Stocks that Float: TANKERS & DRY BULK SHIPPERS

[xanadu90]

The Stocks the Funds Are Buying
(Edit: among them: Horizon Lines, container shipper and
Golar LNG, Liquefied natural gas carrier, both 5star companies)

Tim Beyers
February 15, 2008

We all know which stocks have made Wall Street's Buy List. What I want to know -- and I'm guessing you do, too -- is who's doing the buying. Which funds are buying Wall Street's most popular stocks ... and how does their judgment compare with that of our Motley Fool CAPS community?

Here's our latest group of contenders:

Company Last closing price CAPS rating (out of 5)

Horizon Lines $22.22 *****

First American $37.23 **

Cosi $2.91 **

James River Coal $16.98 **

Rent-A-Center $18.39 **

Sources: Motley Fool CAPS, Yahoo! Finance.

Container shipper Horizon Lines has plenty of fund followers. Two earn the highly-coveted five-star rating from Morningstar. Allow me to introduce you:

* Vanguard Global Equity (VHGEX), whose team has produced five years of better-than-20% average annual returns. Impressive, yes? Yet Vanguard charges investors a measly 0.64 expense ratio annually.
* Sentinel Mid Cap Value Institutional (SYVIX), an institutional fund that demands a $1 million minimum investment. Lead manager Michael Steinberg is worth it. His picks have outperformed category peers by roughly four percentage points a year over the last five years.

Here's a look at what Steinberg's holding now:

Company Last closing price CAPS rating (out of 5)

Golar LNG (Nasdaq: GLNG) $20.69 *****

Delta Petroleum (Nasdaq: DPTR) $21.27 **

Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF) $9.18 ****

Arch Capital Group (Nasdaq: ACGL) $69.98 ****

International Flavors (NYSE: IFF) $42.74 **

Sources: Morningstar, Motley Fool CAPS.

This strikes me as an intriguing portfolio. Consider Golar, whose fleet of 12 ships transport liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Talk about an interesting business. LNG, once converted, can be cost-efficient to move to places pipelines can't reach without incurring major expense.

Brazil is a good example. Golar and Brazil's state-run oil firm, Petrobras (NYSE: PBR), signed a 10-year charter deal in April of last year. CAPS investor joe4cun predicted more such arrangements in January: "LNG inventory is nearing normal levels which has been depressing all LNG stocks. Entire category should move up as the winter progresses."

I'll add that Golar has been steadily increasing cash flow and, in the process, strengthening its balance sheet. Both are excellent signs for such a capital-intensive business.

But that's my take. What's yours? Would you own Golar, or any of the stocks in Sentinel Mid Cap Value's portfolio, at today's prices? Log into CAPS today and let us know what you think. It's 100% free to participate.

http://www.fool.com/investing/mutual-funds/2008/02/15/the-stocks-the-funds-are-buying.aspx