Neil MacNeale, 2 for 1
A two-page monthly investment newsletter, 2 for 1 provides its subscribers with market-beating results at a time when the stock market itself is going nowhere. From his home in California, 2 for 1’s editor and publisher Neil MacNeale is promoting a model portfolio that gained 21.5% last year and up 364%, or 12.8% annualized since its inception in 1996. MacNeale accomplishes this feat using a unique strategy combining two elements: stocks are picked only from a list of recently announced stock splits and the portfolio is managed with laddering techniques that take all the guesswork out of buy and sell decisions.
Tsakos Energy Navigation (NYSE: TNP)
Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. (NYSE: TNP) is the top pick of 2008 and was the December recommendation for the 2 for 1 stock split newsletter. Tsakos is a tanker company based in Greece with a fleet of fifty-three vessels. Most ships are double-hulled and relatively modern. Tsakos was formed in 1993.
Energy is in the headlines and there is no doubt that global warming has now garnered the attention of the world’s leaders to the point where energy policies are beginning to change. However, turning away from oil and gas as the primary source for fueling the world’s economic engine will take decades and, in the meantime, we will need tankers to move this vital commodity from where it is produced to where it is consumed.
Regarding the fundamentals, TNP has price to earnings, price to book, and price to cash flow ratios (5.9, 1.5, 4.3) that are all well below its peers in both its industry and sector. Its 5.3% dividend (25% payout ratio) seems secure and will pay you while you wait for the economy to decide which way it’s going to go in 2008. With any commodity, as the value of the product being shipped increases, the incremental cost of transportation becomes less significant. Energy prices will be volatile but will remain generally strong of 2008. This gives shippers pricing flexibility and should allow TNP to maintain its very strong 43% profit margin.
Tsakos is carrying more debt than most of the stocks in the 2 for 1 portfolio, but the company has its interest payments covered seven times over. Its profits are such that it can easily cover its debt, pay out its generous dividend, and still have enough to invest heavily in new equipment. TNP’s capital spending has outpaced its competition. This is a healthy company and all of the above make Tsakos Energy Navigation 2 for 1’s top conservative pick of 2008.