Reasons for investing, and for my original optimisim.
1) Ownership has "skin" in the game.
2) Wells Fargo: In the middle of tight credit during the recession, WFC put skin in the game too.
3) The People Behind Management, the Board Of Directors.
4) They have been in business a long time.
5) They have never done a reverse split.
6) They have 70+ employees
7) CUGI is not a typical PINK. Not with $30,000,000+ annual revenues.
8) Part of their stated business plan is to acquire other companies and products. They have Board Of Director members who have a successful history of doing just that.
My conclusion is that I am a "long" in CUGI and will let it ride as long as they keep growing.
I invest in people, not "cheap" stocks.
Thier Board Of Directors is filled with people who have run companies before. Some continue to do so. Several are involved with philanthropic endeavors. The only negative "tell" I view as a key to quality BofD members is that none are members of other company's BofD's.
Ownership has "Skin" in the game: In the last 8 months, there have been approximately 8 open market share purchases by insiders.
The largest share holders include several employees and directors, they have substatial skin in the game to be uninterested in increasing shareholder value.
Top 10 Other Holders: CUGI
Name Shares Estimated Value of Shares * Holdings Shares Outstanding Turnover Rating
Qvale (Kjell H) 21.22 M 5.84 M — 10.37% Medium
Melby (Colton R) 12.49 M 3.43 M — 6.10% Low
Saltz (Mitchell) 11.09 M 3.05 M — 5.42% —
Price (Thomas A) 8.14 M 2.24 M — 3.98% Medium
Miles (Walter & Whitney) 10 M 850,000.00 — 4.89% —
Hallock (Bradley J) 6.68 M 568,186.00 — 3.27% —
Clough (William J) 781,500 214,913.00 — 0.38% Low
Rooney (Sean P) 173,202 43,301.00 — 0.08% Low
Ford (Daniel N) 40,610 10,153.00 — 0.02% High
McKenzie (Matthew M) 20,305 5,888.00 — 0.01% High
Total % of Shares Owned by:
Top 10 Holders
34.51%
Next, all of these key developments are very positive:
CUI Global (CUGI): Key Developments
ALL DEVELOPMENTSEARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENTSPRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Related links:
Get quoteAll recent newsEarnings news
1/4/2011
Waytronx, Inc. Changes Name To CUI Global, Inc.
Waytronx, Inc. announced that CUI Global, Inc. is the new name for the platform company dedicated to the acquisition, development, and commercialization of new, innovative technologies.
8/10/2010
Waytronx, Inc. Retires Additional $2,000,000 In Debt
Waytronx, Inc. announced that the Company, along with its wholly owned subsidiaries, CUI Inc., a provider of electromechanical components and CUI-Japan, its Japanese subsidiary, and Comex Electronics, a partially owned (49%) Japanese subsidiary, announced that effective August 9, 2010, it has retired a total of $2,000,000 in debt associated with the Standby Letters of Credit (SBLC;s) underlying the $6,000,000 acquisition Term Note held by the Commerce Bank of Oregon (the Commerce Bank Note). Waytronx reports that five of the six SBLC holders, all investors in the company, chose to convert their SBLC's to equity and pay down the Commerce Bank Note accordingly. Said conversion will result in a reduction of the Commerce Bank Note from $6,000,000 to $4,000,000 and an equivalent reduction in monthly interest payments to Commerce Bank.
8/3/2010
Waytronx, Inc. Closes $4.0 Million Line of Credit
Waytronx, Inc. along with its wholly owned subsidiaries, CUI Inc, its Japanese subsidiary, and Comex Electronics, a partially owned (49%) Japanese subsidiary, announced that it has closed and funded a $4.0 million Line of Credit (LOC) with the Business Credit division of Wells Fargo Capital Finance, part of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. In addition to closing the LOC, Waytronx has transferred all of its banking relationship to Wells Fargo and has effectively ended its relationship with regional banking partner, Key Bank. In so doing, the Company has cured the technical default related to its Key Bank LOC and is back in full compliance with relevant financial covenants.
3/30/2010
Waytronx, Inc.'s Subsidiary Announces Advanced Power Topology License Agreement With California Power Research
Waytronx, Inc. announced that its subsidiary CUI, Inc. has entered into an exclusive Field of Use Agreement with California Power Research Inc to license their BPS-5 advanced power topology. BPS-5 provides advantages across a wide range of ac-dc and dc-dc power conversion applications through a significant reduction in switching losses within PWM circuits. This switching coss reduction translates to a potential for improved energy efficiency, faster transient response and increased power density when compared to the designs currently on the market.
3/2/2010
Waytronx, Inc. Issues Q4 2009 Revenue Guidance
Waytronx, Inc. announced that for fourth quarter of 2009, it expects revenue to be approximately $28.8 million.
The People behind management are not the very best, but they have very good backgrounds. My belief when investing is not that different than when hiring people. I am "hiring" these people. If I wouldn't hire them, I wouldn't invest in them. If I am not confident in the peoples' abilities based on their resumes, I will not invest in them either.
Colton Melby
Chairman of the Board
Mr. Melby has a 20 year background in aerospace manufacturing. He spent 15 years as owner and chief executive officer of Metal Form, Inc., serving worldwide customers, including: Boeing, Bombardier; Rockwell; Grumman; Lockheed Martin; and others. Under his stewardship, Metal Form was the recipient of numerous awards of excellence including Boeing's President Award and three consecutive "Supplier of the Year" awards.
Mr. Melby is a founding member of Melby Brothers Performance Investments, a firm with a strong history of financing successful start-up and turnaround organizations. One of Mr. Melby's more notable investments in that capacity was the financing and purchase of firearms-maker Smith & Wesson from London-based Tomkins PLC in 2001. Mr. Melby continues to invest both his time and resources in successful business ventures. This includes investments in Earth 911, a recycling company dedicated to green initiatives and green recycling.
Mr. Melby is an active philanthropist. He and his family are members of the Harvesters, an Orange County food bank dedicated to providing healthy meals to under privileged kids in Southern California. He is a member of the Cattle Baron's, a Texas charity providing support to the American Cancer Society.
Corey Lambrecht
Director
Corey Lambrecht is a 10+ year public company executive with broad experience in strategic acquisitions, new business development, pioneering consumer products, corporate licensing and interactive technology services. Mr. Lambrecht serves as Executive Vice President of Global Alerts, a leading Cause Media company. He most recently served as Director of Sales for Leveraged Marketing Associates, the worldwide leader in licensed brand extension strategies. While Executive Vice President for Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation he was responsible for Smith & Wesson Licensing, Advanced Technologies and Interactive Marketing divisions. He was the former President of A For Effort, an interactive database marketing company specializing in online content (advergaming) for clients such as the National Hockey League.
Mr. Lambrecht’s prior experience also includes Pre-IPO founder for Premium Cigars International and VP Sales/Marketing for ProductExpress.com. Mr. Lambrecht also has prior operational experience for a Scottsdale, Arizona residential and commercial development company.
Tom Price
Director
Thomas Price was appointed to the CUI Global board of directors in November 2007. Mr. Price is a business veteran with more than 30 years of business and operational management experience. He is the founder of Tom Price Dealership Group, a leading auto dealership that he grew to 11 franchises at six locations across California. Throughout the course of his career, Mr. Price has been involved in investor and manufacturer relations, and orchestrated the successful acquisition of his company, FirstAmerica Automotive by Sonic Automotive, one of the nation’s largest automotive retailers. Mr. Price has been credited for the successful completion of Serramonte Auto Plaza, an advanced, large-scale campus with innovative, industry-leading design features. Mr. Price also developed the multi-brand San Francisco Auto Repair Center and a conference facility in Larkspur, Calif.
Currently, Mr. Price is the owner of nine car dealerships in Northern California. He has received numerous awards for dealership excellence from manufacturers and has served on the National Dealer Advisory Boards of several major automobile manufacturers. He was Chairman of the Lexus National Dealer Advisory Board and charter member of the J.D. Power Dealer Roundtable. Mr. Price is also an active philanthropist. The Price Family Dealerships are major sponsors of Special Olympics of Marin, Dedication to Special Education, CASA/Advocates for Children, Marin Breast Cancer Council and the Golden Gate Shootout. In 2005, the Price Family Dealership raised substantial funds for Katrina relief.
Sean P. Rooney
Director
Mr. Rooney brings to the CUI Global Board nearly 15 years of financial management experience. Mr. Rooney currently serves as Senior Vice President - Investments for Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., a leading investment bank and full-service investment firm. Prior to joining Oppenheimer & Co., he served as Senior Vice President of Investments for Maxim Group LLC, a leading full service investment banking, securities and wealth management firm and in similar capacity at Investec Ernst & Company, an international specialist bank headquartered in South Africa and the U.K. Through his many years of experience, Mr. Rooney has built a vast network of industry resources and contacts.
Mr. Rooney graduated from C.W. Post University in 1993 with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Business Administration and holds Series 7 (General Securities Representative), Series 63 (Uniform Securities Law), and Series 24 (General Securities Principal) licenses.
Mr. Rooney currently manages a clientele of high net worth investors, institutions and foundations. His command of the ever-expanding universe of financial instruments enhances his ability to provide unbiased advice in each of his three core disciplines, money management, financial planning and estate planning.
