WiserTrader Industries Monthly

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December 2007                          Prescott, Arizona                     Contact Editor

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Contents

 

 

 

Published the 3rd Tuesday of the month        Subscription

 

 

 

 

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   Top-down stock selections are based on finding leading industries in leading sectors with stocks that show growth in market share, earnings and sales.  In this issue two new stocks are added to the portfolio with help from the Dow Jones industry classification system. 

 

. . .  Have a pleasant holiday season and a prosperous new year . . .

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1.0 Top-Down Portfolio

 

     Currently held positions have an average profit of 5.8%.  The gross profit, including closed positions, is 10.88%.  After broker fees, the net profit is 8.0%, as summarized in Table 1A.

 

 

Table 1A

Top-Down Portfolio Performance

December 18, 2007

Top-Down Trading in 2007 ($7000 Initial Capital)

% Initial Capital

Closed trades in 2007 =

8

 

Average Trade Size =

$1,000.00

 

Total Closed Position Share costs =

$8,000.00

 

Gross Profit on Closed Positions =

$352.36

5.0%

Number of Open Positions =

4

 

Cost of Open Positions =

$4,000.00

 

Gross Profit on Open Positions in 2007 =

$408.95

5.8%

Total Gross Profit =

$761.31

10.88%

Broker Commission ($9.99/trade) =

-$199.80

 

Subscription Cost to date =

$0.00

 

Net 2007 Profit After Expenses =

$561.51

8.0%

Cash =

$3,202.90

 

Current Capital =

$7,561.51

 

 

 

     Stocks that survived two successive down trends and high volatility from October through December are listed in Table 1B.  BHP and BRCD closed below their sell stop prices on 11/21 for a 1.9% gain and a 16.2% loss, respectively.  PBR is moved to a hold because its price declined by more than half the trailing stop percentage.  Refer to Section 2 for current trailing stop settings.

 

 

Table 1B

Top-Down Portfolio

November 20, 2007

Stock

Open Date

2007 Open Price

Last Date

Last Price

2007 Gross P/L (%)

Status

Sell stop

PBR

9/18/07

70.60

12/18/07

104.34

47.8%

Hold

93.42

SRP

11/20/07

17.52

12/18/07

16.93

-3.4%

Buy

14.20

TIP

11/20/07

105.87

12/18/07

105.20

-0.6%

Buy

85.98

FXE

11/20/07

148.55

12/18/07

144.25

-2.9%

Buy

119.05

 

 

 

     PBR is a Brazilian stock and SRP is a US stock.  TIP is an inflation-protected US Treasury ETF and FXE is a currency ETF for the Euro.  From Table 3A, the leading sectors over the past month have been basic materials and energy, according to the Yahoo.com classification.  However, Yahoo.com did not update a number of industries last week, forcing us to treat the regular industry tables with a grain of salt. 

 

     According to the Dow Jones classification system, Coal was the leading industry over the past month followed by Consumer Electronics.  Coal is listed as Industrial Metals and Minerals in the Yahoo system and is ranked 20th overall and second in terms of industries that are fastest rising in rank.  For this industry Consol Energy, Inc (CNX) stands out as a leading company due to its size, market share and recent price performance.  These factors make up for its lack of growth in sales and earnings. 

 

     Consumer electronics is listed as Electronics Stores in the Yahoo system where it is ranked 2nd overall.  For this industry, Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) was selected.

 

     CNX and BBY are being added to the portfolio.  Details are listed in Table 1C.

 

 

Table 1C

Stock Addition

Company

1 wk

% Chg

1 mo

% Chg

Price

Mkt. Share

Increase

Sales

Growth

Earnings

Growth

Consol Energy, Inc (CNX)

8.7%

34.0%

$67.25

-0.7%

-2.5%

-29.7%

Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY)

1.3%

10.9%

$51.62

1.9%

16.5%

22.7%

 

 

 

2.0 Portfolio Sell Stop Settings

 

     When a stock’s price declines from its highest price by half the trailing stop percentage, its status is moved to a hold.  Hold status means continue to hold it but don’t add to the position.

 

     Trailing stop percentage (Tsp) for WiserTrader portfolios 

 

     1. When the stock price remains within 20% of the buy price,

·        Tsp = -20%.

 

     2. When the stock price is greater than 20% of the buy price,

·        Tsp is the wider of  -20% or

 

                 , a negative percentage.

 

o       f is the fraction of gains given back,

§         Bullish, f = 0.5 as when S&P 500 is above its SMA 30

§         Cautious, f = 0.333 as when S&P 500 is below its SMA 30

§         Bearish, f = 0.25 as when S&P 500 SMA 30 slope turns negative

o       PBUY is the buy price and

o       PMAX is the maximum price reached.

 

 3. The sell stop price PSELL is,

 

              

 

Current StatusBearish,  f = 0.25

The S&P 500 is currently below its SMA 30. 

The S&P 500 SMA 30 slope is currently negative

     

    These settings are designed at worst to, (1) take a 20% loss, (2) break even when there is a 20% maximum gain and (3) walk away with at least half of the gain greater than 20%.  At the same time the stock price is given room to vary.  Deviations from these settings are possible.

 

 

 

3.0 Leading Sectors and Industries for December

 

     Sector and industry rankings are determined by the percent increase in industry composite index values over the previous 4 weeks.  Industry rank ranges from a high of 1 to a low of 215 based on a list of 215 industries in the Yahoo Finance industry classification system.  Sectors rankings based on the average of their industry rankings are listed in Table 3A.  The best performing sectors this month were basic materials and energy. 

 

 

Table 3A

Sector Rank

Rank

Sector

Average 4-Week

% Change

Average Industry Rank

1

Basic Materials

3.5%

68

2

Energy

2.3%

83

3

Industrial Goods

1.5%

93

4

Consumer Noncyclical

1.4%

94

5

Technology

1.1%

102

6

Consumer Cyclical

0.8%

107

7

Utilities

0.3%

118

8

Healthcare

0.3%

100

9

Financial

0.0%

121

10

Services

-0.2%

123

11

Conglomerates

-0.4%

137

12

Transportation

-0.6%

118

 

 

     The leading industries for the past month are ranked in Table 3B.  The leftmost column is the rank based on the previous 4-week percentage change.  The second column from the left is ranked by the number of positions an industry is above or below its 4-week average rank.  The third column from the left is the average of the first two columns.  Clicking on the industry name takes you to an industry summary page.  The “C’s” will display the companies in the industry.  The last three columns on the right are the percentage gains for the previous trading day, the previous week and the previous four weeks.

 

 

 Table 3B

Leading Industries

December 18, 2007

Rank [R]

Rank of Change   [C]

(R+C)/2

Industries

Companies

Last Gain

1 wk Ago Gain

1 mo Gain

1

32

17

Nonmetallic Mineral Mining

C's

-1.1%

-0.8%

14.1%

2

74

38

Electronics Stores

C's

1.7%

1.2%

9.7%

3

61

32

Agricultural Chemicals

C's

-0.8%

-2.4%

9.0%

4

48

26

Investment Brokerage - Regional

C's

1.2%

-1.8%

8.9%

5

81

43

Farm Products

C's

0.2%

3.2%

8.6%

6

52

29

Semiconductor - Specialized

C's

2.2%

0.6%

8.1%

7

1

4

General Contractors

C's

2.3%

-0.4%

8.0%

8

97

53

Internet Service Providers

C's

3.8%

-3.0%

7.8%

9

10

10

Metal Fabrication

C's

0.8%

-3.2%

7.7%

10

15

13

Beverages - Brewers

C's

0.8%

0.2%

7.6%

11

44

28

Catalog & Mail Order Houses

C's

1.0%

-2.0%

7.5%

12

26

19

Regional - Southeast Banks

C's

1.5%

0.7%

7.2%

13

103

58

Cleaning Products

C's

0.9%

0.4%

6.9%

14

25

20

Chemicals - Major Diversified

C's

0.8%

-0.4%

6.8%

15

65

40

Auto Dealerships

C's

0.6%

-0.1%

6.8%

16

47

32

Steel & Iron

C's

2.1%

-2.4%

6.1%

17

22

20

Specialty Chemicals

C's

1.0%

-1.0%

6.1%

18

14

16

Heavy Construction

C's

0.5%

-4.1%

6.0%

19

102

61

Discount, Variety Stores

C's

1.0%

-1.5%

5.9%

20

2

11

Industrial Metals & Minerals

C's

1.9%

-2.2%

5.9%

21

98

60

Foreign Money Center Banks

C's

1.9%

-13.7%

5.8%

22

92

57

Photographic Equipment & Supplies

C's

-1.0%

-1.1%

5.8%

23

113

68

Tobacco Products, Other

C's

0.8%

0.7%

5.8%

24

45

35

Technical Services

C's

1.1%

-1.9%

5.8%

25

46

36

Air Delivery & Freight Services

C's

0.7%

0.0%

5.7%

26

29

28

Personal Computers

C's

-0.2%

-2.4%

5.4%

27

9

18

Broadcasting - Radio

C's

2.7%

1.1%

5.4%

28

132

80

Hospitals

C's

1.0%

-2.2%

5.4%

29

33

31

Regional - Mid-Atlantic Banks

C's

0.8%

-0.1%

5.2%

30

16

23

Asset Management

C's

0.9%

-0.4%

5.0%

32

56

44

Regional - Southwest Banks

C's

2.4%

1.5%

5.0%

31

20

26

Drugs - Generic

C's

0.8%

-1.2%

5.0%

33

24

29

Building Materials Wholesale

C's

1.6%

-3.6%

4.9%

34

23

29

General Building Materials

C's

1.5%

1.9%

4.8%

35

42

39

Diversified Computer Systems

C's

0.9%

-0.9%

4.7%

36

58

47

Internet Information Providers

C's

0.8%

-3.8%

4.7%

37

93

65

Medical Appliances & Equipment

C's

0.4%

-1.2%

4.6%

38

149

94

Recreational Goods, Other

C's

2.8%

-2.5%

4.6%

39

57

48

Management Services

C's

1.7%

1.4%

4.5%

40

6

23

Technical & System Software

C's

0.7%

-3.3%

4.5%

 

 

     The top 20 leading industries are plotted in Figure 1.

 

 

FIGURE 1

 

 

4.0 Industries Rising in Rank

 

     Table 4A contains the industries that are moving up in position the fastest.  The 20 fastest rising in rank are plotted in Figure 2.

 

 

 Table 4A

Industries Advancing in Rank the Fastest

December 18, 2007

Rank [R]

Rank of Change   [C]

(R+C)/2

Industries

Companies

Last Gain

1 wk Ago Gain

1 mo Gain

7

1

4

General Contractors

C's

2.3%

-0.4%

8.0%

20

2

11

Industrial Metals & Minerals

C's

1.9%

-2.2%

5.9%

96

3

50

Mortgage Investment

C's

4.8%

3.5%

1.3%

60

4

32

Recreational Vehicles

C's

1.5%

1.8%

3.4%

72

5

39

Shipping

C's

1.6%

-2.7%

2.7%

40

6

23

Technical & System Software

C's

0.7%

-3.3%

4.5%

68

7

38

Industrial Equipment Wholesale

C's

1.1%

-3.0%

2.9%

73

8

41

Trucks & Other Vehicles

C's

2.8%

-2.5%

2.7%

27

9

18

Broadcasting - Radio

C's

2.7%

1.1%

5.4%

9

10

10

Metal Fabrication

C's

0.8%

-3.2%

7.7%

61

11

36

Publishing - Periodicals

C's

-0.2%

1.8%

3.3%

47

12

30

Property Management

C's

0.0%

-1.2%

4.3%

116

13

65

Music & Video Stores

C's

4.2%

2.5%

0.6%

18

14

16

Heavy Construction

C's

0.5%

-4.1%

6.0%

10

15

13

Beverages - Brewers

C's

0.8%

0.2%

7.6%

30

16

23

Asset Management

C's

0.9%

-0.4%

5.0%

118

17

68

Real Estate Development

C's

3.8%

4.8%

0.6%

92

18

55

Machine Tools & Accessories

C's

0.5%

-2.2%

1.4%

58

19

39

Synthetics

C's

1.9%

-1.0%

3.5%

31

20

26

Drugs - Generic

C's

0.8%

-1.2%

5.0%

70

21

46

Semiconductor - Integrated Circuits

C's

2.0%

-1.0%

2.8%

17

22

20

Specialty Chemicals

C's

1.0%

-1.0%

6.1%

34

23

29

General Building Materials

C's

1.5%

1.9%

4.8%

33

24

29

Building Materials Wholesale

C's

1.6%

-3.6%

4.9%

14

25

20

Chemicals - Major Diversified

C's

0.8%

-0.4%

6.8%

12

26

19

Regional - Southeast Banks

C's

1.5%

0.7%

7.2%

78

27

53

Staffing & Outsourcing Services

C's

1.2%

-1.0%

2.3%

124

29

77

Gaming Activities

C's

1.3%

-2.5%

0.1%

26

28

27

Personal Computers

C's

-0.2%

-2.4%

5.4%

44

30

37

Auto Manufacturers - Major

C's

1.2%

-0.3%

4.4%

88

31

60

Long-Term Care Facilities

C's

2.7%

-0.7%

1.7%

1

32

17

Nonmetallic Mineral Mining

C's

-1.1%

-0.8%

14.1%

29

33

31

Regional - Mid-Atlantic Banks

C's

0.8%

-0.1%

5.2%

126

34

80

Auto Parts

C's

0.8%

-0.7%

0.0%

43

35

39

Trucking

C's

0.3%

-3.1%

4.5%

63

36

50

Major Integrated Oil & Gas

C's

1.2%

-2.0%

3.3%

79

37

58

Medical Practitioners

C's

1.8%

0.5%

2.2%

54

38

46

Independent Oil & Gas

C's

1.9%

-1.4%

3.7%

109

39

74

Credit Services

C's

0.5%

-0.4%

0.9%

56

40

48

Aerospace/Defense - Major Diversified

C's

0.0%

-1.2%

3.6%

 

 

FIGURE 2

 

 

 

5.0 Industries Falling in Rank

 

     A list of the industries declining in rank the fastest is given in Table 5A.  The 20 fastest declining in rank are plotted in Figure 3.

 

 

 Table 5A

Industries Declining in Rank the Fastest

December 18, 2007

Rank [R]

Rank of Change   [C]

(R+C)/2

Industries

Companies

Last Gain

1 wk Ago Gain

1 mo Gain

105

176

141

Grocery Stores

C's

0.5%

-0.1%

1.0%

65

177

121

Cigarettes

C's

-0.1%

-1.0%

3.1%

108

178

143

Property & Casualty Insurance

C's

0.8%

-4.0%

0.9%

156

179

168

Sporting Goods

C's

1.0%

-2.4%

-1.5%

144

180

162

Diversified Machinery

C's

0.8%

-4.8%

-0.7%

177

181

179

Regional - Pacific Banks

C's

1.1%

-3.9%

-3.0%

138

182

160

Information & Delivery Services

C's

-0.4%

-2.4%

-0.4%

167

183

175

Sporting Goods Stores

C's

1.4%

-4.4%

-2.3%

201

184

193

Small Tools & Accessories

C's

1.4%

-5.9%

-6.5%

171

185

178

Specialty Retail, Other

C's

1.1%

-4.7%

-2.3%

193

186

190

Computers Wholesale

C's

0.8%

-2.6%

-4.3%

183

187

185

Surety & Title Insurance

C's

1.7%

-7.8%

-3.4%

181

188

185

Diversified Communication Services

C's

1.2%

-2.0%

-3.1%

212

189

201

Major Airlines

C's

-0.4%

-12.2%

-11.5%

195

190

193

Business Equipment

C's

0.7%

-3.1%

-5.3%

182

192

187

Investment Brokerage - National

C's

-1.9%

-4.0%

-3.3%

164

194

179

Farm & Construction Machinery

C's

-0.1%

-3.2%

-2.1%

188

191

190

Specialized Health Services

C's

1.4%

-2.9%

-3.9%

121

195

158

Textile - Apparel Footwear & Accessories

C's

-0.4%

-4.3%

0.5%

101

193

147

Medical Laboratories & Research

C's

0.6%

-1.3%

1.1%

132

196

164

Gas Utilities

C's

0.3%

-0.9%

-0.2%

162

197

180

Insurance Brokers

C's

0.7%

-1.8%

-1.9%

184

198

191

Processing Systems & Products

C's

0.7%

-0.9%

-3.5%

175

199

187

Biotechnology

C's

0.3%

-1.8%

-2.9%

154

200

177

Regional - Northeast Banks

C's

0.8%

-1.6%

-1.1%

160

201

181

Beverages - Soft Drinks

C's

0.1%

-1.6%

-1.8%

208

202

205

Auto Parts Wholesale

C's

1.2%

0.7%

-9.5%

110

203

157

Food - Major Diversified

C's

1.3%

-2.3%

0.9%

186

204

195

Drug Stores

C's

0.6%

0.1%

-3.6%

131

205

168

Marketing Services

C's

1.5%

-0.7%

-0.2%

214

206

210

Silver

C's

2.2%

-9.2%

-12.2%

155

207

181

Confectioners

C's

1.6%

-2.4%

-1.3%

199

208

204

REIT - Industrial

C's

0.2%

-6.4%

-6.3%

125

209

167

Processed & Packaged Goods

C's

0.3%

-0.3%

0.1%

140

210

175

Accident & Health Insurance

C's

0.5%

0.3%

-0.5%

127

211

169

Personal Products

C's

-0.5%

-1.2%

0.0%

174

212

193

REIT - Healthcare Facilities

C's

0.8%

-6.0%

-2.6%

173

213

193

Foreign Utilities

C's

0.6%

-4.9%

-2.6%

194

214

204

Computer Based Systems

C's

1.7%

-4.3%

-5.0%

215

215

215

Drug Manufacturers - Other

C's

0.8%

-18.8%

-13.1%

 

 

 

 

FIGURE 3

 

 

 

6.0 Lagging Industries

 

     Lagging industries for the past month are listed in Table 6A.  A chart showing the rank performance of the 20 worst ranked is shown in Figure 4.

 

 

 Table 6A

Lagging Industries

December 18, 2007

Rank [R]

Rank of Change   [C]

(R+C)/2

Industries

Companies

Last Gain

1 wk Ago Gain

1 mo Gain

176

136

156

Advertising Agencies

C's

0.7%

-1.7%

-2.9%

177

181

179

Regional - Pacific Banks

C's

1.1%

-3.9%

-3.0%

178

174

176

Communication Equipment

C's

0.1%

-3.0%

-3.0%

179

126

153

REIT - Office

C's

1.8%

-4.3%

-3.1%

180

154

167

Resorts & Casinos

C's

-1.8%

-4.7%

-3.1%

181

188

185

Diversified Communication Services

C's

1.2%

-2.0%

-3.1%

182

191

187

Investment Brokerage - National

C's

-1.9%

-4.0%

-3.3%

183

187

185

Surety & Title Insurance

C's

1.7%

-7.8%

-3.4%

184

198

191

Processing Systems & Products

C's

0.7%

-0.9%

-3.5%

185

83

134

Rental & Leasing Services

C's

-0.2%

-2.9%

-3.6%

186

204

195

Drug Stores

C's

0.6%

0.1%

-3.6%

187

115

151

Networking & Communication Devices

C's

0.6%

-0.2%

-3.7%

189

193

191

Specialized Health Services

C's

1.4%

-2.9%

-3.9%

190

134

162

Medical Equipment Wholesale

C's

1.8%

-0.1%

-3.9%

188

127

158

Air Services, Other

C's

0.6%

-4.3%

-3.9%

191

162

177

Home Improvement Stores

C's

1.7%

-5.0%

-3.9%

192

172

182

Paper & Paper Products

C's

0.9%

-4.6%

-4.0%

193

186

190

Computers Wholesale

C's

0.8%

-2.6%

-4.3%

194

214

204

Computer Based Systems

C's

1.7%

-4.3%

-5.0%

195

190

193

Business Equipment

C's

0.7%

-3.1%

-5.3%

196

160

178

REIT - Residential

C's

2.1%

-5.4%

-5.3%

197

128

163

REIT - Hotel/Motel

C's

1.4%

-6.3%

-5.6%

198

101

150

Jewelry Stores

C's

2.5%

-0.7%

-6.1%

199

208

204

REIT - Industrial

C's

0.2%

-6.4%

-6.3%

200

99

150

Semiconductor- Memory Chips

C's

-0.9%

-6.1%

-6.3%

201

184

193