Short Note

Surprisingly all the trades I made yesterday went through. It rarely happens that way.

- sold 40% of HANS
- sold 50% of BLUD
- opened a new position in ASFI

Going to go and figure when to re-build the HANS position. I really like what the company has going on, it's just value concern right now.

Why Asta Funding ASFI?
It's always fun when I find a new stock that I've never seen that pushes most of my buttons. I don't know if I'd ever considered Asta as a holding before, but everything fell into place when I was evaluating last night.

Some of the things that I liked

Book Value has been growing at around 25% annually
6/07 $16.16
9/06 13.51
9/05 10.72
9/04 8.58
9/03 9.76
9/02 4.16
9/01 2.86
9/00 1.77

Return on Equity
6/07 25.9%
9/06 27.8
9/05 23.9
9/04 21.5
9/03 18.4

While sales per share have not been as consistent on an annual basis, we've still seen revenue more than triple over the past 4 years.

The PE on this is 10. A similar company that I like PRAA Portfolio Recovery trades at a multiple closer to 15. Many stocks appreciate via PE expansion and the opportunity is here.

Big fat net margins - over 40% for the past 3 years

Free cashflow - this is a cash business. No heavy investments in plant or equipment required.