The 2015 Buy List

Here are the 20 stocks for the 2015 Buy List. It’s locked and sealed and I can’t make any changes for 12 months.

For tracking purposes, I assume the Buy List is a $1 million portfolio that’s equally divided among 20 stocks. Below are all 20 positions with the amount of shares for each and the closing price for 2014. Whenever I discuss how the Buy List is doing, the list below is what I’m referring to.

Company Ticker Price Shares Balance
AFLAC AFL $61.09 818.4646 $50,000.00
Ball Corp. BLL $68.17 733.4605 $50,000.00
Bed Bath & Beyond BBBY $76.17 656.4264 $50,000.00
Cognizant Technology Solutions CTSH $52.66 949.4873 $50,000.00
CR Bard BCR $166.62 300.0840 $50,000.00
eBay EBAY $56.12 890.9480 $50,000.00
Express Scripts ESRX $84.67 590.5279 $50,000.00
Fiserv FISV $70.97 704.5230 $50,000.00
Ford Motor F $15.50 3,225.8065 $50,000.00
Hormel Foods HRL $52.10 959.6929 $50,000.00
Microsoft MSFT $46.45 1,076.4263 $50,000.00
Moog MOG-A $74.03 675.4019 $50,000.00
Oracle ORCL $44.97 1,111.8523 $50,000.00
Qualcomm QCOM $74.33 672.6759 $50,000.00
Ross Stores ROST $94.26 530.4477 $50,000.00
Signature Bank SBNY $125.96 396.9514 $50,000.00
Snap-on SNA $136.74 365.6575 $50,000.00
Stryker SYK $94.33 530.0541 $50,000.00
Wabtec WAB $86.89 575.4402 $50,000.00
Wells Fargo WFC $54.82 912.0759 $50,000.00

There are five new stocks and five stocks that I’m removing. The five new stocks are Ball Corp. ($BLL), Hormel Foods ($HRL), Signature Bank ($SBNY), Snap-on ($SNA) and Wabtec ($WAB). Here’s a brief description of each.

Ball Corp. ($BLL) is the largest producer of recyclable beverage cans in the world. The company started out making mason jars. While they’re no longer in that business today, Ball makes billions of recyclable metal containers. Based in Broomfield, Colorado, Ball also has an aerospace unit that makes parts for NASA. If you like boring and profitable, you’ll like Ball.

I always think of Hormel Foods ($HRL) as the Spam company. Not as in unwanted emails, but Spam the lunch meat. But Hormel is so much more. They own a bunch of food brands including Dinty Moore stew and Country Crock. More than 30 Hormel bands are ranked #1 or #2 in their markets. Last month, Hormel raised their dividend by 25%. It was their 49th consecutive annual dividend increase. Not bad for lunch meat.

Signature Bank ($SBNY) may be the quietest success story in banking. Signature is never in the news and that’s how they like it. But their performance tells the story. Signature’s loan delinquency rate is about one-tenth of the industry average. They also keep a tight rein on overhead which runs about 40% below industry average. Without anyone noticing, Signature has shaken up traditional banking.

Snap-on ($SNA) is a maker of high-end hand tools and power tools. They also make lots of machines for car repair like hydraulic lifts and tire changers. Snap-on makes products for the marine, rail and aviation industries. Last month, Snap-on raised their dividend by 20.5%. The company is based in Kenosha, WI (birthplace of Orson Welles), and they employ 11,500 people.

Wabtec ($WAB) was formed by the merger of Westinghouse Air Brake and MotivePower in 1999. The company traces its roots back to 1869 when George Westinghouse invented the railway airbrake. (In last week’s issue, I listed the stock as Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies, but Wabtec is the official name.) Wabtec makes locomotives, brakes and other parts for the freight and passenger rail industries. Business is going well; Wabtec recently raised guidance and their backlog is at a record. Barron’s notes that Wabtec is the only stock on any U.S. exchange that’s risen in each of the last 13 years.

The five deletions are CA Technologies ($CA), DirecTV ($DTV), IBM ($IBM), McDonald’s ($MCD) and Medtronic ($MDT).

The average market cap is $69 billion. That ranges from a high of $382 billion for Microsoft ($MSFT) to $3 billion for Moog ($MOG-A).

Thirteen of the twenty stocks pay dividends. The total yield of the Buy List is 1.06%.

Only three stocks have been on the Buy List all ten years: AFLAC ($AFL), Bed Bath & Beyond ($BBBY) and Fiserv ($FISV). Stryker ($SYK) and Moog ($MOG-A) are both making their eighth appearance.

Posted by on December 31st, 2014 at 8:10 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.