I've given up thinking that share buys lift the price....it does not necessarily follow! Who knows what is going on? Maybe insurance and pension funds are piling in and traders are creaming off the profits. It seems to me a lot of shorting is going on, if not, why does the price keep dropping when buys seem to outnumber sales almost every day? I own this share, so I am not de-ramping. I wish the share could return to the £1.90 level. But with the possibility of a general election and the uncertainties concerning that......and the fact that CNA are on a highish P/E and a fairly low dividend cover, the possibility of a lower share price is a real possibility. However, it does pay a dividend. It is a defensive stock in time of trouble. It could become fashionable to hold this stock compared with others. I don't think that it will go bust anytime soon. But markets seem to be rather turbulent.....anything could happen in the next three months.
Compared with some other investments......these shares could recover some value. As a defensive stock it pays a good dividend and hopefully will stay in business even though the going will be tough. Someone seems to be mopping up the shares at this price.
This month is never a good month for shares. The first three weeks of February has a dreadful profit record in a bear market and as we are most definitely in a bear market! I had hoped for a Christmas rally...….and January can be a good month, but I am extremely wary in these markets and I am inclined to avoid taking any risks." Your money is your best friend" ask the Directors of Dignity....I'm sure they will agree with me!
As for dates, figures announcements this is not the time to be focusing on the minutae of individual companies......what ever they say good or bad prices will fall.
Having fallen below £6.50 early this morning......it looks like there may be a Santa rally on this share. If you are nimble you might get a Christmas Turkey out of it...….but I really do think that the gains will be short lived by the time we get to February 2019
Dignity is behaving a bit like a Zombie or Michael Myers in the film Friday 13th. It keeps being hit down.....and then rises again only to be hit some more. Methinks its gonna take a lot more bashes yet! The price is currently at 666 the mark of the beast.....but I'm not superstitious. My prediction of £6.50 draws ever closer.
I was interested in the Phoenix theory. It could well be true!! Still no sign of directors buying. I guess all that is on their minds right now is how big the turkey will be on Christmas day......or maybe they will even lash out on a goose. Sadly most of the share holders will be on chicken wings! It would probably be better that most of us "died, so as to decrease the surplus population" …..it might even help boost the share price!
This was the Phoenix company I thought we were talking about, Thanks for correcting my confusion Auson. Is Phoenix Asset Management a different company?
Personally, I think that buying Phoenix shares might be the safer bet. Since they have been buying DTY shares their price has been falling nicely and it is a share that I watch. They pay an excellent dividend.
I would leave it to me very learned friend Auson to look at the reports and discover what else they are invested in. I think this investigation is essential as my instinct tells me that of late insurance companies have been the darlings and safe havens of the investment world....but they may not remain so. The reason for this is that if they are mixed up with banks and other risky financial investments they will catch a cold as all investments will go down with them.
However, you are right to wonder why it is that Phoenix are investing so heavily in DTY. The inevitability and reliability of death seems to offer some assurance of income going forward and therefore a kind of insurance.
There may be a small Father Christmas rally...…..but just you wait and see what the month of February brings!
Apparently news is expected. In the present climate, I am not expecting it to be that exciting. But who knows, we could get a nice surprise for Christmas. Personally, I would not bank on it......my instinct is that there is a 70% chance of disappointment. Having said this, I have no plans to sell my shares in this company, neither do I have plans to buy more until I see signs of sustained upward movement.
Director: Richard Portman 40,000 sold at £27...….lovely grub!
This is a guy who has real dignity and commands my total respect for his judgement as an investor!
The shares have dropped £20 and still he will not touch them with a barge pole.
If I be absolutely honest, though of course I look at annual reports, I take them all with a little pinch of salt and a healthy dose of scepticism. They are far too complicated for my tiny brain....and half the time they are presented in a way that flatters the company. I ALWAYS think that things are worse than they say....and until a company is stripped back to the bone.....efficiencies increased to the maximum and expenses reduced AND signs that the directors are showing an interest in their own company I do not touch them for some time after their decline. It can take 2 or 3 years for things to recover so there is no hurry in my book.
I know that instincts are not the most scientific way to invest. But my success in investing is based on experience and realism. So far I have not done too badly. But one of the BIG lessons that I have learned is how costly it is to jump into a share too soon. and how costly it is to base one's investment decision on past performance. If there is one thing I definitely want to avoid is to be forced to sit one a share that is boring for years on end......and worse still, one that continues to decline for years before its turnaround. I am grateful for your precise observations, if you are skilled at reading reports then you are a valuable chap to know......but don't take reports too seriously......and ALWAYS consider what the wider market is doing. Dirt cheap shares can go even cheaper still!!!
In the light of my recent comments I will keep my powder dry until I see what happens to February prices. £6.50 seems tempting....but these are very treacherous markets and I am extremely wary. I am obviously watching this share......and I repeat that long term it could be the kind of defensive share I am looking for. But there is increasing value everywhere at the moment......and I think that this will continue until shares are at crazy prices.
No I don't Auson…...do you? What I DO know is that if profits continue to fall and the value of assets fall then they will be forced to reduce dividends AND ask share holders for a bale out. I am in my 60's now and I have seen this scenario many times before.
I repeat, unless I see the Directors buying significantly I will continue to be negative on this share for some time. I am convinced that though the froth has been blown away.....we far from bargain basement price at the moment.
For sure property will take a big fall in the next year or so. Consider what effect that will have on the assets of this company AND the effect of rising interest rates on their huge borrowings. I also think I would take the value of the "intangible assets" with a pinch of salt ...….obviously the Director's HAVE done!!!
While we share holders shiver in the cold this Christmas wondering if we can afford to buy a few chicken wings and a parson's nose for Christmas dinner...….they will be laughing themselves stupid in a very warm climate in the lap of luxury. Later in 2019 I can see them hoovering these shares up at next to nothing and the whole boom and bust cycle will start all over again.
I refer my readers to my prediction of a share price pf £6.50 made on the 30th November 2018. It looks as if we are going to get there well before February 2019. Because of the rapidity of the decline and the fact that the Directors are still not buying...….I fear that when the shit hits the fan and world markets take a hit.....it is not at all unreasonable to think of these shares going to £4.50
If we have interest rate hikes any share with high borrowings will be vulnerable to vast falls. I still think that these shares should be good long term.....but my gut feeling is that they have further to fall.When the stock market turns down......shares fall a lot further than fair value.......they go into bargain territory. I am sure the Directors are well aware of this.
Yes I can think of a reason.
The UK market must be seen as really cheap right now by those in foreign lands.
Might be worth having a small flutter on them after all then.
When are the directors going to return to the trough OIK! OIK! ? Will it be at 6.50?.......5.50?.....or £4.50?
That's right Nohearts, my very learned friend, bash them down to the ground where they belong! In the light of your comments who knows they may go down ultimately to £4.50 But when I said recover, I did not in any way mean that they would ever get back to £25. Absolutely not!!! Perhaps under new management, in the medium to long term they may get to £10-15.
Remember they own all those crematoria. Will people stop dying? With all the poverty and a forthcoming market crash of epic proportions around the corner, I can see business booming. Lets not get too pessimistic......Phoenix don't think they will go bust do they? If need be they could outprice the competition be "ever so humble" and actually sell funerals at a loss or a fair price...….and then go back to their money grabbing ways, when the competition has been blown out of the water. Lets give this company the dignity and the respect it deserves..