Today Never Happened

Yuck. Not a good day for our Buy List. Let’s just pretend today didn’t happen. What I love about Wall Street is that a new opening bell is never too far away.
On days like this, I try not to get discouraged. Everything, it seems, is working against us. Still, I’m determined to stick with our strategy of buying great companies at great prices.
First, let’s look at the bad news. Brown & Brown (BRO) got creamed in today’s session. The stock lost 7.7%. Frankly, I thought the stock was getting a bit ahead if itself, but still, today’s selling surprised me. The company reported earnings that were inline with estimates, but the market is concerned that too much of BRO’s growth came from acquisitions. (That’s what Brown & Brown always does!) I could see the stock pulling back some more before we’re done.
But there is good news! After the bell, we had some decent earnings reports.
First up is Fiserv (FISV). The company reported earnings of 64 cents a share, five cents ahead of estimates. Not bad at all! Plus, this stock continues to look cheap. Over the past few years, Fiserv’s P/E ratio has collapsed even though its earnings continue to grow.
AFLAC (AFL) reported earnings of 72 cents a share, two pennies more than estimates. Few stocks are more reliable than AFLAC. The company also reiterated its growth forecast for this year and next. I always like to see my stocks do that.
And finally, Varian Medical Systems (VAR) reported earnings of 46 cents a share, which was inline with forecasts. Varian doesn’t tend to surprise too much so I don’t expect a lot of fallout from the stock.
The bond market got hammered today. The five-year note (^FVX) came very close to 5% today.

Posted by on April 25th, 2006 at 5:40 pm


The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.