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Executive Summary	April 30, 2010

The Economy A lot has happened in the financial world over the past fortnight -- namely Europe's big debt problems coming to a head and Goldman Sachs' brass getting grilled on Capitol Hill. But amid the hoopla, the U.S. economy is continuing to show signs that it has stabilized and is in recovery mode. One of the big pieces to the recovery puzzle has been corporate earnings. With close to half the companies in the S&P 500 having reported, first-quarter operating earnings have been on average 76% higher than they were a year ago (and it's worth noting that the spread between operating and as-reported earnings was about 10% as of April 20, nowhere near the huge spreads seen during the writeoff-marred financial crisis). If that continues, it would be the greatest year-over-year increase on record, according to Standard & Poor's, the Associated Press reported this week. Part of the reason for the corporate rebound is the government -- near-record-low interest rates, bailouts, and stimulus funding have all played big roles in helping corporate America. But another key reason is the U.S. consumer, who has been surprising many of those who thought they were tapped out. Last newsletter I discussed how retail sales posted a big surprise gain in March, and there are signs the gains will continue. The Conference Board reported this week that its Consumer Confidence Index jumped more than 10% in April, reaching its highest level since September 2008. (It's important to keep in mind, however, that the April reading -- 57.9 -- is still well below the 90 reading that signifies a stable economy.) Another sign consumers are spending: The most recent U.S. trade data from the Census Bureau shows that imports jumped 1.6% in February. Exports also rose slightly, also a good sign. The increased demand indicates that the recovery may be entering self-sustaining mode. While cost-cutting drove bottom-line growth in the earlier parts of the turnaround, top-line growth in the last two quarters (including the current one) has beaten consensus estimates by a greater amount than bottom-line growth has beaten estimates, something strategist Liz Ann Sonders -- who called both the start of the recession and the turnaround -- noted this week. "That tells you we are two quarters past the point where it was really all about cost-cutting and very little about top-line sales growth," Sonders said in an interview. "Certainly the estimates out through the rest of 2010 reflect a very strong environment for top-line growth, not just bottom-line growth." If that does indeed transpire, hiring should pick up (as it did in March). And more jobs means more people with money to spend -- and thus a self-sustaining recovery that can withstand the withdrawal of government support for the economy. Speaking of government support, questions continue to hover over the housing market, with many fearing that we're headed for the second leg of a double-dip in home prices as government incentive programs wind down. But the most recent housing data hasn't been bad -- in fact, the National Association of Realtors reported last week that existing-home sales rose almost 7% in March, and now stand more than 16% above their year-ago levels. The Commerce Department also reported that new-home sales jumped 27% in March, the biggest gain in almost 50 years. And while some recent headlines referenced the "fourth straight month" of home price declines, they don't tell the whole story. Yes, the most recent S&P/Case-Shiller readings (which are for the month of February) showed that a 20-city index of home prices fell for the fourth straight month. But those numbers weren't seasonally adjusted. The seasonally-adjusted figures show that prices fell in February by less than a tenth of a percent, and that the dip was the first monthly decline since May 2009. It was also the first time since late 2006 that monthly home prices came in above the year-ago levels, a good sign. Residential construction has also been picking up, with building permits and housing starts both up in March. All of that being said, a huge question for the economy and market remains what will happen when the government's support of the housing market comes to an end. The homebuyer tax credit programs are set to expire at the end of April, though other programs -- including Fannie Mae's "seller assistance" incentive for properties in foreclosure -- remain. Finally, another big question for the economy and stock market is how the European debt crisis will impact the U.S. Greece, Portugal, and Spain all had their debt ratings cut this week, and some fear the same fate awaits more nations in the Euro zone. For now, however, the continued signs of economic progress at home and low interest rate environment (which the Federal Reserve has indicated will continue) have somewhat counterbalanced the negatives in the market and economy. The S&P 500 has returned -0.4% since our last newsletter, while the Hot List has returned -3.0%. That means the portfolio is up 10.7% in 2010 vs. 8.2% for the S&P, and since its July 2003 inception the Hot List has gained 166.7%, while the index is up just 20.6%. The Gloomy Bull Stocks are up close to 80% off their March 2009 lows, the economy is showing clear signs of recovery, and companies are posting strong earnings and in many cases sporting solid balance sheets. But you probably wouldn't know it if you listen to the financial news or read what the pundits have to say. As my colleague Jon Markman said this past week, this may well be "the most morose bull market in history". When it comes to individual investors, several numbers bear that out. First off, there's the American Association of Individual Investors' sentiment survey. The latest survey shows that the eight-week moving average of investors who say they are bullish is at about 41%, only slightly higher than the historical average (since mid-1987) of 39% -- but much lower than levels that have been reached in past bull markets. In fact, since the March 2009 market low, the highest eight-week average bullish reading has been 43%. In the two previous bull markets, the figure at times climbed above 50%, and even above 60% on occasion. And, while stocks have been soaring, individual investors have by no means been pumping money into the market. According to another AAII survey, individual investors had about 59% of the portfolios in stocks as of the end of March, a bit below the 60% historical average (since late 1987). More striking are fund flow figures, some of which MarketWatch's Mark Hulbert recently highlighted. Hulbert noted that, according to TrimTabs Investment Research, a total of $601.6 billion of new money was invested in open-end mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in the past year. Almost three-quarters of that -- $440 billion -- went into bond funds; about $105 billion, or 18%, went into international stocks; and about $53 billion, or 9%, went into hybrid and commodity funds. That leaves a mere $2.8 billion -- about one-half of 1 percent -- that went into domestic stocks. Equity purchasing by individuals has been higher of late, but by no means feverish. Hulbert, again citing TrimTabs data, says that in April (through April 23), $22.1 billion of new money had been invested in bond funds, with $8.3 billion in international stocks, $2.7 billion in hybrid and commodity funds, and $3.3 billion in domestic stocks. That means about 9% of new money went into domestic equities. Fund flow data can vary depending on where you look, but other groups seem to be finding somewhat similar results. Investment Company Institute data shows that since April 2009, huge sums of money have flowed into bond mutual funds, while domestic equity flows have actually been negative. Like TrimTabs, ICI's data shows that more money has flowed into equities recently (about $5.3 billion in the first three weeks of April), but that bond funds (which took in almost $19 billion in the same period) continue to absorb the majority of new money. And Morningstar says that U.S. stock ETF flows were negative ($-14.5 billion) in 2009 and again in the first quarter of 2010 (-$2.9 billion), while bond ETF flows (including taxable and municipal bonds) were positive in 2009 ($38.7 billion) and the first quarter of this year ($8.8 billion). (That trend did change in March, however, as domestic stock ETFs took in $10.9 billion and taxable and municipal bond funds took in about $4.7 billion.) All of this shouldn't come as a big surprise. The fact that the rally has been led by institutional investors, which poured more than $56 billion into equities in the fourth quarter of 2009 alone (according to TrimTabs' analysis of Federal Reserve data) makes sense. The financial crisis of 2008 and early 2009 and the accompanying bear market were among the worst the U.S. had experienced in decades. Such events take an emotional toll, particularly on individual investors. Institutions may have asset allocation targets that require them to have a certain portion of their portfolios in stocks, and they also may have the experience and expertise that provide them with more conviction to buy during a big bear market. Many individual investors don't have either of those factors pushing them back toward equities. If you've been invested in stocks during the rally, you should thus be commended for exercising discipline and long-term thinking, and not bowing to the fears that have led so many individuals to miss out on some huge gains. When will individual investors really start to return to stocks? No one knows for sure. The fear generated by the crisis of late '08/early '09 may linger in the minds of many for some time. But the fact that so many remain on the sidelines (or underinvested), in combination with decent valuations for the broader market, is an indication that we're far from the "irrational exuberance" that has killed other bull runs. Of course, that doesn't mean the market can't or won't hit some short-term problems -- there are plenty of issues still confronting the economy both at home and abroad. But the backdrop of muted sentiment, along with decent valuations for the broader market, should continue to help provide ample opportunity to find and profit from strong, undervalued individual stocks.		Editor-in-Chief: John Reese Since Inception   Hot List 166.7% S&P 500 20.6% Accuracy 56.9% Beta 1.2 YTD   Hot List 10.7% S&P 500 8.2% Since Last Issue   Hot List -3.0% S&P 500 -0.4% Avg. Fundamentals   Market Cap (mil) $20,634 PE Ratio 16.5 5 Yr EPS Growth 25.3% Yield 5.4% Rel. Strength 58 Portfolio Sectors Services 5 Consumer Cyclical 2 Financial 1 Healthcare 1 Capital Goods 1
Advertisement Validea Capital Management - Private Portfolio Management Based on Strategies of Legends Are you looking for an alternative to your underperforming mutual funds or financial advisor? Click here to download Validea Capital's investment kit and learn more about the firm's guru-based portfolios. Get More Information on Validea Capital! ** Validea Capital Management is a separate investment advisory firm managed by Validea.com founder John Reese. Thre information above in not intended as personal investment advice and should not be interpreted as such. Guru Spotlight: David Dreman While all the gurus I follow have built their fame and fortunes using different investment approaches, there is at least one striking similarity that most -- if not all -- of them share: They are contrarians. When the rest of Wall Street is zigging, they are zagging; when Wall Street zags, they zig. By having the strength of conviction to march to their own drummers and not follow the crowd, they have been able to key in on the types of strong, undervalued stocks that have made them -- and their clients or shareholders -- very happy. But while most of the gurus upon which my strategies are based are contrarians, one stands out among all the others: David Dreman. Throughout his long career, Dreman has sifted through the market's dregs in order to find hidden gems, and he has been very, very good at it. His Kemper-Dreman High Return Fund was one of the best-performing mutual funds ever, ranking number one out of 255 funds in its peer groups from 1988 to 1998, according to Lipper Analytical Services. And when Dreman published Contrarian Investment Strategies: The Next Generation (the book on which I base my Dreman strategy) in 1998, the fund had been ranked number one in more time periods than any of the 3,175 funds in Lipper's database. Throughout his career, Dreman has keyed in on down-and-out diamonds in the rough, finding winners in such beaten-up stocks as Altria (after the tobacco stock plummeted amid lawsuit concerns) and Tyco (which had been hit hard by an embarrassing CEO fiasco). How -- and why -- did Dreman manage to pick winners from groups of stocks that few other investors would touch? Well, Dreman, perhaps more than any other guru I follow, is a student of investor psychology. And at the core of his research is the belief that investors tend to overvalue the "best" stocks -- those "hot" stocks everyone seems to be buying -- and undervalue the "worst" stocks -- those that people are avoiding like the plague, like Altria and Tyco. In addition, he also believed that the market was driven largely by how investors reacted to "surprises", frequent events that include earnings reports that exceed or fall short of expectations, government actions, or news about new products. And, he believed that analysts were more often than not wrong about their earnings forecasts, which leads to a lot of these surprises. When you put those factors together, you get the crux of Dreman's contrarian philosophy. Surprises happen often, and because the "best" stocks are often overvalued, good surprises can't increase their values that much more. Bad surprises, however, can have a very negative impact on them. The "worst" stocks, meanwhile, are so undervalued that they don't have much further down to go when bad surprises occur. But when good surprises occur, they have a lot of room to grow. By taking a "contrarian" approach -- i.e. targeting out-of-favor stocks and avoiding in-favor stocks -- Dreman found you could make a killing. Specifically, Dreman compared a stock's price to four fundamentals: earnings, cash flow, book value, and dividend yield. If a stock's price/earnings, price/cash flow, price/book value, or price/dividend ratio was in the bottom 20% of the market, it was a sign that investors weren't paying it much attention. And to Dreman, that was a sign that these stocks could end up becoming winners. (In my Dreman-based model, a firm is required to be in the bottom 20% of the market in at least two of those four categories to earn "contrarian" status.) But Dreman also realized that just because a stock was overlooked, it wasn't necessarily a good buy. After all, investors sometimes are right to avoid certain poorly performing companies. What Dreman wanted to find were good companies that were being ignored, often because of apathy or overblown fears about the stock or its industry. To find those good firms, he used a variety of fundamental tests. Among them were return on equity (he wanted a stock's ROE to be in the top third of the 1,500 largest stocks in the market); the current ratio (which he wanted to be greater than the stock's industry average, or greater than 2); pre-tax profit margins (which should be at least 8 percent), and the debt/equity ratio (which should be below the industry average, or below 20 percent). By using those and other fundamental tests in conjunction with his contrarian indicator tests (the low P/E, P/CF, P/B, and P/D criteria we reviewed before), he was able to have great success finding strong but unloved firms that had the potential to take off once investors caught on to their true strength. Because Dreman took advantage of the overreactions of others, he found that one of the best times to invest was during a crisis. "A market crisis presents an outstanding opportunity to profit, because it lets loose overreaction at its wildest," he wrote in Contrarian Investment Strategies. "People no longer examine what a stock is worth; instead, they are fixated by prices cascading ever lower. Further, the event triggering the crisis is always considered to be something entirely new." Dreman's advice: "Buy during a panic, don't sell." This type of contrarian approach isn't for the faint-of-heart. You never know exactly when fear will subside and investors will wake up to a bargain they've been overlooking. And that means the stocks this model targets may very well keep falling in the short term after you buy them, which, for my Dreman-based portfolio, is what happened during the recent financial crisis and bear market. The portfolio, which had trounced the S&P from its inception through 2006, fell on tough times as fears about the economy grew, lagging the S&P by about 15 percentage points in both 2007 and 2008. But, as fears abated and the crisis passed, investors began to recognize the strong stocks they'd been shunning. And the Dreman portfolio has reaped the benefits, returning more than 37% in 2009 (vs. 23.5% for the S&P) and another 10% or so thus far this year (vs. about 6% for the S&P), putting it well ahead of the broader market for the long haul. The Dreman portfolio has now returned about 70% (more than 8% annualized) since its July 2003 inception, compared to about 18% (or 2.5% annualized) for the S&P 500. As you might imagine, the portfolio will tread into areas of the market others ignore because of its contrarian bent. Its current holdings, for example, include several picks from some of the most maligned sectors -- four from the financial sector (which is still the subject of much investor skepticism); three from healthcare (which many have shied away from because of fears about the new healthcare bill's impact); and even one from the airline industry, which has had its fair share of problems in recent years, including the impact of the Iceland volcano's eruption. Here's the full list of the portfolio's holdings: Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO) Telefonica S.A. (TEF) Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) Mercury General Corporation (MCY) Annaly Capital Management (NLY) American Financial Group (AFG) WellPoint, Inc. (WLP) Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA (GOL) News about Validea Hot List Stocks ITT Educational Services: On April 22, ITT reported first-quarter net income of $87.5 million ($2.46 per share), up 44% from the year-ago period. Revenues jumped 33% to $384 million as enrollment increased by 22%. Both earnings and revenue results topped analysts' expectations of $2.28 in EPS on revenue of $373 million, the Associated Press reported. Shares fell, however, due to fears of a regulatory crackdown on for-profit education firms, AP added. The Brink's Company (BCO): Brink's has acquired a majority stake in a Russian cash processing business. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Brink's said the move complements the acquisition of a cash-in-transit business it made in the first quarter of 2009. Brink's now has about 500 employees in Russia. The Next Issue In two weeks, we will publish another issue of the Hot List, at which time we will rebalance the portfolio. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at hotlist@validea.com.

Current Portfolio Ticker Company Name Industry Guru Score ARO AEROPOSTALE, INC. Retail (Apparel) 53 TSTC TELESTONE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION Communications Services 51 SNY SANOFI-AVENTIS SA (ADR) Biotechnology & Drugs 49 CAAS CHINA AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, INC. Auto & Truck Parts 47 ARCC ARES CAPITAL CORPORATION Misc. Financial Services 47 ESI ITT EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, INC. Schools 47 BCO THE BRINK'S COMPANY Security Systems & Services 45 TEF TELEFONICA S.A. (ADR) Communications Services 40 LULU LULULEMON ATHLETICA INC. Apparel/Accessories 35 EME EMCOR GROUP, INC. Construction Services 24 Ticker Market Cap Date Added Start Price Current Price Return ARO $2,869 11/27/2009 $20.99 $30.45 45.0% TSTC $151 4/16/2010 $14.09 $14.31 1.6% SNY $89,999 3/19/2010 $38.45 $34.13 -11.2% CAAS $599 4/16/2010 $21.39 $22.16 3.6% ARCC $2,180 3/19/2010 $13.51 $16.40 21.4% ESI $3,570 10/30/2009 $90.35 $103.36 14.4% BCO $1,281 3/19/2010 $27.86 $26.76 -3.9% TEF $100,925 4/16/2010 $71.45 $66.34 -7.2% LULU $2,809 4/16/2010 $44.62 $39.84 -10.7% EME $1,956 1/22/2010 $24.55 $29.50 20.2%

Detailed Stock Analysis Disclaimer: The analysis is from Validea's selection and interpretation of content from the guru's book or published writings, and is not from nor endorsed by the guru. See Full Disclaimer ARO   |   TSTC   |   SNY   |   CAAS   |   ARCC   |   ESI   |   BCO   |   TEF   |   LULU   |   EME   |   AEROPOSTALE, INC. Profile Strategy: Growth/Value Investor Based on: James P. O'Shaughnessy Aeropostale, Inc. is a mall-based specialty retailer of casual apparel and accessories. The Company designs, markets and sells its own brand of merchandise principally targeting 14 to 17 year-old young women and young men. The Company also sells Aropostale merchandise through its e-commerce Website, www.aeropostale.com. During the fiscal year ended January 30, 2010 (fiscal 2009), the Company launched P.S. from Aeropostale, which offers casual clothing and accessories focused on elementary school children between the ages of 7 and 12. During fiscal 2009, the Company completed the closure of its 14 store Jimmy'Z concept. Jimmy'Z Surf Co., Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Aeropostale, Inc., was a contemporary lifestyle brand targeting young women and men aged 18 to 25. Analysis Guru Score: 75% MARKET CAP: [PASS] The first requirement of the Cornerstone Growth Strategy is that the company has a market capitalization of at least $150 million. This will screen out the companies that are too illiquid for most investors, but still include a small growth company. ARO, with a market cap of $2,869 million, passes this criterion. EARNINGS PER SHARE PERSISTENCE: [PASS] The Cornerstone Growth methodology looks for companies that show persistent earnings growth without regard to magnitude. To fulfill this requirement, a company's earnings must increase each year for a five year period. ARO, whose annual EPS before extraordinary items for the last 5 years (from earliest to the most recent fiscal year) were 0.67, 0.88, 1.15, 1.47 and 2.27, passes this test. PRICE/SALES RATIO: [PASS] The Price/Sales ratio should be below 1.5. This value criterion, coupled with the growth criterion, identify growth stocks that are still cheap to buy. ARO's Price/Sales ratio of 1.29, based on trailing 12 month sales, passes this criterion. RELATIVE STRENGTH: [FAIL] The final criterion for the Cornerstone Growth Strategy requires that the Relative Strength of the company be among the top 50 of the stocks screened using the previous criterion. This gives you the opportunity to buy the growth stocks you are searching for just as the market is embracing them. ARO has a relative strength of 50. This does not pass the final criterion. As a result, this methodology would not consider the stock even though it passed the previous three criteria.   TELESTONE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION Profile Strategy: P/E/Growth Investor Based on: Peter Lynch Telestone Technologies Corporation (Telestone) is an access network solutions provider serving the Chinese market. The Company's access network solutions include research and development and application of access network technology. In addition to its homegrown access network equipment, which includes repeaters, antennas and radio frequency peripherals, it also offers project design, project management, installation, maintenance and other after-sales services required by its customers. The solutions, which the Company provides to the telecommunications industry consists of indoor and outdoor environments, including hotels, residential estates, office buildings, airports, exhibition centers, underground stations, highways and tunnels. Analysis Guru Score: 91% DETERMINE THE CLASSIFICATION: This methodology would consider TSTC a "fast-grower". P/E/GROWTH RATIO: [PASS] The investor should examine the P/E (11.88) relative to the growth rate (20.41%), based on the average of the 3, 4 and 5 year historical eps growth rates, for a company. This is a quick way of determining the fairness of the price. In this particular case, the P/E/G ratio for TSTC (0.58) makes it favorable. SALES AND P/E RATIO: [NEUTRAL] For companies with sales greater than $1 billion, this methodology likes to see that the P/E ratio remain below 40. Large companies can have a difficult time maintaining a growth rate high enough to support a P/E above this threshold. TSTC, whose sales are $71.9 million, is not considered large enough to apply the P/E ratio analysis. However, an investor can analyze the P/E ratio relative to the EPS growth rate. EPS GROWTH RATE: [PASS] This methodology favors companies that have several years of fast earnings growth, as these companies have a proven formula for growth that in many cases can continue many more years. This methodology likes to see earnings growth in the range of 20% to 50%, as earnings growth over 50% may be unsustainable. The EPS growth rate for TSTC is 20.4%, based on the average of the 3, 4 and 5 year historical eps growth rates, which is considered very good. TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: [PASS] This methodology would consider the Debt/Equity ratio for TSTC (8.99%) to be exceptionally low (equity is at least ten times debt). This ratio is one quick way to determine the financial strength of the company. FREE CASH FLOW: [NEUTRAL] The Free Cash Flow/Price ratio, though not a requirement, is considered a bonus if it is above 35%. A positive Cash Flow (the higher the better) separates a wonderfully reliable investment from a shaky one. This methodology prefers not to invest in companies that rely heavily on capital spending. This ratio for TSTC (0.28%) is too low to add to the attractiveness of the stock. Keep in mind, however, that it does not adversely affect the company as it is a bonus criteria. NET CASH POSITION: [NEUTRAL] Another bonus for a company is having a Net Cash/Price ratio above 30%. Lynch defines net cash as cash and marketable securities minus long term debt. According to this methodology, a high value for this ratio dramatically cuts down on the risk of the security. The Net Cash/Price ratio for TSTC (7.85%) is too low to add to the attractiveness of this company. Keep in mind, however, that it does not adversely affect the company as it is a bonus criteria.   SANOFI-AVENTIS SA (ADR) Profile Strategy: Growth/Value Investor Based on: James P. O'Shaughnessy Sanofi-Aventis is a pharmaceutical group engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of healthcare products. The Company's business includes two main activities: pharmaceuticals and human vaccines through sanofi pasteur. The Company is also present in animal health products through Merial Limited (Merial). In its pharmaceutical activity, the Company specializes in six therapeutic areas: diabetes, oncology, thrombosis and cardiovascular, central nervous system (CNS), and internal medicine. The global portfolio of sanofi-aventis also consists of a range of other pharmaceutical products in Consumer Health Care (CHC) and other prescription drugs, including generics. It offers vaccines in five areas: pediatric combination vaccines, influenza vaccines, adult and adolescent booster vaccines, meningitis vaccines and travel and endemic vaccines. Analysis Guru Score: 100% MARKET CAP: [PASS] The Cornerstone Value Strategy looks for large, well known companies whose market cap is greater than $1 billion. These companies exhibit solid and stable earnings. SNY's market cap of $89,999 million passes this test. CASH FLOW PER SHARE: [PASS] The second criterion requires that the company exhibit strong cash flows. Companies with strong cash flow are typically the value oriented investments that this strategy looks for. The company's cash flow per share must be greater than the mean of the market cash flow per share ($0.82). SNY's cash flow per share of $4.13 passes this test. SHARES OUTSTANDING: [PASS] This particular strategy looks for companies whose total number of outstanding shares are in excess of the market average (662 million shares). These are the more well known and highly traded companies. SNY, who has 2,614 million shares outstanding, passes this test. TRAILING 12 MONTH SALES: [PASS] A company's trailing 12 month sales ($40,724 million) are required to be 1.5 times greater than the mean of the market's trailing 12 month sales ($16,449 million). SNY passes this test. DIVIDEND: [PASS] The final step in the Cornerstone Value strategy is to select the 50 companies from the market leaders group (those that have passed the previous four criteria) that have the highest dividend yield. SNY, with a dividend yield of 4.77%, is one of the 50 companies that satisfy this last criterion.   CHINA AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, INC. Profile Strategy: P/E/Growth Investor Based on: Peter Lynch China Automotive Systems, Inc. (China Automotive) is a holding company and has no significant business operations or assets other than its interest in Great Genesis Holdings Limited (Genesis). Through Genesis, the Company manufactures power steering systems and other component parts for automobiles. All operations are conducted through eight Sino-foreign joint ventures in China and a wholly owned subsidiary in the United States. The Company has business relations with more than 60 vehicle manufacturers, including FAW Group and Dongfeng Auto Group, automobile manufacturers in China; Shenyang Brilliance Jinbei Co., Ltd., light vehicle manufacturer in China; Chery Automobile Co., Ltd, state-owned car manufacturer in China, and Xi'an BYD Auto Co., Ltd and Zhejiang Geely Automobile Co., Ltd., car manufacturers. Analysis Guru Score: 91% DETERMINE THE CLASSIFICATION: This methodology would consider CAAS a "fast-grower". P/E/GROWTH RATIO: [PASS] The investor should examine the P/E (28.45) relative to the growth rate (42.09%), based on the average of the 3, 4 and 5 year historical eps growth rates, for a company. This is a quick way of determining the fairness of the price. In this particular case, the P/E/G ratio for CAAS (0.68) makes it favorable. SALES AND P/E RATIO: [NEUTRAL] For companies with sales greater than $1 billion, this methodology likes to see that the P/E ratio remain below 40. Large companies can have a difficult time maintaining a growth rate high enough to support a P/E above this threshold. CAAS, whose sales are $256.4 million, is not considered large enough to apply the P/E ratio analysis. However, an investor can analyze the P/E ratio relative to the EPS growth rate. INVENTORY TO SALES: [PASS] When inventories increase faster than sales, it is a red flag. However an increase of up to 5% is considered bearable if all other ratios appear attractive. Inventory to sales for CAAS was 17.09% last year, while for this year it is 11.63%. Since inventory to sales has decreased from last year by -5.46%, CAAS passes this test. EPS GROWTH RATE: [PASS] This methodology favors companies that have several years of fast earnings growth, as these companies have a proven formula for growth that in many cases can continue many more years. This methodology likes to see earnings growth in the range of 20% to 50%, as earnings growth over 50% may be unsustainable. The EPS growth rate for CAAS is 42.1%, based on the average of the 3, 4 and 5 year historical eps growth rates, which is considered 'OK'. However, it may be difficult to sustain such a high growth rate. TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: [PASS] This methodology would consider the Debt/Equity ratio for CAAS (69.01%) to be mediocre. If the Debt/Equity ratio is this high, the other ratios and financial statistics for CAAS should be good enough to compensate. FREE CASH FLOW: [NEUTRAL] The Free Cash Flow/Price ratio, though not a requirement, is considered a bonus if it is above 35%. A positive Cash Flow (the higher the better) separates a wonderfully reliable investment from a shaky one. This methodology prefers not to invest in companies that rely heavily on capital spending. This ratio for CAAS (2.44%) is too low to add to the attractiveness of the stock. Keep in mind, however, that it does not adversely affect the company as it is a bonus criteria. NET CASH POSITION: [NEUTRAL] Another bonus for a company is having a Net Cash/Price ratio above 30%. Lynch defines net cash as cash and marketable securities minus long term debt. According to this methodology, a high value for this ratio dramatically cuts down on the risk of the security. The Net Cash/Price ratio for CAAS (6.10%) is too low to add to the attractiveness of this company. Keep in mind, however, that it does not adversely affect the company as it is a bonus criteria.   ARES CAPITAL CORPORATION Profile Strategy: Growth Investor Based on: Martin Zweig Ares Capital Corporation (Ares Capital) is a specialty finance company, which is a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company. Ares Capital's investment objective is to generate both current income and capital appreciation through debt and equity investments. It invests in United States middle-market companies. It invests primarily in first and second lien senior loans and mezzanine debt, which in some cases includes an equity component like warrants. First and second lien senior loans generally are senior debt instruments that rank ahead of subordinated debt of a given portfolio company. Its investments have ranged between $10 million and $100 million each, although the investment sizes may be more or less than the targeted range. The Company's investment adviser is Ares Capital Management LLC. In April 2010, Ares Capital Corporation completed its merger with Allied Capital Corporation. Analysis Guru Score: 85% P/E RATIO: [PASS] The P/E of a company must be greater than 5 to eliminate weak companies, but not more than 3 times the current Market P/E because the situation is much too risky, and never greater than 43. ARCC's P/E is 8.21, based on trailing 12 month earnings, while the current market PE is 21.00. Therefore, it passes the first test. REVENUE GROWTH IN RELATION TO EPS GROWTH: [PASS] Revenue Growth must not be substantially less than earnings growth. For earnings to continue to grow over time they must be supported by a comparable or better sales growth rate and not just by cost cutting or other non-sales measures. ARCC's revenue growth is 68.62%, while it's earnings growth rate is 19.24%, based on the average of the 3, 4 and 5 year historical eps growth rates. Therefore, ARCC passes this criterion. SALES GROWTH RATE: [PASS] Another important issue regarding sales growth is that the rate of quarterly sales growth is rising. To evaluate this, the change from this quarter last year to the present quarter (10.4%) must be examined, and then compared to the previous quarter last year compared to the previous quarter (-1.9%) of the current year. Sales growth for the prior must be greater than the latter. For ARCC this criterion has been met. The earnings numbers of a company should be examined from various different angles. Three of these angles are stability in the trend of earnings, earnings persistence, and earnings acceleration. To evaluate stability, the stock has to pass the following four criteria. CURRENT QUARTER EARNINGS: [PASS] The first of these criteria is that the current EPS be positive. ARCC's EPS ($0.65) pass this test. QUARTERLY EARNINGS ONE YEAR AGO: [FAIL] The EPS for the quarter one year ago must be positive. ARCC's EPS for this quarter last year ($-1.17) fail this test. POSITIVE EARNINGS GROWTH RATE FOR CURRENT QUARTER: [PASS] The growth rate of the current quarter's earnings compared to the same quarter a year ago must also be positive. ARCC's growth rate of 155.56% passes this test. EARNINGS GROWTH RATE FOR THE PAST SEVERAL QUARTERS: [PASS] Compare the earnings growth rate of the previous three quarters with long-term EPS growth rate. Earnings growth in the previous 3 quarters should be at least half of the long-term EPS growth rate. Half of the long-term EPS growth rate for ARCC is 9.62%. This should be less than the growth rates for the 3 previous quarters, which are 200.00%, 825.00%, and 244.19%. ARCC passes this test, which means that it has good, reasonably steady earnings. This strategy looks at the rate which earnings grow and evaluates this rate of growth from different angles. The 4 tests immediately following are detailed below. EPS GROWTH FOR CURRENT QUARTER MUST BE GREATER THAN PRIOR 3 QUARTERS: [PASS] If the growth rate of the prior three quarter's earnings, 600.00%, (versus the same three quarters a year earlier) is greater than the growth rate of the current quarter earnings, 155.56%, (versus the same quarter one year ago) then the stock fails, with one exception: if the growth rate in earnings between the current quarter and the same quarter one year ago is greater than 30%, then the stock would pass. The growth rate over this period for ARCC is 155.6%, and it would therefore pass this test. EPS GROWTH FOR CURRENT QUARTER MUST BE GREATER THAN THE HISTORICAL GROWTH RATE: [PASS] The EPS growth rate for the current quarter, 155.56% must be greater than or equal to the historical growth which is 19.24%. ARCC would therefore pass this test. EARNINGS PERSISTENCE: [FAIL] Companies must show persistent yearly earnings growth. To fulfill this requirement a company's earnings must increase each year for a five year period. ARCC, whose annual EPS growth before extraordinary items for the previous 5 years (from the earliest to the most recent fiscal year) were 1.78, 1.58, 1.34, -1.56, and 1.99, fails this test. LONG-TERM EPS GROWTH: [PASS] One final earnings test required is that the long-term earnings growth rate must be at least 15% per year. ARCC's long-term growth rate of 19.24%, based on the average of the 3, 4 and 5 year historical eps growth rates, passes this test. INSIDER TRANSACTIONS: [PASS] A factor that adds to a stock's attractiveness is if insider buy transactions number 3 or more, while insider sell transactions are zero. Zweig calls this an insider buy signal. For ARCC, this criterion has not been met (insider sell transactions are 0, while insiders buying number 1). Despite the lack of an insider buy signal, there also is not an insider sell signal, so the stock passes this criterion.   ITT EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, INC. Profile Strategy: Patient Investor Based on: Warren Buffett ITT Educational Services, Inc. (ITT/ESI) is a provider of postsecondary degree programs in the United States. As of December 31, 2009, the Company offered master, bachelor and associate degree programs to approximately 80,000 students. As of December 31, 2009, it had 125 locations (including 121 campuses and four learning sites) in 38 states. All of its institutions are authorized by the applicable education authorities of the states, in which they operate, and are accredited by an accrediting commission recognized by the United States Department of Education (ED). It designs its education programs, after consultation with employers and other constituents, to help graduates prepare for careers in various fields involving their areas of study. On June 10, 2009, it acquired Daniel Webster College (DWC). DWC offers programs of study at the master, bachelor and associate degree levels both in residence and through distance education. Analysis Guru Score: 100% STAGE 1: "Is this a Buffett type company?" A bedrock principle for Buffett is that his type of company has a "durable competitive advantage" as compared to being a "price competitive" or "commodity" type of business. Companies with a "durable competitive advantage" are more likely to be found in these sub-industries: Brand Name Fast Food Restaurants, Brand Name Beverages, Brand Name Foods, Brand Name Toiletries and Household Products, Brand Name Clothing, Brand Name Prescription Drugs, Advertising, Advertising Agencies, TV, Newspapers, Magazines, Direct Mail, Repetitive Services for Businesses, Low Cost Producers of Insurance, furniture, or Low Cost Retailers. While you should be easily able to explain where the company's pricing power comes from (i.e. a strong regional brand image, a business tollgate, its main products are #1 or # 2 in its field and has been on the market for years and hasn't changed at all, a consumer or business ends up buying the same product many times in a year, etc. or having the lowest production cost among its competition), there are certain figures that one can look at that can qualify the company as having a durable competitive advantage. LOOK FOR EARNINGS PREDICTABILITY: [PASS] Buffett likes companies to have solid, stable earnings that are continually expanding. This allows him to accurately predict future earnings. Annual earnings per share from earliest to most recent were 0.57, 0.70, 0.94, 1.27, 1.61, 2.33, 2.72, 3.72, 5.14, 7.91. Buffett would consider ESI's earnings predictable. In fact EPS have increased every year. ESI's long term historical EPS growth rate is 32.3%, based on the 10 year average EPS growth rate, and it is expected to grow earnings 15.5% per year in the future, based on the analysts' consensus estimated long term growth rate. For the purposes of our analysis, we will use the more conservative of the two EPS growth numbers. LOOK AT THE ABILITY TO PAY OFF DEBT [PASS] Buffett likes companies that are conservatively financed. Nonetheless, he has invested in companies with large financing divisions and in firms with rather high levels of debt. ESI has a debt of 150.0 million and earnings of 313.2 million, which could be used to pay off the debt in less than two years, which is considered exceptional. LOOK FOR CONSISTENTLY HIGHER THAN AVERAGE RETURN ON EQUITY: [PASS] Buffett likes companies with above average return on equity of at least 15% or better, as this is an indicator that the company has a durable competitive advantage. US corporations have, on average, returned about 12% on equity over the last 30 years. The average ROE for ESI, over the last ten years, is 39.3%, which is high enough to pass. It is not enough that the average be at least 15%. For each of the last 10 years, with the possible exception of the last fiscal year, the ROE must be at least 10% for Buffett to feel comfortable that the ROE is consistent. In addition, the average ROE over the last 3 years must also exceed 15%. The ROE for the last 10 years, from earliest to latest, is 41.3%, 41.4%, 47.5%, 39.6%, 31.5%, 34.5%, 107.2%, 209.5%, 114.4%, 179.2%, and the average ROE over the last 3 years is 167.7%, thus passing this criterion. LOOK FOR CONSISTENTLY HIGHER THAN AVERAGE RETURN ON TOTAL CAPITAL: [PASS] Because some companies can be financed with debt that is many times their equity, they can show a consistently high ROE, yet still be in unattractive price competitive businesses. To screen this out, for non-financial companies Buffett also requires that the average Return On Total Capital (ROTC) be at least 12% and consistent. In addition, the average ROTC over the last 3 years must also exceed 12%. Return On Total Capital is defined as the net earnings of the business divided by the total capital in the business, both equity and debt. The average ROTC for ESI, over the last ten years, is 49.9% and the average ROTC over the past 3 years is 73.3%, which is high enough to pass. It is not enough that the average be at least 12%. For each of the last 10 years, with the possible exception of the last fiscal year, the ROTC must be at least 9% for Buffett to feel comfortable that the ROTC is consistent. The ROTC for the last 10 years, from earliest to latest, is 41.3%, 41.4%, 47.5%, 39.6%, 31.5%, 34.5%, 43.9%, 67.0%, 61.4%, 91.5%, thus passing this criterion. LOOK AT CAPITAL EXPENDITURES: [PASS] Buffett likes companies that do not have major capital expenditures. That is, he looks for companies that do not need to spend a ton of money on major upgrades of plant and equipment or on research and development to stay competitive. ESI's free cash flow per share of $7.20 is positive, indicating that the company is generating more cash that it is consuming. This is a favorable sign, and so the company passes this criterion. LOOK AT MANAGEMENT'S USE OF RETAINED EARNINGS: [PASS] Buffett likes to see if management has spent retained earnings in a way that benefits shareholders. To figure this out, Buffett takes the total amount of retained earnings over the previous ten years of $26.91 and compares it to the gain in EPS over the same period of $7.34. ESI's management has proven it can earn shareholders a 27.3% return on the earnings they kept. This return is more than acceptable to Buffett. Essentially, management is doing a great job putting the retained earnings to work. HAS THE COMPANY BEEN BUYING BACK SHARES: [BONUS PASS] Buffett likes to see falling shares outstanding, which indicates that the company has been repurchasing shares. This indicates that management has been using excess capital to increase shareholder value. ESI's shares outstanding have fallen over the past five years from 45,689,999 to 36,000,000, thus passing this criterion. This is a bonus criterion and will not adversely affect the ability of a stock to pass the strategy as a whole if it is failed. The preceding concludes Buffett's qualitative analysis. If and when he gets positive responses to all the above criteria, he would then proceed with a price analysis. The price analysis will determine whether or not the stock should be bought. The following is how he would evaluate ESI quantitatively. STAGE 2: "Should I buy at this price?" Although a firm may be a Buffett type company, he won't invest in it unless he can get a favorable price that allows him a great long term return. CALCULATE THE INITIAL RATE OF RETURN: [No Pass/Fail] Buffett compares his type of stocks to bonds, and likes to see what a company's initial rate of return is. To calculate the initial rate of return, take the trailing 12-month EPS of $8.70 and divide it by the current market price of $103.36. An investor, purchasing ESI, could expect to receive a 8.42% initial rate of return. Furthermore, he or she could expect the rate to increase 15.5% per year, based on the analysts' consensus estimated long term growth rate, as this is how fast earnings are growing. COMPARE THE INITIAL RATE OF RETURN WITH THE LONG-TERM TREASURY YIELD: [PASS] Buffett favors companies in which the initial rate of return is around the long-term treasury yield. Nonetheless, he has invested in companies with low initial rates of return, as long as the yield is expected to expand rapidly. Currently, the long-term treasury yield is about 4.60%. Compare this with ESI's initial yield of 8.42%, which will expand at an annual rate of 15.5%, based on the analysts' consensus estimated long term growth rate. The company is the better choice, as the initial rate of return is close to or above the long term bond yield and is expanding. CALCULATE THE FUTURE EPS: [No Pass/Fail] ESI currently has a book value of $4.50. It is safe to say that if ESI can preserve its average rate of return on equity of 39.3% and continues to retain 100.00% of its earnings, it will be able to sustain an earnings growth rate of 39.3% and it will have a book value of $123.57 in ten years. If it can still earn 39.3% on equity in ten years, then expected EPS will be $48.52. CALCULATE THE FUTURE STOCK PRICE BASED ON THE AVERAGE ROE METHOD: [No Pass/Fail] Now take the expected future EPS of $48.52 and multiply them by the lower of the 5 year average P/E ratio (18.4) or current P/E ratio (current P/E in this case), which is 11.9 and you get ESI's projected future stock price of $576.45. CALCULATE THE EXPECTED RATE OF RETURN BASED ON THE AVERAGE ROE METHOD: [No Pass/Fail] Now add in the total expected dividend pool to be paid over the next ten years, which is $0.00. This gives you a total dollar amount of $576.45. These numbers indicate that one could expect to make a 18.8% average annual return on ESI's stock at the present time. Buffett would consider this a great return. CALCULATE THE EXPECTED FUTURE STOCK PRICE BASED ON AVERAGE EPS GROWTH: [No Pass/Fail] If you take the EPS growth of 15.5%, based on the analysts' consensus estimated long term growth rate, you can project EPS in ten years to be $36.88. Now multiply EPS in 10 years by the lower of the 5 year average P/E ratio (18.4) or current P/E ratio (current P/E in this case), which is 11.9. This equals the future stock price of $438.19. Add in the total expected dividend pool of $0.00 to get a total dollar amount of $438.19. CALCULATE THE EXPECTED RETURN USING THE AVERAGE EPS GROWTH METHOD: [No Pass/Fail] Now you can figure out your expected return based on a current price of $103.36 and the future expected stock price, including the dividend pool, of $438.19. If you were to invest in ESI at this time, you could expect a 15.5% average annual return on your money. Buffett would consider this a great return. LOOK AT THE RANGE OF EXPECTED RATE OF RETURN: [PASS] Based on the two different methods, you could expect an annual compounding rate of return somewhere between 15.5% and 18.8%. To pinpoint the average return a little better, we have taken an average of the two different methods. Investors could expect an average return of 17.1% on ESI stock for the next ten years, based on the current fundamentals. Buffett would consider this a great return, thus passing the criterion.   THE BRINK'S COMPANY Profile Strategy: Growth Investor Based on: Martin Zweig The Brink's Company (Brink's) is a provider of secure transportation, cash logistics and other security-related services to banks and financial institutions, retailers, government agencies, mints, jewelers and other commercial operations worldwide. The Company's international network serves customers in more than 50 countries and employs approximately 59,400 people. Its operations include approximately 875 facilities and 10,500 vehicles. 71% of its revenues are from outside North America. The Company has two segments: International and North America. International operations has three regions: Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA); Latin America, and Asia Pacific. North American operations include 181 branches in the United States and 52 branches in Canada. Brink's EMEA operates 258 branches in 22 countries. Its main operations are in France, the Netherlands and Germany. The Company's other security services include security and guarding. Analysis Guru Score: 77% P/E RATIO: [PASS] The P/E of a company must be greater than 5 to eliminate weak companies, but not more than 3 times the current Market P/E because the situation is much too risky, and never greater than 43. BCO's P/E is 6.61, based on trailing 12 month earnings, while the current market PE is 21.00. Therefore, it passes the first test. REVENUE GROWTH IN RELATION TO EPS GROWTH: [FAIL] Revenue Growth must not be substantially less than earnings growth. For earnings to continue to grow over time they must be supported by a comparable or better sales growth rate and not just by cost cutting or other non-sales measures. BCO's revenue growth is 7.42%, while it's earnings growth rate is 43.14%, based on the average of the 3, 4 and 5 year historical eps growth rates. Therefore, BCO fails this criterion. SALES GROWTH RATE: [PASS] Another important issue regarding sales growth is that the rate of quarterly sales growth is rising. To evaluate this, the change from this quarter last year to the present quarter (11.8%) must be examined, and then compared to the previous quarter last year compared to the previous quarter (-1.4%) of the current year. Sales growth for the prior must be greater than the latter. For BCO this criterion has been met. The earnings numbers of a company should be examined from various different angles. Three of these angles are stability in the trend of earnings, earnings persistence, and earnings acceleration. To evaluate stability, the stock has to pass the following four criteria. CURRENT QUARTER EARNINGS: [PASS] The first of these criteria is that the current EPS be positive. BCO's EPS ($2.53) pass this test. QUARTERLY EARNINGS ONE YEAR AGO: [PASS] The EPS for the quarter one year ago must be positive. BCO's EPS for this quarter last year ($0.83) pass this test. POSITIVE EARNINGS GROWTH RATE FOR CURRENT QUARTER: [PASS] The growth rate of the current quarter's earnings compared to the same quarter a year ago must also be positive. BCO's growth rate of 204.82% passes this test. EARNINGS GROWTH RATE FOR THE PAST SEVERAL QUARTERS: [FAIL] Compare the earnings growth rate of the past four quarters with long-term EPS growth rate. Earnings growth in the past 4 quarters should be at least half of the long-term EPS growth rate. A stock should not be considered if it posted several quarters of skimpy earnings. BCO had 2 quarters of skimpy growth in the last 2 years. This strategy looks at the rate which earnings grow and evaluates this rate of growth from different angles. The 4 tests immediately following are detailed below. EPS GROWTH FOR CURRENT QUARTER MUST BE GREATER THAN PRIOR 3 QUARTERS: [PASS] If the growth rate of the prior three quarter's earnings, -23.62%, (versus the same three quarters a year earlier) is less than the growth rate of the current quarter earnings, 204.82%, (versus the same quarter one year ago) then the stock passes. EPS GROWTH FOR CURRENT QUARTER MUST BE GREATER THAN THE HISTORICAL GROWTH RATE: [PASS] The EPS growth rate for the current quarter, 204.82% must be greater than or equal to the historical growth which is 43.14%. BCO would therefore pass this test. EARNINGS PERSISTENCE: [PASS] Companies must show persistent yearly earnings growth. To fulfill this requirement a company's earnings must increase each year for a five year period. BCO, whose annual EPS growth before extraordinary items for the previous 5 years (from the earliest to the most recent fiscal year) were 0.90, 1.05, 1.67, 2.82 and 4.12, passes this test. LONG-TERM EPS GROWTH: [PASS] One final earnings test required is that the long-term earnings growth rate must be at least 15% per year. BCO's long-term growth rate of 43.14%, based on the average of the 3, 4 and 5 year historical eps growth rates, passes this test. TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: [FAIL] A final criterion is that a company must not have a high level of debt. A high level of total debt, due to high interest expenses, can have a very negative effect on earnings if business moderately turns down. If a company does have a high level, an investor may want to avoid this stock altogether. BCO's Debt/Equity (36.57%) is considered high relative to its industry (25.10%) and fails this test. INSIDER TRANSACTIONS: [PASS] A factor that adds to a stock's attractiveness is if insider buy transactions number 3 or more, while insider sell transactions are zero. Zweig calls this an insider buy signal. For BCO, this criterion has not been met (insider sell transactions are 0, while insiders buying number 1). Despite the lack of an insider buy signal, there also is not an insider sell signal, so the stock passes this criterion.   TELEFONICA S.A. (ADR) Profile Strategy: P/E/Growth Investor Based on: Peter Lynch Telefonica S.A. (Telefonica) together with its subsidiaries and investees operates in the telecommunications, media and contact center industries. Telefonica basic purpose is the provision of all manner of public or private telecommunications services, including ancillary or complementary telecommunications services or related services. The Company operates in three business areas: Telefonica Spain, Telefonica Latin America and Telefonica Europe. During the year ended December 31, 2009, Telefonica Moviles Espana, S.A.U., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company completed the sale of its 32.18% stake in Medi Telecom, S.A. In January 2010, the Telefonica Group, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Telef=nica Europe plc completed the acquisition of JAJAH. Analysis Guru Score: 74% DETERMINE THE CLASSIFICATION: This methodology would consider TEF a "fast-grower". P/E/GROWTH RATIO: [PASS] The investor should examine the P/E (9.79) relative to the growth rate (22.40%), based on the average of the 3, 4 and 5 year historical eps growth rates, for a company. This is a quick way of determining the fairness of the price. In this particular case, the P/E/G ratio for TEF (0.44) is very favorable. SALES AND P/E RATIO: [PASS] For companies with sales greater than $1 billion, this methodology likes to see that the P/E ratio remain below 40. Large companies can have a difficult time maintaining a growth high enough to support a P/E above this threshold. TEF, whose sales are $75,134.4 million, needs to have a P/E below 40 to pass this criterion. TEF's P/E of (9.79) is considered acceptable. EPS GROWTH RATE: [PASS] This methodology favors companies that have several years of fast earnings growth, as these companies have a proven formula for growth that in many cases can continue many more years. This methodology likes to see earnings growth in the range of 20% to 50%, as earnings growth over 50% may be unsustainable. The EPS growth rate for TEF is 22.4%, based on the average of the 3, 4 and 5 year historical eps growth rates, which is considered very good. TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: [FAIL] TEF's Debt/Equity (261.30%) is above 80% and is considered very weak. Therefore, TEF fails this test. FREE CASH FLOW: [NEUTRAL] The Free Cash Flow/Price ratio, though not a requirement, is considered a bonus if it is above 35%. A positive Cash Flow (the higher the better) separates a wonderfully reliable investment from a shaky one. This methodology prefers not to invest in companies that rely heavily on capital spending. This ratio for TEF (4.88%) is too low to add to the attractiveness of the stock. Keep in mind, however, that it does not adversely affect the company as it is a bonus criteria. NET CASH POSITION: [NEUTRAL] Another bonus for a company is having a Net Cash/Price ratio above 30%. Lynch defines net cash as cash and marketable securities minus long term debt. According to this methodology, a high value for this ratio dramatically cuts down on the risk of the security. The Net Cash/Price ratio for TEF (-43.10%) is too low to add to the attractiveness of this company. Keep in mind, however, that it does not adversely affect the company as it is a bonus criteria.   LULULEMON ATHLETICA INC. Profile Strategy: P/E/Growth Investor Based on: Peter Lynch lululemon athletica inc. is a designer and retailer of technical athletic apparel primarily in North America. Its yoga-inspired apparel is marketed under the lululemon athletica brand name. The Company offers a line of apparel and accessories, including fitness pants, shorts, tops and jackets designed for athletic pursuits, such as yoga, running and general fitness. As of January 31, 2010, its branded apparel was principally sold through 124 stores that are primarily located in Canada and the United States. As of January 31, 2010, its retail footprint included 45 stores in Canada, 70 stores in the United States and nine franchise stores in Australia. Analysis Guru Score: 74% DETERMINE THE CLASSIFICATION: This methodology would consider LULU a "fast-grower". P/E/GROWTH RATIO: [PASS] The investor should examine the P/E (48.55) relative to the growth rate (120.80%), based on the average of the 3 and 4 year historical eps growth rates, for a company. This is a quick way of determining the fairness of the price. In this particular case, the P/E/G ratio for LULU (0.40) is very favorable. SALES AND P/E RATIO: [NEUTRAL] For companies with sales greater than $1 billion, this methodology likes to see that the P/E ratio remain below 40. Large companies can have a difficult time maintaining a growth rate high enough to support a P/E above this threshold. LULU, whose sales are $452.9 million, is not considered large enough to apply the P/E ratio analysis. However, an investor can analyze the P/E ratio relative to the EPS growth rate. INVENTORY TO SALES: [PASS] When inventories increase faster than sales, it is a red flag. However an increase of up to 5% is considered bearable if all other ratios appear attractive. Inventory to sales for LULU was 14.72% last year, while for this year it is 9.73%. Since inventory to sales has decreased from last year by -4.99%, LULU passes this test. EPS GROWTH RATE: [FAIL] This methodology favors companies that have several years of fast earnings growth, as these companies have a proven formula for growth that in many cases can continue many more years. This methodology likes to see earnings growth in the range of 20% to 50%, as earnings growth over 50% may be unsustainable. The EPS growth rate for LULU is 120.8%, based on the average of the 3 and 4 year historical eps growth rates, which is considered too fast. TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: [PASS] This methodology would consider the Debt/Equity ratio for LULU (0.00%) to be wonderfully low (equity is at least ten times debt). This ratio is one quick way to determine the financial strength of the company. FREE CASH FLOW: [NEUTRAL] The Free Cash Flow/Price ratio, though not a requirement, is considered a bonus if it is above 35%. A positive Cash Flow (the higher the better) separates a wonderfully reliable investment from a shaky one. This methodology prefers not to invest in companies that rely heavily on capital spending. This ratio for LULU (3.61%) is too low to add to the attractiveness of the stock. Keep in mind, however, that it does not adversely affect the company as it is a bonus criteria. NET CASH POSITION: [NEUTRAL] Another bonus for a company is having a Net Cash/Price ratio above 30%. Lynch defines net cash as cash and marketable securities minus long term debt. According to this methodology, a high value for this ratio dramatically cuts down on the risk of the security. The Net Cash/Price ratio for LULU (5.64%) is too low to add to the attractiveness of this company. Keep in mind, however, that it does not adversely affect the company as it is a bonus criteria.   EMCOR GROUP, INC. Profile Strategy: P/E/Growth Investor Based on: Peter Lynch EMCOR Group, Inc. is an electrical and mechanical construction and facilities services company. It has six segments: United States electrical construction and facilities services, which involves systems for electrical power transmission and distribution, premises electrical and lighting systems, low-voltage systems, such as fire alarm, security and process control, voice and data communication, and fiber optic lines); United States mechanical construction and facilities services, which involves systems for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration and clean-room process ventilation, fire protection, plumbing, process and high-purity piping, water and wastewater treatment, and central plant heating and cooling; United States facilities services; Canada construction and facilities services; United Kingdom construction and facilities services, and other international construction and facilities services. In February 2010, the Company acquired Scalise Industries. Analysis Guru Score: 93% DETERMINE THE CLASSIFICATION: This methodology would consider EME a "fast-grower". P/E/GROWTH RATIO: [PASS] The investor should examine the P/E (13.67) relative to the growth rate (27.87%), based on the average of the 3, 4 and 5 year historical eps growth rates, for a company. This is a quick way of determining the fairness of the price. In this particular case, the P/E/G ratio for EME (0.49) is very favorable. SALES AND P/E RATIO: [PASS] For companies with sales greater than $1 billion, this methodology likes to see that the P/E ratio remain below 40. Large companies can have a difficult time maintaining a growth high enough to support a P/E above this threshold. EME, whose sales are $5,365.5 million, needs to have a P/E below 40 to pass this criterion. EME's P/E of (13.67) is considered acceptable. INVENTORY TO SALES: [PASS] When inventories increase faster than sales, it is a red flag. However an increase of up to 5% is considered bearable if all other ratios appear attractive. Inventory to sales for EME was 2.36% last year, while for this year it is 2.24%. Since inventory to sales has decreased from last year by -0.11%, EME passes this test. EPS GROWTH RATE: [PASS] This methodology favors companies that have several years of fast earnings growth, as these companies have a proven formula for growth that in many cases can continue many more years. This methodology likes to see earnings growth in the range of 20% to 50%, as earnings growth over 50% may be unsustainable. The EPS growth rate for EME is 27.9%, based on the average of the 3, 4 and 5 year historical eps growth rates, which is acceptable. TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: [PASS] This methodology would consider the Debt/Equity ratio for EME (12.10%) to be acceptable (equity is three to ten times debt). This ratio is one quick way to determine the financial strength of the company. FREE CASH FLOW: [NEUTRAL] The Free Cash Flow/Price ratio, though not a requirement, is considered a bonus if it is above 35%. A positive Cash Flow (the higher the better) separates a wonderfully reliable investment from a shaky one. This methodology prefers not to invest in companies that rely heavily on capital spending. This ratio for EME (16.85%) is too low to add to the attractiveness of the stock. Keep in mind, however, that it does not adversely affect the company as it is a bonus criteria. NET CASH POSITION: [NEUTRAL] Another bonus for a company is having a Net Cash/Price ratio above 30%. Lynch defines net cash as cash and marketable securities minus long term debt. According to this methodology, a high value for this ratio dramatically cuts down on the risk of the security. The Net Cash/Price ratio for EME (28.75%) is too low to add to the attractiveness of this company. Keep in mind, however, that it does not adversely affect the company as it is a bonus criteria.   Watch List The Watch List contains the highest scoring stocks according to our guru consensus system that are not currently in the Hot List portfolio. We provide this list both for informational purposes and for investors who are not comfortable with a portfolio of ten stocks. Ticker Company Name Industry Guru Score AGM FEDERAL AGRICULTURAL MORTGAGE CORP. Consumer Financial Services 63 LLY ELI LILLY & CO. Major Drugs 60 ENI ENERSIS S.A. (ADR) Electric Utilities 48 AMED AMEDISYS, INC. Healthcare Facilities 45 GME GAMESTOP CORP. Retail (Technology) 44 NOV NATIONAL-OILWELL VARCO, INC. Oil Well Services & Equipment 43 ESV ENSCO PLC Oil Well Services & Equipment 43 TDW TIDEWATER INC. Water Transportation 43 AZN ASTRAZENECA PLC (ADR) Biotechnology & Drugs 42 HCBK HUDSON CITY BANCORP, INC. S&Ls/Savings Banks 39

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