Goldman Sachs: Earnings Home Run Winner

[WallyWeaver]

These are the kinds of things that just make me want to punch myself. I was looking at this stock after it hit bottom in June. After the Fed announced their unprecedented QE to infinity program I considered putting some capital into GS. At that time the stock was hovering around $90/ share. I decided against it and moved most of the capital in my brokerage account to AGQ. Well, here we are, 7 months later. I bought into AGQ at just over $38/ share, it closed today over $47 so not too bad (I expect it to go much, much higher in February). What about GS? It has gone from around $90/ share to around $140/ share in that same time frame! Ah well....

You know what they say: "Don't fight the Fed." Investing in GS is a safe play if you believe in that credo. In my defense, AGQ should be also.

http://www.marketwat...esting/stock/GS

WW.

Goldman Sachs: Earnings Home Run Winner

By Philip van Doorn; 01/16/13 - 04:37 PM EST

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Goldman Sachs (GS_) was the winner among the largest U.S. banks on Wednesday, with shares rising 4% to close at $141.09.

Goldman blew past earnings expectations, reporting fourth-quarter earnings available to common shareholders of $2.833 billion, or $5.60 a share, with analysts polled by Bloomberg estimating that earnings would come in at $3.66 a share.

The firm's earnings increased from $1.458 billion, or $2.85 a share in the third quarter, and $978 million, or $1.84 a share, in the fourth quarter of 2011, with large increases in both debt and equity underwriting revenue; continued strength in institutional client servicing revenue, which was up 4% sequentially and 42% year-over-year to $4.342 billion; and increases of 9% sequentially and 126% year-over-year in investing and lending revenue, to $1.973 billion.

Credit Suisse analyst Howard Chen reiterated his "Outperform" rating for Goldman following the earnings announcement, while raising his price target for the shares by $15 to $160, saying "the beat was fairly broad based--better than expected investment banking, stronger FICC results, more in the way of principal investment gains/realizations and higher investment management revenues all supported by continued strong expense and capital management discipline."

Chen called the results "a solid end to the year for Goldman--2012 represented the first year of core revenue growth since 2009 with the firm achieving a 10%+ return on equity amidst a still challenging market backdrop." JPMorgan Chase (JPM_) also beat analysts' expectations with a fourth-quarter profit of $5.7 billion, or $1.39 a share, while the consensus estimate among analysts polled by Thomson Reuters was $1.16. The company's shares rose 1% to close at $46.82. Please see TheStreet's earnings coverage for additional detail on JPMorgan's quarterly and annual results.

Link: http://www.thestreet..._ven=TSMKTWATCH

[Sparta]

Don't fret about it. Buy a whorehouse instead. It would be a more honorable business to own.

[WallyWeaver]

Don't fret about it. Buy a whorehouse instead. It would be a more honorable business to own.

Yeah, I'm not necessarily a fan of the way they operate, I'm just trying to grow my portfolio (which I am doing). It just bugs me when I come across something that I think would be a good buy but do nothing about it. Only to find out several months down the road that my "read" was correct. In this case, shares of GS have risen 55% in 7 months. During that same time frame AGQ has risen 26%. Now, 26% is still pretty good but anyone can agree that 55% is better.

Of course GS also pays a quarterly dividend of $.50/ share so there's also that. AGQ is an ETF so there's no dividend. So, a 55% per share yield with a $.50/ share dividend over 7 months.... Just one more reason to shake my head, I suppose. But hey, I have only been doing this for a few years and I literally learn something new everyday, still. I don't imagine that will change anytime soon.

WW.

[BJinMontreal]

These are the kinds of things that just make me want to punch myself. I was looking at this stock after it hit bottom in June. After the Fed announced their unprecedented QE to infinity program I considered putting some capital into GS. At that time the stock was hovering around $90/ share. I decided against it and moved most of the capital in my brokerage account to AGQ. Well, here we are, 7 months later. I bought into AGQ at just over $38/ share, it closed today over $47 so not too bad (I expect it to go much, much higher in February). What about GS? It has gone from around $90/ share to around $140/ share in that same time frame! Ah well....

You know what they say: "Don't fight the Fed." Investing in GS is a safe play if you believe in that credo. In my defense, AGQ should be also.

http://www.marketwat...esting/stock/GS

WW.

Goldman Sachs: Earnings Home Run Winner

By Philip van Doorn; 01/16/13 - 04:37 PM EST

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Goldman Sachs (GS_) was the winner among the largest U.S. banks on Wednesday, with shares rising 4% to close at $141.09.

Goldman blew past earnings expectations, reporting fourth-quarter earnings available to common shareholders of $2.833 billion, or $5.60 a share, with analysts polled by Bloomberg estimating that earnings would come in at $3.66 a share.

The firm's earnings increased from $1.458 billion, or $2.85 a share in the third quarter, and $978 million, or $1.84 a share, in the fourth quarter of 2011, with large increases in both debt and equity underwriting revenue; continued strength in institutional client servicing revenue, which was up 4% sequentially and 42% year-over-year to $4.342 billion; and increases of 9% sequentially and 126% year-over-year in investing and lending revenue, to $1.973 billion.

Credit Suisse analyst Howard Chen reiterated his "Outperform" rating for Goldman following the earnings announcement, while raising his price target for the shares by $15 to $160, saying "the beat was fairly broad based--better than expected investment banking, stronger FICC results, more in the way of principal investment gains/realizations and higher investment management revenues all supported by continued strong expense and capital management discipline."

Chen called the results "a solid end to the year for Goldman--2012 represented the first year of core revenue growth since 2009 with the firm achieving a 10%+ return on equity amidst a still challenging market backdrop." JPMorgan Chase (JPM_) also beat analysts' expectations with a fourth-quarter profit of $5.7 billion, or $1.39 a share, while the consensus estimate among analysts polled by Thomson Reuters was $1.16. The company's shares rose 1% to close at $46.82. Please see TheStreet's earnings coverage for additional detail on JPMorgan's quarterly and annual results.

Link: http://www.thestreet..._ven=TSMKTWATCH

Funny thing is - after the financial collapse and bailouts of all these banks despite the fact they were the culprits - it would not surprise me in the least if those numbers were all made up and the banks were buying each others shares to raise the value of their stocks for year end. You can also bet if a bank comes out and says this stock is a buy - they will be short-selling it into the market to all the people they are touting it to, who are buying it.

[WallyWeaver]

Funny thing is - after the financial collapse and bailouts of all these banks despite the fact they were the culprits - it would not surprise me in the least if those numbers were all made up and the banks were buying each others shares to raise the value of their stocks for year end. You can also bet if a bank comes out and says this stock is a buy - they will be short-selling it into the market to all the people they are touting it to, who are buying it.

Ever heard of the OTC derivatives market?

I assure you, there's nothing "funny" about it.

WW.

[BJinMontreal]

Ever heard of the OTC derivatives market?

I assure you, there's nothing "funny" about it.

WW.

No - I didn't mean it in a ha ha that's hysterical way - the OTC derivatives market was a perfect example of letting the foxes guard the hen house. Then when the S h t F and all their bets failed them ... they turned to their friends and ex-colleagues at the Treasury to bail them out. I wish I could get a redo on all the stocks I've bought over the years that went nowhere but down!!

[WallyWeaver]

No - I didn't mean it in a ha ha that's hysterical way - the OTC derivatives market was a perfect example of letting the foxes guard the hen house. Then when the S h t F and all their bets failed them ... they turned to their friends and ex-colleagues at the Treasury to bail them out. I wish I could get a redo on all the stocks I've bought over the years that went nowhere but down!!

Yeah, I caught your original meaning BJ, but thanks for replying.

One of the guys I read often thinks that the OTC derivatives market (AKA the casino for banks) will be what eventually topples the western financial world. He sees QE as the only thing keeping the banks from going under as a result of all of the bad debt floating around in the derivative world. This is why "QE must go to infinity" or the western world will have a melt down, he (Jim Sinclair) says often.

I will do my best to not sound arrogant about this but I have done well in the stock market, so far. I've only been doing it for a few years but my credo is simple: "Don't fight the Fed." I try to mirror my investing based on what I see them doing or what I think they will do. I keep my eye on the ECB, BOE, and BOJ, as well.

I am also a believer in fast food (McDonald's/ MCD), petroleum (Royal Dutch Shell/ RDS-A), energy pipelines (Kinder Morgan Energy Partners/ KMP), and natural gas (Linn Energy/ LINE). But I rely on those stocks for their dividend yield only. I just think those are safe, blue chip companies that consistently pay a good dividend and even if there was an economic catastrophe those companies would still be standing.

When it comes to making money, though, I stick with precious metals: AGQ is my main cash cow. I am learning the art of taking both long and short positions on this silver ETF. As time goes by I am getting better at making decisions about near-term price movements. There is a lot to it, though, and it requires a lot of research both in keeping abreadst of political and economic news and in learning the art of technical analysis. But, like anything, you get out of it what you put into it.

I've also been looking into mining stocks, of late. There is certainly a lot of potential there and several of the good mining companies even pay a dividend.

I guess the main thing I am trying to say is there have been some rocky times but I am determined to stick with it. Overall, as I said before, I have done pretty well. I think the key to success is to remain in a learning mode (don't allow yourself to think you have a handle on it) and then stick with it and success will come.

Anyway, hopefully that didn't seem like rambling. Thanks again for your reply.

WW.