Weekly Guru Bargains Highlights: Apollo Group, SLM, Time Warner Cable, Amgen and Pepco Holdings

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May 09, 2009
Last week's top guru bargain highlights were Apollo Group Inc (APOL, Financial), SLM Corp (SLM, Financial), Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC, Financial), Amgen Inc (AMGN, Financial) and Pepco Holdings Inc. (POM, Financial). According to GuruFocus updates, these stocks have declined the most since Gurus have bought.


Apollo Group Inc. (APOL): Down 27% Since Kenneth Fisher Bought In the Quarter Ended on 2009-03-31

Kenneth Fisher initiated holdings in Specialized Consumer Services company Apollo Group Inc. during the quarter ended 03/31/2009. He owned 2,650 shares of as of 03/31/2009. Apollo Group Inc. has been providing higher education to working adults for over 25 years. The company has a market cap of $9.08 billion; its shares were traded at around $57.07 with a P/E ratio of 16.4 and P/S ratio of 2.9. Apollo Group Inc. had an annual average earning growth of 29.1% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Apollo Group Inc. the business predictability rank of 4-star.

Apollo recently reported its second quarter 2009 results. The company announced that its net revenue was $876 million, which was 26.3% higher than its second quarter 2008 results. “We are pleased with the growth in revenue and enrollments in our second quarter and we believe we are continuing to benefit from investments we are making in key academic and operational areas,” said Chas Edelstein, Chief Executive Officer of Apollo Group. “ University of Phoenix again contributed significantly to our results, driven by 20% Degreed Enrollment growth, bringing the total during the quarter to nearly 400,000 students. This growth would not be possible without the incredible commitment of our faculty and staff who work tirelessly to provide a high level of academic quality in the classroom and outstanding support to our students.”

Kenneth Fisher bought 2,650 shares in the quarter that ended on 03/31/2009. Ken Heebner bought 3,200,000 shares in the quarter that ended on 12/31/2008. Andreas Halvorsen owns 8,555,600 shares as of 12/31/2008, a decrease of 21.92% of from the previous quarter. Lee Ainslie owns 1,590,305 shares as of 12/31/2008, a decrease of 64.2% of from the previous quarter. Kenneth Fisher and John Hussman both sold out their holdings in the quarter that ended on 12/31/2008.

Many insiders are now selling Apollo Group, although its SVP, CFO and Treasurer, Brian L Swartz continues to buy the company. He bought 1,000 shares of APOL stock on 04/03/2009 at the average price of $67.6; the price of the stock has decreased by 15.58% since.

SLM Corp. (SLM): Down 13% Since Irving Kahn Bought In the Quarter Ended on 2009-03-31

Irving Kahn added to his holdings in Consumer Finance company SLM Corp. by 10.84% during the quarter ended 03/31/2009. He owned 1,138,113 shares of as of 03/31/2009. SLM Corporation is the one of nation's largest private sources of funding and servicing support for higher education loans for students and their parents. The company has a market cap of $3.1 billion; its shares were traded at around $6.64 with a P/E ratio of 9.8 and P/S ratio of 0.5. SLM Corp. had an annual average earning growth of 12.8% over the past 10 years.

SLM recently reported its first quarter 2009 results. The company announced that its first quarter net income was $14 million. However, after payment of dividends to holders of the company's preferred stock, the company reported a core earnings diluted loss per common share of 3 cents.

David Dreman bought 39,370 shares in the quarter that ended on 03/31/2009, which is less than 0.01% of the $5.74 billion portfolio of Dreman Value Management. Irving Kahn owns 1,138,113 shares as of 03/31/2009, an increase of 10.84% from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 1.62% of the $347 million portfolio of Kahn Brothers & Company Inc.. Ruane Cunniff sold out his holdings in the quarter that ended on 12/31/2008.

Many of SLM's insiders are increasing their positions in the company. Executive Vice President & CLO John J Hewes bought 15,000 shares of SLM stock on 01/30/2009. Additionally, Earl A Goode and Anthony P Terracciano also bought more shares of the company.

Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC): Down 11% Since Brian Rogers Bought In the Quarter Ended on 2009-03-31

Brian Rogers initiated holdings in Broadcasting & Entertainment company Time Warner Cable Inc. during the quarter ended 03/31/2009. He owned 1,275,967 shares of as of 03/31/2009. Time Warner Cable Inc. is the second-largest cable operator in the U.S. and an industry leader in developing and launching innovative video data and voice services. The company has a market cap of $11.66 billion; its shares were traded at around $35.82 with a P/E ratio of 9.6 and P/S ratio of 0.7.

Time Warner Cable recently reported its first quarter 2009 results. The company announced that its revenue increased 5% year over year to $4.4 billion. Revenue was $4.2 billion a year ago in the same period. Time Warner Cable Chief Executive Officer Glenn Britt said: “Time Warner Cable performed well in the first quarter, growing revenues, adjusted OIBDA and free cash flow from last year. We added very healthy numbers of new subscribers to our video, high-speed data and phone services, and our commercial services business continued to grow rapidly. We’re excited to be an independent company. Cable is a very good business, and our operations are strong and growing despite a challenging economy. We continue to generate very healthy free cash flow which will enable us to reduce debt over the next year.”

Brian Rogers bought 1,275,967 shares in the quarter that ended on 03/31/2009. Kenneth Fisher bought 1,532,907 shares in the quarter that ended on 03/31/2009. John Paulson owns 1,450,000 shares as of 12/31/2008, which accounts for 0.51% of the $6.07 billion portfolio of Paulson & Co.. George Soros owns 13,695 shares as of 12/31/2008, which accounts for 0.01% of the $3.06 billion portfolio of Soros Fund Management LLC. Carl Icahn sold out his holdings in the quarter that ended on 12/31/2008.

Sell: EVP & Chief Strategy Officer Peter C Stern sold 193 shares of TWC stock on 04/30/2009 at the average price of $31.74; the price of the stock has increased by 12.85% since.

Amgen Inc. (AMGN): Down 12% Since John Hussman Bought In the Quarter Ended on 2009-03-31

John Hussman added to his holdings in Biotechnology company Amgen Inc. by 25% during the quarter ended 03/31/2009. He owned 2,500,000 shares of as of 03/31/2009. Amgen Inc. discovers develops and delivers innovative human therapeutics. It has a market cap of $48.21 billion; its shares were traded at around $47.2 with a P/E ratio of 10.6 and P/S ratio of 3.3. Amgen Inc. had an annual average earning growth of 19.2% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Amgen Inc. the business predictability rank of 4-star.

Amgen recently reported its first quarter 2009 results. The company announced that its revwenue decreased 8% to $3.3 billion. The company also saw a drop in 2009 Total Revenue Guidance Range. GAAP EPS decreased 3% to 98 cents.

John Hussman owns 2,500,000 shares as of 03/31/2009, an increase of 25% from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 3.04% of the $4.07 billion portfolio of Hussman Economtrics Advisors, Inc.. Richard Snow owns 1,174,155 shares as of 03/31/2009, a decrease of 23.34% of from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 3.42% of the $1.7 billion portfolio of Snow Capital Management, L.P.. Three gurus sold out the company: David Dreman, Ronald Muhlenkamp and Charles Brandes.

Many of Amgen's insiders are selling off their shares of the company, including: Kevin W Sharer, the company's CEO. Other insiders include Brian M Mcnamee and Thomas James Flanagan

Pepco Holdings Inc. (POM): Down 16% Since John Hussman Bought In the Quarter Ended on 2009-03-31

John Hussman added to his holdings in Electricity company Pepco Holdings Inc. by 50% during the quarter ended 03/31/2009. He owned 300,000 shares of as of 03/31/2009. Pepco Holdings Inc. is an energy holding company. Pepco has been providing reliable electric service for more than one hundred years. The company has a market cap of $2.78 billion; its shares were traded at around $12.66 with a P/E ratio of 6.6 and P/S ratio of 0.3. The dividend yield of Pepco Holdings Inc. stocks is 8.5%.

Pepco Holdings recently reported its fourth quarter and full year 2008 results. The company reported that it had earnings of about $300 million, or $1.47 per share. This is $34 million lower than the company's earnings results of 2007. “The year 2008 marks an outstanding year of financial performance for our operating businesses,” said Dennis R. Wraase, Chairman of the Board. “In Power Delivery, we set out to earn a fair return on our infrastructure investments, control costs and start the process of decoupling revenue from kilowatt hour sales. Our results for the year reflect our achievements in these areas as well as the performance of Conectiv Energy and Pepco Energy Services, each of which continued its track record of posting strong results.”

David Dreman bought 15,070 shares in the quarter that ended on 03/31/2009, which is less than 0.01% of the $5.74 billion portfolio of Dreman Value Management. Robert Bruce bought 10,900 shares in the quarter that ended on 12/31/2008, which is 0.27% of the $72 million portfolio of Bruce & Co., Inc.. John Hussman owns 300,000 shares as of 03/31/2009, an increase of 50% from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 0.09% of the $4.07 billion portfolio of Hussman Economtrics Advisors, Inc..

Many of Pepco's insiders are increasing their positions in the company, including President and CEO Joseph M Rigby. Many other directors, such as Lester P Silverman, also increased their positions in the company.