Collectors Universe / PCGS stock (CLCT)

I hope I won't offend any of the powers that be, but I enjoy watching the vicissitudes of the Collectors Universe stock CLCT, the parent company of PCGS.

Although I'm probably an NGC person, I do belong to the PCGS Collector Club and their stock pays a monster dividend (around 6%).


The stock probably reflects the health of the collectibles and coin market, as well as the economy as a whole.

Interestingly, their stock is approaching a 52 week high.

Anyone else follow that stock? Thoughts?

guy

 

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Thanks for the information.

So, besides PCGS, what does CTCL include? What else does Collectors Universe own?

6% dividend... Sure a "Madoff" isn't running it? Just kidding (his was a "guaranteed 15%", actually). Six percent's a nice return. Might as well invest in something related to coins that will actually see a return. Unlike investing in actual coins!

 

I looked into that stock once, as it seems to be the most numismatic-related company on the market. Didn't realize the dividend yield was so high though...might have to give it a second look.

 

From finance.yahoo:

Business Summary

Collectors Universe Inc. provides third-party authentication, grading, and related services for rare and high-value collectibles consisting of coins, trading cards, sports memorabilia, and autographs. It offers professional coin grading service coin authentication and grading services, professional sports authenticator (PSA) trading card authentication and grading services, and PSA/DNA autograph authentication and grading services. The company operates certified coin exchange, a subscription-based business-to-business Internet bid-ask market Website, certifiedcoinexchange.com that features approximately 100,000 bid and ask prices for certified coins; and collectors corner, a business-to-consumer Website, collectorscorner.com, which features approximately 75,000 collectibles listed for sale. In addition, it publishes magazines that provide market prices and information for certain collectibles and high-value assets, which are accessible on its Websites; and authoritative price guides, rarity reports, and other collectibles data to provide collectors with information. Further, the company sells advertising on its Websites, as well as in the magazines; and manages and operates collectibles trade shows and conventions. Collectors Universe Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Santa Ana, California.

I don't want to get off the numismatic topic too much, but I'm surprised how many PCGS fans in particular and numismatists in general don't follow the stock more closely. It gives insights into market trends (the profitability of expanding markets in Europe and China, for example) and the general health of the certified coin business.

guy

 

Earnings release is today after the close.
Good luck.

 

Thanks for the information. By the way, from where (what site) do you use to track stock like CLCT?

 

Yahoo finance, and google finance both work well

 

6% isn't bad for such a small corporation. I'm just always weary of service provider stocks. They always have the highest percentage of insolvency issues.

 

Here's the most recent report:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/collectors-universe-reports-record-second-210300956.html

Service Revenues Up 5% and Operating Income Up 26% for the Quarter

On January 22, 2015, we announced an increase in our quarterly cash dividend to $0.35 per share from $0.325 per share, and at the same time we declared a dividend of $0.35 per share that will be paid on February 27, 2015 to stockholders of record on February 18, 2015.


Interesting,


guy

 

What I find interesting is that with a positive announcement like this, the stock closed down a bit yesterday.

 

Earnings reports mean nothing, positive or negative some of the time...

 

just google it.

here: http://finance.yahoo.com/q;_ylt=A0LEVjT2QNVUtskAjXAPxQt.?s=CLCT

 

I've owned a position in CLCT for a few years now. Loaded up when it was around $10-$12/share and the dividend rate was well over 10%. Because of the statistics pages on PCGS, where the company updates how many coins are being graded and how much they are paying out under the grading guarantee, you can estimate the next quarter's earnings before they are public and trade on that information. Not 100% accurate, but they give out much more "real-time" information than most public companies.

 

Thank you for the insight. Where can I find the statistics section?

It would be interesting to follow their payouts under the grading guarantee.

guy

 

How does the market usually respond to their earnings reports? It's interesting that the stock actually dropped after a positive earnings report.

 

The PCGS Statistics are linked here...

http://www.pcgs.com/Statistics/

 

The stock is so thinly traded (low volume - typically less than 50k shares trade in a day) and the short interest is relatively high (but dropping), that it's hard to say what makes this stock move in the short run. The large dividend usually scares off those who are used to looking at larger companies as it looks as if the dividend isn't sustainable if you quickly glance at the financial statements. And that's probably the reason for a good portion of those with short positions in CLCT. However, in looking at the company's cash flows statement and the fact that they have been consistently paying the dividend for several years, I'm not worried about it getting paid.

I sold off half of my position in November when the stock last topped $25/share... just seemed too rich. Was looking to buy it back around $19/share, but it hasn't gone down there yet... probably should have just bought at around $20/share last month, but we'll see

 

Personally, I prefer REITs. Great dividends and not much fluxuation in price. http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/CIM

 

Wow. What a great resource.

The number of warranty claims are interesting:

Last 30 days (Number of claims) $amount:
(#8) $19,420.00

Last 12 months:
(#162) $419,590.00

It's reassuring to see that they do guarantee their work.

guy

 

It's a micro-cap with heavy insider ownership. The reason for going public was to enhance liquidity for estate planning purposes and stock for employees.

I read the transcript of the earnings conference call (no Q&A), they spin things very positively with statements that are spurious at best, i..e, consumers are dumping equities for gold/silver. They have limited top-line growth prospects and margin expansion is tough with competitors (NGC, etc.) not subject to public scrutiny on pricing.

Very risky stock, to say the least. Don't mistake it for a blue-chip.