ON THE HUNT

     My wife has a nephew named Tony and his hobby is hunting snakes. He recently posted pictures  on facebook showing him holding a copperhead that he caught and released. I've been hunting recently myself, but not for snakes. I avoid any contact with snakes because they scare the hell out of me. My hunt is for stocks that may be undervalued in this pricey market. Tony has to work hard to find his quarry who hide under dead logs in the forest, then he pounces on them when the time is right. I am working equally hard to find my quarry, but I don't even have to leave the house for my hunt. The first method I employ is to review my existing portfolio to see if any positions should be enlarged. Sometimes the best opportunities are right under your nose. When that job was done, I copied a list of 5 star rated stocks from CFRA and began to research each one for valuation, dividend yield, dividend payout ratio, beta, earnings and debt load. Any stock that met my qualifications must also fit the theme that I have for the future. My theme is developed twice each year. In it I postulate what the economic conditions will be for the next 6 months and longer. I try to select stocks that will benefit from the trends that I forecast. Even if my forecast is not completely accurate, and it seldom is, my stocks have a decent chance to do well because they pay dividends and are trading at less than the rest of the market. This year's mid-year forecast has been delayed due to the unusual events that have taken place since  January. The Corona virus has completely wrecked my forecast for 2020 but that is why I have a reforecast in June. It gives me a chance to get it right after some unexpected events. Unlike Tony, I haven't caught anything yet, but I have a long list of stock orders set to be executed at the right price. In the end we both want to avoid getting bit.