Dear Pat: You recently moved Arbor Memorial to a sell. Has the long-term trend for growth changed? If not, why should I sell? As well, its book value per share is high. Over the long term does this not give me some comfort that the stock cannot fall excessively? And looking at the book value, it dropped from 2007 to 2008. I do not understand this drop. I would appreciate your feedback. Thanks.
Arbor Memorial Services, $24.06, Toronto symbol ABO.A (Shares outstanding: 18.7 million; Market cap: $459.3 million; www.arbormemorial.com), owns 85 funeral homes, 41 cemeteries, 26 crematoria, and seven reception centres for memorial services. The company operates in eight provinces.
Arbor was a recommendation of our Successful Investor newsletter for a number of years, until we advised selling the stock in our April 15, 2011, Successful Investor Hotline at $25.
The stock reached a peak of around $33 a share in late 2007. By the time the stock market hit its lows in March 2009, Arbor had dropped nearly 55%, to $15. From then through April of this year, Arbor rose by about 70%, to more than $25. That’s partly because the company had a good year in fiscal 2010 (which ended October 31). Sales rose 15.2%, to $281.8 million from $244.7 million in fiscal 2009. Per-share earnings rose 15.6%, to $2.15 from $1.86 a year earlier. However, sales of cemetery plots and…
Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
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The contents of this web site and our publications are based upon sources of information believed to be reliable, but no warranty or representation, expressed or implied, is given as to their accuracy or completeness. Any opinion reflects the Successful Investor’s judgment at the date of publication and neither the Successful Investor, nor any of its affiliated companies, nor any of their officers, directors or employees, accepts any responsibility in respect of the information or recommendations contained in the publications or on this web site. Moreover, the information or recommendations are subject to change without notice.
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