Guru Focused: Robert Olstein?s Short Sells

While it is rather rare that value gurus sell stocks short, Robert Olstein has been selling short in his Financial Alert Fund. The accountant-turned fund manager spots values by looking behind the numbers. In the second quarter of 2004, Robert Olstein sold short American Italian Pasta Co. (PLB) at $31. After about 6 months he covered at $20, easily made more than $1 million for his fund. Currently he is shorting two stocks: Computer Sciences Corp (CSC) and Fleetwood Enterprises Inc (FLE), although things do not always go that smoothly.

Robert Olstein is certainly one of the best money managers (that is why he is in GuruFocus's Hall of Fame). The strategy of looking behind the numbers has brought his fund a 15.5% average annual return over 10 years after all fees. Its only down year was 2002, off 19%. In 2000, the year the tech bubble burst, the fund was up 12%, and in 2001, up 17%.

Robert Olstein started shorting Computer Sciences Corp (CSC) in the first quarter of 2004 at an average price of $41. He said that the accounting of CSC is not in accord with its economic reality, CSC is worth about $30. The price of CSC did not go down, however. He then shorted more shares. But the price of CSC went up, by the fourth quarter of 2004, the price of CSC was $56. It came down some in the first quarter of 2005, Robert Olstein was confident enough to short more shares again. As of the end of the first quarter, his shorting position in CSC totaled 504,500 shares with an average price of $42. As of this writing, the price of CSC is $46.4.

The other short selling of Robert Olstein is Fleetwood Enterprises Inc (FLE). He thinks that Fleetwood Enterprises Inc is worth about $5-6 per share. He sold short 1,195,500 shares of FLE at about $9.2 per share in the first quarter of 2005. Right now Fleetwood has a price of $9.5 per share.

Interestingly, another highly respected value manager, GuruFocus guru, Robert Rodriguez, does not agree with his value peer Olstein. In the fourth quarter of 2004, Rodriguez added 269,500 shares of FLE to his holdings at around $14 per share. As the share price dropped to $9, he added 2,261,900 more shares, which makes his total holding of Fleetwood to 3,714,400 shares.

Who is right, Robert vs. Robert?

Dr. Charlie Tian is the Director of Research of GuruFocus.com, a website tracks the stock picks and market insight of guru investors such as Warren Buffett, George Soros etc.

---

Google News Updated : Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:50:27 GMT Obama connected with audience - Baltimore Sun Boston Globe Obama connected with audience Baltimore Sun - 1 hour ago By David Zurawik z on tv david.zurawik@baltsun.com The format of the second presidential debate was described as that of a town hall meeting, but it was pure TV from the "citizens" seated on risers on a brightly lit stage, to the candidates moving ... Candidates arguments are as familiar as their mistakes The Miami Herald Cool Hand Barack Wall Street Journal The Weekly Standard - Los Angeles Times - Dallas Morning News - Boston Globe all 464 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:28:41 GMT Australian jet plunge probe opens - BBC News TVNZ Australian jet plunge probe opens BBC News - 1 hour ago A computer glitch may have caused a Qantas jet to plunge suddenly mid-flight, an Australian air safety investigator has said. The incident injured 40 passengers, in a terrifying airborne drama. Qantas plane had glitch before altitude plunge International Herald Tribune Computer glitch may have caused Qantas plunge: investigator AFP Bloomberg - Reuters - Aljazeera.net - ABC Online all 734 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:39:47 GMT Harford County Council tries for leaner budget - Baltimore Sun Pittsburgh Post Gazette Harford County Council tries for leaner budget Baltimore Sun - 1 hour ago By Mary Gail Hare Harford County Executive David R. Craig met with the County Council last night and painted a bleak revenue outlook that will dominate the remainder of the fiscal year and continue well into the next. Sims wants pay freeze to balance King County budget Seattle Times Sims announces layoffs, wage freezes for county employees Seattle Post Intelligencer Pittsburgh Post Gazette - KOMO News - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Bizjournals.com all 10 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:27:45 GMT Nepal Plane Crashes, Killing Mostly German Tourists (Update1) - Bloomberg Spiegel Online Nepal Plane Crashes, Killing Mostly German Tourists (Update1) Bloomberg - 27 minutes ago By Jay Shankar Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- A passenger plane belonging to Yeti Airlines, a private carrier, crashed near Mount Everest in Nepal killing 18 people, including 12 German tourists, an aviation official said. Everest plane crash kills 18 in Nepal, mostly German AFP Official: Plane crash in Nepal kills 18 USA Today The Associated Press - The Sun Daily - Spiegel Online - Swissinfo all 284 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:23:22 GMT British government unveils massive financial rescue plan - Los Angeles Times ITV.com British government unveils massive financial rescue plan Los Angeles Times - 48 minutes ago LONDON - The British government Wednesday unveiled a massive rescue plan for its ailing banking system after days of unrelenting bad news for the financial industry here. British government to partially nationalize banks International Herald Tribune Rescue plan for UK banks unveiled BBC News guardian.co.uk - Washington Post - BusinessWeek - AFP all 1,454 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:01:33 GMT Absentee balloting began Tuesday - Las Cruces Sun-News San Diego Union Tribune Absentee balloting began Tuesday Las Cruces Sun-News - 33 minutes ago By SUE MAJOR HOLMES AP Writer ALBUQUERQUE, NM—It was only mid-morning on the first day of absentee voting, but 200 people had already shown up to cast their ballots at the clerk's office in Bernalillo County, New Mexico's most populous. Muncie takes advantage of early voting Ball State Daily News Voter numbers growing as deadline nears Corvallis Gazette Times Gloucester County Times - NJ.com - Salisbury Post - Aspen Times - Daily Vidette all 619 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:16:38 GMT In Florida, Palin keeps up attacks on Obama - Dallas Morning News BBC News In Florida, Palin keeps up attacks on Obama Dallas Morning News - 1 hour ago JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Sarah Palin portrayed Barack Obama as a dishonest politician and a risky choice for president Tuesday as she wrapped up a two-day campaign swing through Florida. Sarah Palin, Freed? Washington Post McCain, Obama and a 'friendly' town hall Los Angeles Times Reuters - San Francisco Chronicle - Boston Globe - USA Today all 4,475 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:39:26 GMT RSS to HTML Increase Traffic

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Stock Market Leaders and Laggards

Leaders are stocks that breakout immediately when the market confirms... Read More

Pros & Cons of Investing in Bonds

What are Bonds?A bond is a debt security, by which... Read More

Volatile Oil

The Light Crude Continuous Contract fell from $67.70 a barrel... Read More

Angels Investors and Their Networks

What is an Angel Investor? An Angel is usually a... Read More

Investigate Before You Invest

"Through wisdom is a house built. And by understanding it... Read More

Five Sure Fire Way to Secure Your Financial Future

"You can be poor when you're young, but you can't... Read More

Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 6)

Pre-1933 Gold Outperforms Today's Gold Bullion...Since 1970, an investment strategy... Read More

Boost Your Income With Financial Spread Betting

About 6 years ago I started to notice that certain... Read More

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

I am sure you have probably read about the power... Read More

The Power of Small Numbers: Trading Success is Based on Consistency, Not Home Runs

Online trading is so seductive - just sit, click, and... Read More

Discipline in Trading and Investing

The one thing I can think of that most affects... Read More

Retirement or Financial Freedom?

In the past most people never retired. They died. The... Read More

A Gadfly On A Dinosaurs Butt, Or The Hood-winking Of The American Investor

Have you ever noticed how some words in the English... Read More

Copy Cat or How to Use a Successful Trading System

How many books have you read about successful traders? How... Read More

Getting Started In Investing

Are you ready to open your pathway to financial independence?Well... Read More

How To Find An Investment Advisor

Do you think you need an Investment Advisor? Hold on... Read More

Now is the Time to Invest for Your Retirement!

Yes, it's the time we've all been waiting for?tax season!... Read More

Investing in Car Dealerships: Doing Your Homework

This article attempts to help give the investor a broader... Read More

Day Trading Strategy or Stock Trading Software? The Way You Pick Stocks Affects Your Results

The trading method you employ to approach the stock market... Read More

July 2005: Hurricane Forecasts for Weather Traders

Tropical Storm Arlene formed as a tropical depression on June... Read More

Seecrets on Investment: Tired of Making Huge Losses in the Stock Market ? Part 1

Over 80% of all individual investors lose money in any... Read More

The Economy Is Not The Stock Market

Several days ago, the Commerce Department reported that May's factory... Read More

How to Setup a Profitable Trading Business

In my opinion trading is the most exciting and best... Read More

To Retire Rich, Save and Invest Early

If you want to retire rich, start saving investing early.... Read More

Raising Capital Using a Public Company

Going public in this manner is ideal for companies that... Read More