The Deen's ListTM
Our Goal: To outperform the S&P through up markets and down.
A service of Deen Capital Management, Inc. (www.deencapital.com)
Vol.6 #368 Tuesday, December 9, 2008 12:23PM EST

Please read carefully our disclaimers at the end of this newsletter.

Market Stance: BULLISH (since December 8, 2008)

Contents

Performance
Bought Greatbatch Inc. (GB)
Open Positions
Subscription Information
Privacy Policy
Disclaimers
Contact Us

Performance

Deen Capital S&P 500
Year-to-date as of December 8, 2008 -24.5% * -36.7%
12 months (Dec 8, 2007 to Dec 8, 2008) -27.0% * -38.2%
24 months (Dec 8, 2006 to Dec 8, 2008) -3.9% * -32.8%

* An average of managed accounts, net after all commissions and fees.

Click here for more performance data.

Click here for information on managed accounts.

Bought Greatbatch Inc. (GB)

Initial percent of portfolio (approx.)6.0%
Net buy price in managed accounts*$24.37
Most recent close (Dec 08)$23.64
Net change (based on net buy price)+0.73
Today's volume as of 12:20pm ET173,276 ($4.2 million)
Average daily volume405,100 ($9.9 million)
This year's earnings-per-share$1.27 (est)
Next year's earnings-per-share$1.69 (est)
P/E using next year's earnings14.4 (est)
Earnings growth rate, next 5 years13% per year (est)
Corporate HeadquartersClarence, NY
Web sitewww.greatbatch.com

* Buy prices shown are net after commissions and fees.

Today, Tuesday, December 9, 2008, I bought GB, first for client accounts, then for my personal accounts.

Greatbatch, Inc. manufactures components used in implantable medical devices.

This stock is a component of the IBD New America and the S&P 600 SmallCap Indexes. ("IBD" = "Investor's Business Daily")

Here's why I bought this stock:

+ Technical: The three heaviest volume days of November and December (to date) have been up days. Also, the stock is trading near the high end of its 4-month trading range.

+ I think the stock is a buy today in particular because it was down yesterday, trading as low as $23.21, testing its 50-day moving average. Today, it is up slightly, but still down from Friday's close.

+ Excellent recent sales growth. Here are the quarterly year-to-year sales growth rates from the last four quarters, in chronological order: +34%, +59%, +81%, and, most recently, for the quarter ended Sep 30, +72% to $136.2 million.

+ Latest quarter shows a turnaround in recent earnings-per-share growth. Here are the quarterly EPS figures for the last eight quarters:

Dec 07 vs Dec 06: 21c vs 23c
Mar 08 vs Mar 07: 16c vs 33c
Jun 08 vs Jun 07: 30c vs 42c
Sep 08 vs Sep 07: 44c vs 29c

+ Strong and rising earnings-per-share estimates: According to recent data from First Call, the consensus earnings estimate for 2008 is $1.27, revised upward from $1.19 90 days ago (but down from 2007 actual earnings of $1.33); and the consensus estimate for 2009 is $1.69, revised upward from $1.64 90 days ago.

+ Valuation: At 14 times next year's estimated earnings and a projected 5-year annualized earnings growth rate of 13%, the stock is attractively priced.

+ History of earnings surprises: This company has reported earnings-per-share at least 6c above estimates in both of the past two quarters. Most recently, for the quarter ended Sep 30, they "beat the Street" by 12c.

+ The stock's 200-day moving average is rising, indicating a long-term uptrend.

I chose to buy the stock in spite of the following negative factor:

- The company's industry group ("Medical Products") is ranked #28 for relative strength out of 197 industry groups tracked by Investor's Business Daily. This ranking changes daily, and it has been generally fairly stable to falling slightly over recent weeks and months.

-KD, Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Open Positions

Model Portfolio

Company Name Stock
Symbol
Buy
Date
NetBuy
Price*
Current
Price**
Weeks
Held
% of
Portfolio
Gain
(Loss)
Greatbatch Inc. GB 12/09/08 $24.37 $24.35 0.0 5.9% -0.1%
Fluor Corp. FLR 12/09/08 $49.98 $52.02 0.0 5.1% +4.1%
S&P Depositary Receipt SPY 12/08/08 $91.85 $91.21 0.1 14.9% -0.7%
Epiq Systems Inc. EPIQ 12/08/08 $16.95 $17.25 0.1 6.0% +1.8%
LHC Group Inc. LHCG 12/08/08 $35.74 $35.67 0.1 6.0% -0.2%
Comtech Telecom Co. CMTL 12/08/08 $49.55 $47.16 0.1 6.6% -4.8%
Fuel Systems Solutions Inc. FSYS 12/05/08 $30.59 $33.90 0.6 5.5% +10.8%
PetMed Express Inc. PETS 12/03/08 $16.59 $16.41 0.9 5.9% -1.1%
California Water Services CWT 11/24/08 $40.79 $41.10 2.1 5.9% +0.8%
American Science & Eng'g ASEI 11/20/08 $70.10 $69.81 2.7 4.9% -0.4%
Cash 33.3%  
Total 100%  

* Buy prices shown are net after commissions and fees.

** Current prices are at least 20 minutes old.

Subscription Information

Welcome to The Deen's ListTM, an e-mail stock newsletter from Deen Capital Management, Inc.

My intention is to inform you as quickly as is practical regarding my stock market moves. When I buy or sell a stock, first I take care of client accounts, then I buy/sell for my personal account(s), and then, third, I send out this newsletter.

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Disclaimers

All stocks discussed in The Deen's ListTM involve a high degree of risk. It should not be assumed that any stock discussed in The Deen's ListTM or purchased by Deen Capital Management, Inc. will be profitable.

Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

The information contained herein has been compiled from sources deemed to be reliable; however, we are not responsible for its accuracy or completeness.

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