Stocks I Own

Some of you are probably wondering what stocks I own. Well, I’m going to tell you in the name of disclosure and honesty.

I’m a basic value investor, so my strategy is long and strong or buy and hold. I buy stock and hold because trading is a great way to lose money. Currently my portfolio is a little bare because I had a poor year financially, but it is getting better. Here’s my current rundown of holdings:

• Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) – I agree with Uncle Warren on this one. BAC is cheap, and it has a bright future. It’s also a bargain; when I see a company with a TTM revenue of $87.01 million that’s trading for less than $15 a share, I buy. If they can fix their problems, BOA’s share price could shoot up like a rocket.

• Chesapeake Energy Corp (NYSE: CHK) – I think this company has a bright future because natural gas is cheap and is the energy of the future. With Mr. Obama phasing out coal, foreign countries banning fracking, and natural gas fuel cells a real possibility, I think demand will increase. Their shale holdings are also really great.

• eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) – I think eBay is undervalued and underappreciated as both a stock and an ecommerce platform. I also think that PayPal is a valuable resource because payment solutions are a growing industry. I might change my mind about this one next year when they spin PayPal off.

• BlackHawk Network Holdings (NASDAQ: HAWKB) – This is a neat little company I got because I owned some Safeway shares. Basically, it is the company that offers the gift cards you see in the supermarkets. It’s also a financial services play that offers reloadable cards. I think this market has a big future because of the number of unbanked people out there. Don’t laugh though; BlackHawk has revenues of $1.31 billion and a quarterly revenue growth rate of 30.60%.

• Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) – As I noted over at Seeking Alpha, America’s biggest grocer has been on a tear lately. Kroger has been kicking Walmart’s butt in the grocery business. It reported a TTM revenue of $103.88 billion in July 2014. Kroger has also made a strong entry into the retail and home delivery markets, and it was able to develop a $1 billion brand of organic products in less than a year.

• Plug Power Inc. (NYSE: PLUG) – I like this little fuel cell company because it actually installs and services fuel cells. I think Plug Power could be a future infrastructure giant. Instead of making splashy headlines, Plug Power quietly installs fuel cells in places like warehouses, distribution centers, and the machines on airport runways. Plug Power is slowly building up the expertise to become the kind of infrastructure service Warren Buffett likes. When Toyota and Honda roll out their fuel cell cars nationwide, Plug Power, which builds hydrogen gas pumps, stands to cash in.

As you can see, my portfolio is a little diverse. Right now I like energy, finance, and retail because those companies generate cash. I also like speculative plays like Plug Power because I think taking a risk is the only way that you can make money. If the stocks change, I’ll tell you.