainly doesn't mean Berkshire can't continue to beat the market going forward.
What it does mean, however, is that investors can expect the role of small acquisitions to continue playing an ever-increasing role in expanding Berkshire's moat, even as the company continues to snap up relatively large businesses.
Remember, in March, I highlighted�the fact that Buffett told investors 2012 was a record year for "bolt-on" purchases, as Berkshire quietly spent around $2.3 billion for 26 companies to be absorbed into its existing operations.
With an average cost per company of around $88 million, we're talking about seriously small businesses when considered by themselves. Together, however, their collective positive influence in contributing profitable growth to Berkshire's book shouldn't be underestimated. After all, Buffett also said he and Charlie Munger love these types of acquisitions because they are usually "low-risk, burden headquarters not at all, and expand the scope of [their] proven managers."
Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Watch In Right Now: Zicom Group Ltd (ZGL.AX)
Zicom Group Limited engages in the manufacture and sale of deck machinery, offshore structures, fluid metering stations, process plants, foundation equipment and concrete mixers, and precision engineered machinery and services to the offshore marine, oil and gas, construction, electronics, biomedical, and agriculture industries. The company offers deck machinery and equipment, including winches, windlasses, capstans, deck cranes, derricks, cable laying and life boat davits, shark jaws, and towing pins; oil and gas equipment, such as fluid regulating and metering stations, and water bath heaters; transit concrete mixers; and foundation equipment, which include vibratory piling hammers, impact piling hammers, boring machines, and vibroflots. It also provides precision engineered and automation equipment comprising turn-key automated production lines, semi-conductor and electronic equipment, bio-medical equipment, equipment and modular components, and precision machining, as well as production integration systems solutions consisting of production jigs. In addition, the company offers industrial and mobile equipment, including hydraulic systems drives and special purpose hydraulically driven industrial machineries; and geotechnical equipment, as well as production integration solutions and hydraulic system services. It operates in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Bangladesh, Thailand, the United States, and internationally. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Singapore.
Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Watch In Right Now: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)
McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) has fallen more than 1% on a downgrade from Janney Capital, which cut earnings expectations by half a percent and reduced same-store sales estimates for June and July. The fast-food giant has struggled to keep growth up despite headwinds in some international markets and increased competition within the U.S. market.
- [By Core Equity Research]
The performance of the restaurant industry is generally perceived to have close ties with the overall activity in the economy. Therefore, the recovery in the US economy indicated by the recent statistics regarding consumer confidence is likely to be reflected in the stock prices of restaurant companies as well. At the same time, the food business is essentially perceived to be robust compared to economic and financial shocks because of the inelastic nature of the demand for its products. McDonald's Corporation (MCD) is one of the largest players in the international restaurant business with the market capitalization of $99.3 billion and annual revenues of $27.6 billion in FY12. Over the years, the company has been able to strengthen its balance sheet substantially while supporting its growth prospects and earning the trust of its investors. The company's balance approach towards growth, financial stability and investor considerations is exemplary for any mature business entity.
Best Biotech Companies For 2014: Susser Holdings Corporation(SUSS)
Susser Holdings Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates convenience stores in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The company operates in two segments, Retail and Wholesale. The Retail segment operates convenience stores that offer merchandise, food service, and motor fuel, as well as provides other services, including car washes, lottery, ATM, money orders, prepaid phone cards and wireless services, and movie rentals. As of January 1, 2012, it operated 541 convenience stores under the Stripes brand name. The Wholesale segment distributes motor fuel to its retail convenience stores, contracted independent operators of convenience stores, unbranded convenience stores, unattended fueling facilities, and other end users in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. The company also offers environmental, maintenance, and construction management services to the petroleum industry; and sells and installs motor fuel dispensers and tanks, as well as provides a range of environmental consulting services, such as hydrocarbon remediation, and Phase I and II site assessments for its stores and outside customers. Susser Holdings Corporation is based in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Geoff Gannon]
For one thing, I can�� tell a great oil company from a not so great oil company. I can�� evaluate the company�� culture, management, etc. There was no way I was ever going to answer questions like that. But I can easily split Murphy�� U.S. retail business from its other operations. And I can compare that part of the company to other public companies like Pantry (PTRY) and Susser (SUSS). I can also ��this is much harder ��look at Murphy�� reserves and compare them to other oil companies��reserves. The SEC now requires a standardized way of reporting discounted net cash flows for all oil companies. So, there�� certainly a specific number available for every company. Whether it�� a very good number or not depends on the assumptions the method uses.
- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Susser Holdings (NYSE: SUSS ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Watch In Right Now: Ross River Minerals Inc (RRM.V)
Ross River Minerals Inc., a junior resource company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of gold and copper-gold properties in Canada and Mexico. Its projects include the Tay-LP property that consists of 413 contiguous mineral claims covering 8,600 hectares and is located in the Yukon Territory, Canada; and the El Pulpo property, which covers approximately 20,000 hectares and is located in Sinaloa State, Mexico. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Watch In Right Now: Targa Resources Partners LP (NGLS)
Targa Resources Partners LP is a limited partnership formed by Targa Resources, Corp (Targa). The Company is a provider of midstream natural gas and natural gas liquid (NGL) services in the United States and is engaged in the business of gathering, compressing, treating, processing and selling natural gas and storing, fractionating, treating, transporting, terminaling and selling NGLs, NGL products, refined petroleum products and crude oil. It operates in two divisions: Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, which include Field Gathering and Processing and Coastal Gathering and Processing, and Logistics and Marketing, which includes Logistics Assets and Marketing and Distribution. On March 15, 2011, it acquired a refined petroleum products and crude oil storage and terminaling facility in Channelview, Texas. On September 30, 2011 it acquired refined petroleum products and crude oil storage and terminaling facilities in two separate transactions. On December 31, 2012, the Company acquired Saddle Butte Pipeline, LLC.
Natural Gas Gathering and Processing Division
The Company�� natural gas gathering and processing division consists of gathering, compressing, dehydrating, treating, conditioning, processing, transporting and marketing natural gas. The gathering of natural gas consists of aggregating natural gas produced from various wells through small diameter gathering lines to processing plants. It sells its residue gas either directly to such end users or to marketers into intrastate or interstate pipelines. The Field Gathering and Processing segment gathers and processes natural gas from the Permian Basin in West Texas and Southeast New Mexico and the Fort Worth Basin, including the Barnett Shale, in North Texas. The natural gas it processes is supplied through its gathering systems which, in aggregate, consist of approximately 10,400 miles of natural gas pipelines. The segment�� processing plants include nine owned and operated facilities. During the year ended December 31! , 2011, the Company processed an average of approximately 612 million cubic feet/day (MMcf/d) of natural gas and produced an average of approximately 74 million barrels per day (MBbl/d) of NGLs.
The Field Gathering and Processing segment�� operations consist of the Permian Business, Versado, SAOU and the North Texas System. The Permian Business consists of the Sand Hills gathering and processing system and the West Seminole and Puckett gathering systems in West Texas. These systems consist of approximately 1,400 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines. Versado consists of the Saunders, Eunice and Monument gas processing plants and related gathering systems in Southeastern New Mexico. Versado consists of approximately 3,200 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines. Covering portions of 10 counties and approximately 4,000 square miles in West Texas, SAOU includes approximately 1,667 miles of pipelines in the Permian Basin that gather natural gas to the Mertzon, Sterling, and Conger processing plants. SAOU has 31 compressor stations to inject low pressure gas into the high-pressure pipelines.
The North Texas System includes two interconnected gathering systems with approximately 4,200 miles of pipelines, covering portions of 15 counties and approximately 5,700 square miles, gathering wellhead natural gas for the Chico and Shackelford natural gas processing facilities. The Chico gathering system consists of approximately 2,100 miles of primarily low-pressure gathering pipelines. Wellhead natural gas is either gathered for the Chico plant located in Wise County, Texas, and then compressed for processing, or it is compressed in the field at numerous compressor stations and then moved through one of several gathering pipelines to the Chico plant. Its Coastal Gathering and Processing segment assets are located in the onshore region of the Louisiana Gulf Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. LOU consists of approximately 875 miles of gathering system pipelines, covering approximately 3,800 ! square mi! les in Southwest Louisiana. The gathering system is connected to numerous producing wells and/or central delivery points in the area between Lafayette and Lake Charles, Louisiana. The processing facilities include the Gillis and Acadia processing plants, both of which are cryogenic plants.
Logistics and Marketing Division
The Company includes the activities necessary to convert mixed NGLs into NGL products and provide certain value added services, such as the fractionation, storage, terminaling, transportation, distribution and marketing of NGLs, as well as certain natural gas supply and marketing activities in support of its other businesses. Its Logistics Assets Segment uses its platform of integrated assets to receive, fractionate, store, treat, transport and deliver NGLs typically under fee-based arrangements. Its logistics assets are connected to and supplied in part by its Natural Gas Gathering and Processing assets and are primarily located at Mont Belvieu and Galena Park near Houston, Texas and in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Across the Logistics Assets segment, it owns or operates a total of 39 storage wells at its facilities with a net storage capacity of approximately 64 million barrels of oil (MMBbl), the usage of which may be limited by brine handling capacity, which is utilized to displace NGLs from storage. It operates its storage and terminaling facilities based on the needs and requirements of its customers. Its fractionation, storage and terminaling business is supported by approximately 940 miles of company owned pipelines to transport mixed NGLs and specification products.
The Company markets its own NGL production and also purchases component NGL products from other NGL producers and marketers for resale. During 2011, the Company�� distribution and marketing services business sold an average of approximately 273 MBbl/d of NGLs. Its wholesale propane marketing operations primarily sell propane and related logistics services to multi-state retailer! s, indepe! ndent retailers and other end-users. Its propane supply primarily originates from both its refinery/gas supply contracts and its other owned or managed logistics and marketing assets. In its refinery services business, the Company provide NGL balancing services through contractual arrangements with refiners to purchase and/or market propane and to supply butanes. It uses commercial transportation assets and contract for and use the storage, transportation and distribution assets included in its Logistics Assets segment to assist refinery customers in managing their NGL product demand and production schedules.
The Company�� NGL transportation and distribution infrastructure includes a range of assets supporting both third-party customers and the delivery requirements of its marketing and asset management business. It provides fee-based transportation services to refineries and petrochemical companies throughout the Gulf Coast area. As of December 31, 2011, its transportation assets include approximately 565 railcars that it lease and manage; approximately 74 owned and leased transport tractors and approximately 100 company owned tank trailers, and 18 company owned pressurized NGL barges.
The Company competes with Atlas Gas Pipeline Company, Copano Energy, L.L.C. (Copano), WTG Gas Processing, L.P. (WTG), DCP Midstream Partners LP (DCP), Devon Energy Corp (Devon), Enbridge Inc., GulfSouth Pipeline Company, LP, Hanlon Gas Processing, Ltd., J W Operating Company, Louisiana Intrastate Gas, Enterprise Products Partners L.P., DCP, ONEOK and BP p.l.c.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Brian Pacampara]
Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, midstream natural gas services specialist Targa Resources Partners� (NYSE: NGLS ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.
- [By Marc Bastow]
Midstream oil and gas provider Targa Resources Partners (NGLS) raised its quarterly dividend 7% to 57 cents per share, payable on Nov. 15 to shareholders of record as of Oct. 31.
NGLS Dividend Yield:�3.83% - [By Tyler Laundon]
It's a pure play Permian oil stock. It's also a fairly pure oil investment. The company's production split is 75% oil, 14% natural gas liquids (NGLs) and 11% natural gas. On a revenue basis, 90% of revenues come from oil, while 6% and 4% come from NGLs and natural gas, respectively.
Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Watch In Right Now: Mears Group(MER.L)
Mears Group PLC, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of outsourced services to the public and private sectors primarily in the United Kingdom. The company offers mechanical and electrical services to commercial, healthcare, education, facilities management, and residential sectors. It also provides routine maintenance and emergency response electrical mechanical and building services to a range of corporate clients, including hospitals, local authorities, and military establishments. In addition, the company offers grounds maintenance, hard landscaping, soft landscaping, arboriculture, and contracting services; and resources to supply, co-ordinate, and manage the clients facility operations. Further, it provides business process and property solutions; home improvement services, including handyman, adaptations, repairs, safety checks, and advice on accessing benefits and grants; and personal care services to people in their own homes. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Gloucester, the United Kingdom.
No comments:
Post a Comment