This past weekend I narrowed my choice for this week’s acquisition to two companies. National Fuel Gas Company [NFG] and Computer Services Inc. [CSVI]. The deciding factor turned out to be that NFG had been rising in price this year and CSVI had been struggling. I assumed CSVI would be either the same price next week or perhaps even lower. So, I decided to add NFG to the portfolio and add CSVI later.
NFG dropped about a dollar by close of today. CSVI went up 50%.
From the MarketWatch newswire:
Computer Services Inc. shares rallied 45% in pre-market trades Monday after the company agreed to be taken private for $58 a share in a deal valued at $1.6 billion by buyers Centerbridge Partners, L.P. and Bridgeport Partners. The $58-per-share price values Paducah, Ky.-based Computer Services at a 53% premium over its closing level of $37.88 on Friday. The deal follows a review process of strategic alternatives. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Computer Services Chairman Steve Powless said the board “believes it is in the best interest of our shareholders.” The company will remain under CEO David Culbertson and its current management team.
I missed an immediate $500 gain. Worse, CSVI will cease as a public company. CSVI is the only Dividend King from the Information Technology sector. The next closest company is 18 years away from achieving that distinction. Needless to say, this regicide has a disproportionate effect on my plans for this portfolio.
Investing is nearly always a disappointing enterprise. It is slow gains, untimely exits, overpayments, irrational fluctuations, inexplicable declines, and opportunity cost. It is a hateful enterprise.
Serenity Now
What can we do when we feel powerless or worse, that the universe is against us? As George Costanza said, “I guess I just have to pick myself up, dust myself off, and throw myself right back down again!”
- Save all the money you can
- Buy the stocks of great businesses that pay dividends
- Reinvest those dividends
I’ll add, pay as little attention to your account as possible.