Most Popular
1. It’s a New Macro, the Gold Market Knows It, But Dead Men Walking Do Not (yet)- Gary_Tanashian
2.Stock Market Presidential Election Cycle Seasonal Trend Analysis - Nadeem_Walayat
3. Bitcoin S&P Pattern - Nadeem_Walayat
4.Nvidia Blow Off Top - Flying High like the Phoenix too Close to the Sun - Nadeem_Walayat
4.U.S. financial market’s “Weimar phase” impact to your fiat and digital assets - Raymond_Matison
5. How to Profit from the Global Warming ClImate Change Mega Death Trend - Part1 - Nadeem_Walayat
7.Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast 2024 - - Nadeem_Walayat
8.The Bond Trade and Interest Rates - Nadeem_Walayat
9.It’s Easy to Scream Stocks Bubble! - Stephen_McBride
10.Fed’s Next Intertest Rate Move might not align with popular consensus - Richard_Mills
Last 7 days
Stocks, Bitcoin and Crypto Markets Breaking Bad on Donald Trump Pump - 21st Nov 24
Gold Price To Re-Test $2,700 - 21st Nov 24
Stock Market Sentiment Speaks: This Is My Strong Warning To You - 21st Nov 24
Financial Crisis 2025 - This is Going to Shock People! - 21st Nov 24
Dubai Deluge - AI Tech Stocks Earnings Correction Opportunities - 18th Nov 24
Why President Trump Has NO Real Power - Deep State Military Industrial Complex - 8th Nov 24
Social Grant Increases and Serge Belamant Amid South Africa's New Political Landscape - 8th Nov 24
Is Forex Worth It? - 8th Nov 24
Nvidia Numero Uno in Count Down to President Donald Pump Election Victory - 5th Nov 24
Trump or Harris - Who Wins US Presidential Election 2024 Forecast Prediction - 5th Nov 24
Stock Market Brief in Count Down to US Election Result 2024 - 3rd Nov 24
Gold Stocks’ Winter Rally 2024 - 3rd Nov 24
Why Countdown to U.S. Recession is Underway - 3rd Nov 24
Stock Market Trend Forecast to Jan 2025 - 2nd Nov 24
President Donald PUMP Forecast to Win US Presidential Election 2024 - 1st Nov 24
At These Levels, Buying Silver Is Like Getting It At $5 In 2003 - 28th Oct 24
Nvidia Numero Uno Selling Shovels in the AI Gold Rush - 28th Oct 24
The Future of Online Casinos - 28th Oct 24
Panic in the Air As Stock Market Correction Delivers Deep Opps in AI Tech Stocks - 27th Oct 24
Stocks, Bitcoin, Crypto's Counting Down to President Donald Pump! - 27th Oct 24
UK Budget 2024 - What to do Before 30th Oct - Pensions and ISA's - 27th Oct 24
7 Days of Crypto Opportunities Starts NOW - 27th Oct 24
The Power Law in Venture Capital: How Visionary Investors Like Yuri Milner Have Shaped the Future - 27th Oct 24
This Points To Significantly Higher Silver Prices - 27th Oct 24

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

How to Protect your Wealth by Investing in AI Tech Stocks

Investing in the World’s Most Unstoppable Trend

Companies / Sector Analysis Feb 17, 2013 - 05:45 PM GMT

By: Investment_U

Companies

Matthew Carr writes: There is an industry that’s outperformed nearly any you could imagine.

Gold… Left in the dust.

Oil… Not even close.

Natural gas… Nope.

Silver… Yup, beat that too.


Healthcare… Indeed.

It’s an industry we’ll all eventually need, every person on this planet.

Face it:

You are going to die.

Even worse, everyone you love – your friends and family – are going to die too.

It may be by natural causes. It may be by a natural disaster. It may be by something tragic – a drunk driver, a random act of violence or a horrible accident.

Whatever the case may be, it’s inevitable. Life is momentary. Death is infinite.

In the United States, on average, 2.5 million people die each year. But this is about to pick up as the Baby Boomers say their last farewells. And by 2040, the number of people dying each year in the United States will practically double from the level it’s at now.

Death is a commodity. It even has its own seasonal uptick as the storm and flu seasons run amok across the United States. And it’s a business – one that has a constant market. A market that is constantly growing.

Despite appearances, the vast majority of funerals – or celebrations of life, as they’re now called – in this country aren’t handled by small, little family-owned and -operated businesses. They’re handled by large, publicly traded companies.

And shareholders are reaping exceptional rewards.

My Funeral Services Index, made up of the four largest funeral services and cemetery operators in the country, has obliterated the performance of almost any other industry.

During the last 13 months – since January 2012 – this index is up 64.30%, including dividends.

Over the last five years, the return is an astronomical 307.32%!

The only thing that can come close is the performance of silver. The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) is up 170.82% since 2009.

So, let’s meet the companies in my Funeral Services Index

#1.Carriage Services (NYSE: CSV)

Over the last 13 months, the return on Carriage Services is 155.73%, including dividends. Since January 2009, the gain is a funeral services industry best of 625.12%.

Carriage Services operates in two segments – Funeral Home Operations and Cemetery Operations.

CSV is in the micro-cap range, with a market cap of $260.4 million. But revenue for CSV has steadily been ticking higher. Since 2009, annual sales have increased from $177.6 million to $204.3 million in 2012. During that span, earnings per share increased from $0.40 in 2009 to $0.84 in 2012.

#2. Stewart Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq: STEI)

STEI is a little larger than CSV, with a market cap of $662.5 million. Over the last year, the return on Stewart Enterprises is a respectable 40.05%, including dividends. Since January 2009, the gain is 186.75%.

The company owns 217 funeral homes and 140 cemeteries in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Revenue, like CSV’s, is steadily ticking higher over the last several years, rising from $499 million in 2009 to $527.9 million in 2012. It also increased its dividend 50% in 2012.

#3. Stonemor Partners LP (NYSE: STON)

The $1 billion market cap Stonemor hasn’t had as great of a run as CSV during the last year. But because of its hefty dividend, the return is 20.66%. And over the last five years, that dividend has helped bolster the return to 199.27%.

Stonemor is a much larger funeral services conglomerate – the second largest in the country – owning and operating 274 cemeteries and 69 funeral homes in the United States and Puerto Rico.

But the company offers an enticing 9.4% dividend yield.

The company’s revenue since 2009 is seeing one of the higher growth rates, increasing from $181.2 million to $245.6 million in 2012, with its dividend rising from $2.22 per share in 2009 to $2.36 per share in 2012.

In the first nine months of 2012, funeral home revenue increased 24.6%, while pre-need cemetery contracts increased 10.7%.

#4. Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI)

The largest of the funeral service operators, with a market cap of $3.2 billion. Like CSV, it operates in two segments – Funeral and Cemetery Operations – owning 1,432 funeral service locations and 374 cemeteries in the United States.

Over the last year, the return on SCI is a decent 40.75%, including dividends. And shares are just off their 52-week high.

Since January 2009, the return on Service Corp. is – like the rest of the Funeral Services Index members – an eye-opening 218.11%.

Being considerably larger than its competitors, SCI’s revenue isn’t increasing as rapidly. But as with the rest of the industry, it’s seeing steady growth. In 2009, sales for SCI were $2.1 billion, and rose in 2012 to $2.4 billion.

The company also increased its dividend 50%, from $0.16 per share annually in 2010, to $0.24 per share in 2012.

We can’t escape it. Death is eventually going to get us all. At least until we find a cure for it or there’s a real-life outbreak like in The Walking Dead. The funeral services industry is consumer-driven, just like any other service sector.

So, you can embrace it and profit from it. Or choose to pretend it’s not a reality…

Good investing,

Matthew

Editor’s Note: Matthew Carr’s “Doomsday Preppers’ Portfolio,” originally published in Investment U last August, has returned 27.84% to date.

Source : http://www.investmentu.com/2013/February/the-worlds-most-unstoppable-trend.html

by , Investment U Research

http://www.investmentu.com

Copyright © 1999 - 2013 by The Oxford Club, L.L.C All Rights Reserved. Protected by copyright laws of the United States and international treaties. Any reproduction, copying, or redistribution (electronic or otherwise, including on the world wide web), of content from this website, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of Investment U, Attn: Member Services , 105 West Monument Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 Email: CustomerService@InvestmentU.com

Disclaimer: Investment U Disclaimer: Nothing published by Investment U should be considered personalized investment advice. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized investment advice. We expressly forbid our writers from having a financial interest in any security recommended to our readers. All of our employees and agents must wait 24 hours after on-line publication or 72 hours after the mailing of printed-only publication prior to following an initial recommendation. Any investments recommended by Investment U should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

Investment U Archive

© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.


Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in