Buy after a “haircut”

Article Excerpt

BREAKWATER RESOURCES $2.94 (Toronto symbol BWR; SI Rating: Speculative) (416-363-4798; www.breakwater.ca; Shares outstanding: 70.2 million; Market cap: $206.5 million; No dividends paid) has carried out a consolidation (or “cutback” or “reverse split”) of its shares on a 1-for-10 basis. That cut its shares outstanding from 702 million to 70.2 million. Companies typically cut back their shares to make it easier for institutional investors to buy without violating rules against investing in low-priced stocks (under, say, $1 or $5 a share.) Reverse stock splits can hurt investor confidence and shrink the value of a given holding – give it a “haircut,” as brokers say – by as much as 25%. For pennies with real assets, however, the haircut is often temporary. Breakwater fell by 50% between the start of the year and its mid-June low. But Breakwater produces zinc from mines in Canada, Chile and Honduras. After two years of losses, the company is profitable once again. In fact, Breakwater now trades at just 3.9…