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Nathan Slaughter


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Nathan Slaughter, editor of Half-Priced Stocks and The ETF Authority, has developed a long and successful track record over the years by finding profitable investments no matter where they hide. 

Nathan SlaughterNathan's previous experience includes a long tenure at AXA/Equitable Advisors. He also honed his research skills at Morgan Keegan, where he performed asset allocation, retirement planning, and consultative portfolio management services. 

Several years ago Nathan switched gears and decided to devote his time exclusively to financial analysis and writing. He has since published hundreds of articles for a variety of prominent online and print publications.

Nathan's educational background includes NASD Series 6, 7, 63, & 65 certifications, as well as a degree in Finance/Investment Management.

About Half-Priced Stocks

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I am a value investor because it works. No other approach has proven to be more effective over the long haul. 

Dozens of studies prove me right. Value beat growth in every instance. If there's a better way to grow rich in the market, I haven't found it yet. 

It seems crazy, but there are times when you can buy every single share of a company -- paying its full market capitalization -- and you're still paying far less than the company's fair business value.

How do I know what a stock's "fair business value" is? It all starts with the same time-tested technique that Warren Buffett inherited from Benjamin Graham before him: "Discounted Cash Flow Modeling."

To determine a fair price for a company, my staff and I first project the amount of operating cash that the firm is likely to produce in the years ahead. From there, we determine how much that future cash is worth in today's dollars. This gives us a pretty accurate idea of each firm's true, risk-adjusted value. 

 We then add in cash and other liquid assets and subtract its debt to come up with a fair business value. That's the rational price it would take to buy the entire company as a going concern.

All that's left is to compare that intrinsic value with the current trading price. In extreme market conditions when panic rules the day, share prices sometimes drop below the company's per-share cash on hand. In cases like that, you're actually getting paid to buy the business!

You can always find a few stocks selling for low P/Es... or high growth rates... or even at mouthwatering yields. But I've never seen all three at the same time before! Assets, growth and yields are all going cheap.

Of the 5,851 stocks I track, 2,310 are trading below book value... and 1,052 are trading at less than half book value.

The crazy thing is that a lot of these dirt cheap stocks are growing fast! I've found 146 stocks selling for earnings multiples below 10 that are projected to grow more than +25% next year.  Do you have any idea of the explosive gains you can make when a company is growing +25% a year but its stock is trading at a P/E of 4?

Three Ways to Profit Big

1) Astonishing Value Plays -- These are stocks you can buy for less than the cash they have in the bank. Or the value of the buildings they own. 

This is how Eddie Lampert made a billion dollars buying Sears -- the real estate was worth more than the company's market cap. You could have gone along for the ride yourself. After he bought in, the stock surged from $15 to nearly $200 in just two years. 

2) Cheap Growth Plays -- Buying cheap stocks is about more than finding underpriced assets. Growth counts too. And right now I'm finding fast-growing small fry that are priced like mature, slow-growth behemoths. In other words, way too cheap. We're getting years of future growth for basically free.

3) at Dividend Plays -- This is the silver lining to the market plunge: dividend yields are at historic highs. You don't always get this gift when stocks drop. When the tech bubble popped yields rose a bit. But it was nothing compared to what we are seeing today. 

There are scads of double-digit yielders out there. Deadly dull oil pipelines that should yield 5% to 7% in normal times now sport exciting yields of 12%. If you can lock in a 12% payout in something as safe as an oil pipeline, do it.

When the market returns to normal and your pipeline is repriced to yield 6%, you've doubled your money. And then, as it increases its payout over the year after year, you'll soon be earning 15%, 18%... even 20% or more on your initial investment.


News Flash

Taseko Mines: Copper gains
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Taseko Mines Limited (TGB) began January by announcing its fourth quarter and year-end production results for 2011 at its 75%-owned Gibraltar Mine in British Columbia.


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Select Dividend for equity income
by Benjamin Shepherd, editor Wall Street

For just the second time since 1947, the dividend yield on the S&P 500 exceeds the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes. The S&P 500 currently yields 2.2 percent, while 10-year Treasuries yield just 1.85 percent.


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Goldcorp: 'My favorite major'
by Curtis Hesler, editor Professional Timing Service

The secular bull in gold and the commodity sector is not over. However, it is not at the ground floor any longer either; as such, stock selection must be more carefully considered.


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Money manager's small cap buys
by Jim Oberweis Jr., editor The Oberweis Report

Small-cap growth stock valuations are cheap, and like most things in life, economies are cyclical, even if this is a long and painful one. For the rare, brave contrarian with a reasonably long time horizon, that spells opportunity.


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Opportunities in homebuilding?
by Bernie Schaeffer, editor Schaeffer's Investment Research

Based on our "expectational analysis" strategy -- which  combines fundamental, sentiment and technical metrics -- I initiated long positions in two homebuilding stocks: Lennar Corporation (LEN) and Toll Brothers (TOL).


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Cliffs Natural: A DRIP favorite
by Vita Nelson, editor MoneyPaper

Our latest featured dividend reinvestment stock is Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF). Founded in 1847, the former Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America.


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S&P's trio of info tech ETFS
by Dylan Cathers, S&P Capital IQ Equity Analyst, S&P The Outlook

Information technology is one of four sectors that S&P Capital IQ’s Sector Strategy Group currently recommends investors overweight in their portfolios.


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Crescent Point: Bakken bet
by Brian Hicks, editor Wealth Advisory

Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) are unique investments that combine the tax benefits of a limited partnership (LP) with the liquidity of common stock.


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Natural gas: A bottom?
by Jason Cimpl, editor Daily Profit

Natural gas has collapsed for the past four years and has been on a gradual decline for almost a decade. Prices topped near $16 in 2005 and then declined to $2. So did natural gas just bottom?


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FBR Focus bests 99% of peers
by Walter Frank, editor MoneyLetter

Funds that invest in a relatively few stocks or sectors are less diversified than broadly invested funds and their volatility can be much higher. But the team at FBR Focus (FBRVX) seems to be getting it right.


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