Given what certain insurance executives allegedly received in bonuses last year - and the enormity of U.S. government aid that that company is seeking nonetheless – a mere dollar seems a drop in the bucket. But that same dollar can go a long way toward enhancing your portfolio if you’re willing to be a bit of a bargain sleuth. Here are four companies - with some potential upside but whose price is still measured in cents - that merit consideration.
The energy field remains very competitive, but prices are still volatile and the search for new finds is as urgent as ever. One company out of the Alberta oil patch emerging out of the scrum is Calgary-based Challenger Energy Corporation (TSX: V.CHQ, Stock Forum). The company is focusing much of its drilling efforts off Trinidad and Tobago.
Challenger’s objective, according to company literature, is to explore for and develop high-impact oil and gas prospects that provide investors with “home run” opportunities. Challenger Energy Corp. began activities in Trinidad in the fall of 2004, after a participation agreement with Canadian Superior Energy Inc. The pact provided Challenger with the opportunity to earn a 25-per-cent interest in a production-sharing contract covering an area known as Block 5(c), in which Challenger shares in one-third of the cost of an exploration program consisting of three wells.
Last month, CHQ announced its 2008 financial results, which reported revenues of $127,787 (all figures in Canadian dollars unless specified otherwise), compared to $109,174 the year before. Net losses were around the $3.9-million mark for both years, slightly higher for 2008.
After flying relatively high around a $6.64 peak last July, CHQ eased below the dollar mark this past winter and hit a low point for the year of 29 cents in mid-February. The price has recovered to about 50 cents as spring approaches.
For other investors, gold is where it’s at, and appropriately, with the price vaulting toward the thousand-dollar mark U.S., even the smaller operators deserve a look. One of them is Vancouver-based TNR Gold Corporation, (TSX: V.TNR, Stock Forum).
TNR Gold Corp, a base and precious metals exploration company, focuses on actively identifying new prospective projects and fostering work on its large portfolio of 15 properties in Argentina, as well as overseeing the exploration and development of the Iliamna and Shotgun projects in Alaska through its new wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, Bristol Exploration Co. Inc.
The company’s Argentinian properties include its flagship properties, El Salto and El Tapau, which represent an investment of at least $3.5 million and approximately 8,400 metres of drilling. Other properties of note included Los Azules in Argentina, in which was found a deposit registering 96% copper. The property at La Ortiguita featured rich gold and silver areas.
In March, TNR acquired two Ontario properties which host Lithium and Rare Earth Elements. Lithium is a key component in batteries for hybrid cars.
The stock has fluctuated between a 52-week high of 40 cents (last April) and a low of three cents shortly before the New Year dawned. The current price registers around six cents.
Stateside, Cyios Corp. (OTC:BB: CYIO, Stock Forum), an information technology outfit based out of Washington, D.C., has big plans for 2009. CYIOS has won contracts and, company literature opines, is performing as expected. CYIOS will show a loss in 2008 (figures that will be borne out in an April 1 conference call), on projected revenues around US$4.5 million, with the new projected earnings to be US 16 to 21 cents per share by the end of the year.
The company is projected a big revenue year, and one reason is a contract with the FBI for US$175 million to provide I.T. support services for mainframes, minicomputers, servers and microcomputers. Another contract, with Homeland Security, is valued around US$150,000 with option years over the next four. Additional contracts are expected to be awarded shortly, driving revenues to an estimated $1.5-2 million by the second quarter.
The stock achieved a new 52-week high in the middle week of March at 18 cents, having been stuck in sub-penny status when most of the economic news started to turn bad in September. It settled back around the 12 cent mark on March 19, on fairly heavy volume.
Returning to the energy theme, Mill Valley, California-based Solar PowerInc. (OTC:BB: SOPW, Stock Forum), is chomping at the bit to tell the world how profitable 2008 was for it. This four-year-old company is a vertically-integrated solar energy solution provider offering the North American commercial and public sector building markets a complete solution through a single brand.
Solar Power’s Yes! Solar SolutionsTM subsidiary provides the U.S. small- to mid-sized business and residential market segments with turnkey PV solar systems through a growing retail franchise network. It is also making inroads in Europe and Asia, owning and operates its own ISO 9001 manufacturing facility in Shenzhen, China.
Solar Power is also a franchiser, offering opportunities to entrepreneurs who want to get in on the ground floor of the growing renewable energy industry. It also has the potential to be an engine of revenue for the company.
SOPW’s 52-week high registered at US$1.90 at the end of March 2008, sinking to a low of 41 cents last November. The stock’s price is currently around the 75 cent mark, perhaps subject to change when the bottom line is announced at the end of March.
All of these companies are putting their best feet forward, and gearing up for a good 2009 to provide contrast to all the doom and gloom of the past winter. All are doing well and invite investors with an appetite for some risk – and some faith in our economy – to put their dollars (or even less) where their mouths are.