Upon graduation, Ben received an invitation for employment as an instructor in English, Mathematics, and Philosophy, but instead he chose a job on Wall Street. Ben was a student of investing, spending great time studying and analyzing the financial state of companies. He was critical of the corporations for obfuscated and irregular financial reporting making it difficult for investors to discern the true state of the business's finances. Many of convictions such as returning a portion of the company's earnings to shareholders through dividend payments and not relying on future growth to justify a high price are still widely held beliefs by many today.
In 1928, Ben accepted a position teaching at the Columbia Business School and wrote several books. Along the way he spawned several well-known disciples such as Jean-Marie Eveillard, William J. Ruane, Irving Kahn, Walter J. Schloss, and Charles Brandes.
You make think that you have never heard of Ben Grossbaum, but I suspect you have. During World War II German-sounding names were regarded with suspicion, so Ben's father changed the family name from Grossbaum to Graham. Today we know Ben Grossbaum as Benjamin Graham, the father of Value Investing.
There was one other student that I failed to mention above, Warren Buffet. Behind only his father, Buffet describes Graham as the second most influential person in his life. Buffett, credits Graham as grounding him with a sound intellectual investment framework. "The best book on investing ever written," is how Buffet describes Graham's book The Intelligent Investor. According to Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham said that he wished every day to do something foolish, something creative, and something generous. Buffett said that Graham excelled most at the last.
In my stock analyses, one of the fair-value metrics I look at is the Graham Number, obviously developed by Benjamin Graham. Here are a few stocks trading below their Graham Numbers:
Community Trust Bank Corp. 9CTBI) owns and operates Community Trust Bank, Inc., which provides commercial banking services in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia; and a trust company. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1988 and has increased its dividend payments for 39 consecutive years. Yield: 3.5%
People's United Financial Inc. (PBCT) provides a full range of banking and financial service products to individuals, corporations and municipal customers in the U.S. Northeast. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1993 and has increased its dividend payments for 22 consecutive years. Yield: 4.6%
Old Republic Intl (ORI) is an insurance holding company that engages mainly in the general (property and liability), title, and mortgage guaranty and consumer credit indemnity run-off businesses. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1942 and has increased its dividend payments for 38 consecutive years. Yield: 3.6%
Aflac Incorporated (AFL) provides supplemental health and life insurance in Japan and the U.S. Products are marketed at work sites and help fill gaps in primary coverage. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1973 and has increased its dividend payments for 37 consecutive years. Yield: 2.1%
The Graham Number is calculated by taking the square root of 22.5 times the tangible book value per share times EPS (lower of trailing twelve months or average last 3 years). Benjamin Graham developed rules for the defensively screening stocks. This formula uses his principles to calculate the "maximum" price one should pay for the stock.
Full Disclosure: Long CTBI, PBCT, ORI, AFL,
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Tags: CTBI, PBCT, ORI, AFL,
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