Update on My Watch List

I’m often asked how I go about picking stocks for my Buy List. The answer is really quite simple. I don’t have a magic formula and I hate stock screeners.

Instead, I have a Watch List of about 100 stocks that I try to follow. These are what I would call “really good companies.” They’re in the top tier of Corporate America. It’s taken me years to build up this list and I change it often.

The Watch List serves as the minor leagues for my Buy List. It’s from this list that almost all candidates for the Buy List come, and it’s where they return after they’ve been deleted.

Let me make it clear that I’m not recommending any of these stocks listed below. That’s what the Buy List is for. I just wanted to show you which stocks make the first cut in the process. If a stock is on this list, you can be pretty sure it’s a decent company (though the price may not be).

My secret formula is nothing more than watching really good companies and making a move when the price looks good.

Company Symbol
Abbott Laboratories ABT
Alliance Data Systems ADS
AmerisourceBergen ABC
Ametek Inc. AME
Ansys, Inc. ANSS
AutoZone, Inc. AZO
Balchem Corp. BCPC
Ball Corporation BLL
Baxter International Inc. BAX
Becton, Dickinson BDX
Biogen Idec Inc. BIIB
Cardtronics Inc. CATM
Cerner Corporation CERN
Church & Dwight CHD
Colgate-Palmolive CL
Costco Wholesale COST
CVS Caremark CVS
Danaher Corp. DHR
DaVita HealthCare Partners DVA
DENTSPLY International Inc. XRAY
Dick’s Sporting Goods DKS
Encore Capital Group, Inc. ECPG
Epiq Systems, Inc. EPIQ
Fastenal Company FAST
First Cash Financial Services FCFS
FMC Technologies, Inc. FTI
Gartner Inc. IT
Global Payments Inc. GPN
Hanger, Inc. HGR
HEICO Corporation HEI
Henry Schein, Inc. HSIC
Hormel Foods Corporation HRL
HSN, Inc. HSNI
IDEX Corporation IEX
IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. IDXX
IntercontinentalExchange Group ICE
International Flavors & Fragrances IFF
Intuit Inc. INTU
IPC The Hospitalist Company IPCM
Jack Henry & Associates Inc. JKHY
Johnson & Johnson JNJ
McCormick & Company MKC
Mettler-Toledo International Inc. MTD
MICROS Systems, Inc. MCRS
MWI Veterinary Supply, Inc. MWIV
NetScout Systems, Inc. NTCT
Nike, Inc. NKE
OpenTable, Inc. OPEN
OSI Systems, Inc. OSIS
Panera Bread Company PNRA
Papa John’s PZZA
PetSmart, Inc. PETM
Portfolio Recovery Associates PRAA
Prosperity Bancshares Inc. PB
ResMed Inc. RMD
Reynolds American Inc. RAI
Rollins Inc. ROL
Sensient Technologies SXT
Signature Bank SBNY
Silgan Holdings Inc. SLGN
Snap-on Inc. SNA
SolarWinds, Inc. SWI
South Jersey Industries SJI
St. Jude Medical Inc. STJ
Stamps.com Inc. STMP
Starbucks Corporation SBUX
Stericycle, Inc. SRCL
Steven Madden, Ltd. SHOO
Target Corp. TGT
Teradata Corporation TDC
Texas Roadhouse, Inc. TXRH
The Buckle, Inc. BKE
The Coca-Cola Company KO
The TJX Companies, Inc. TJX
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. TMO
Thoratec Corp. THOR
Tractor Supply Company TSCO
Tupperware Brands TUP
Tyler Technologies, Inc. TYL
United Stationers Inc. USTR
V.F. Corporation VFC
Varian Medical VAR
Visa Inc. V
Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. VSI
W.W. Grainger, Inc. GWW
Wabtec WAB
Walgreen Co. WAG
Waters Corporation WAT
WellPoint Inc. WLP
World Acceptance Corp. WRLD
Zimmer Holdings, Inc. ZMH

Posted by on March 6th, 2014 at 10:05 am


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.