tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post272437301195192251..comments2024-01-16T00:12:23.220-05:00Comments on Oddball Stocks: Purchasing Bexil at a discount through WinmillNate Tobikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660387777171986124noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-43000694536964741922017-04-03T16:16:11.438-04:002017-04-03T16:16:11.438-04:00Hey Nate - any update on this? It seems like it is...Hey Nate - any update on this? It seems like it is probably ridiculously cheap. Why would management want to purposely drive the stock price down - not sure??Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11143976942989519773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-19887714573417653632016-01-26T16:39:00.352-05:002016-01-26T16:39:00.352-05:00I bought this a few years ago on the deep discount...I bought this a few years ago on the deep discount theory, though the catalyst for change would come with the passing of Bassett Winmill - thought Mark may actually want to make something of it all. Made good money on Bexil and FXBY trades but thought the big triple would come from Winmill. Live and learn I guess, seems the apple falls not far from the tree and Mark is every bit the crook his father was.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-719109645344269732016-01-18T11:58:38.185-05:002016-01-18T11:58:38.185-05:00I would love for Oddball Stocks to revisit this na...I would love for Oddball Stocks to revisit this name along with the various entities controlled by this family, such as FXBY, which has the distinction of the smallest market cap in the CEF universe and a huge discount to NAV. The activist story with Shaker is interesting too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-57594883655193893322014-06-26T15:46:12.309-04:002014-06-26T15:46:12.309-04:00Winmill on sale today. Someone should just buy wh...Winmill on sale today. Someone should just buy whole company already.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-11246527227236636972014-01-30T11:31:52.717-05:002014-01-30T11:31:52.717-05:00Crazy sale on WNMLA today?!Crazy sale on WNMLA today?!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-49394586058410002362013-08-08T16:04:24.056-04:002013-08-08T16:04:24.056-04:00I own a bunch of WNMLA and am starting to see larg...I own a bunch of WNMLA and am starting to see large bids coming in...stock could easily double.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-51244685404004939342013-08-08T15:55:20.395-04:002013-08-08T15:55:20.395-04:00Stuff is starting to happen with Bexil (BXLC)...i...Stuff is starting to happen with Bexil (BXLC)...interesting quarterly call.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-33654040905823509322013-07-09T16:26:39.666-04:002013-07-09T16:26:39.666-04:00QFamily, There are 1,643,052 Class A shares and 20...QFamily, There are 1,643,052 Class A shares and 20,000<br />Class B shares of Winmill outstanding; voting rights are vested solely in the<br />Class B shares. (Ravenswood v Winmill Feb 2011)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-3066532696758009692013-06-20T00:16:38.519-04:002013-06-20T00:16:38.519-04:00Nate,
I saw mention on the website of Winmill B s...Nate,<br /><br />I saw mention on the website of Winmill B shares. Do you or anyone else know how many B shares are in existence? What others sources of dilution exist? Stock options, preferred shares, notes owned by insiders? QFamilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03481864602072005334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-19345800338797610982013-06-18T13:37:53.034-04:002013-06-18T13:37:53.034-04:00Charlie, maybe not much has changed but your buy p...Charlie, maybe not much has changed but your buy price of $1.70 in 2001 looks good to me. The shares tripled in 3 years and went even higher by 2007, and never traded much lower than your initial price, even in 2008. Since your thesis was based on cheapness vs. asset value I would think you would want to take profits at some point. Seems like a successful cigar butt investment to me.Walterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04745318865555357144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-20397197307679099692013-06-18T01:49:39.898-04:002013-06-18T01:49:39.898-04:00I wrote this up in 2001. It's amazing how lit...I wrote this up in 2001. It's amazing how little it has changed, including the website (it's different but not by a lot). Thanks for writing this up. It was interesting to read what they are up to now twelve years later. Needless to say, this was not one of my better ideas! charlie479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-28316647259855232622013-06-17T03:32:31.951-04:002013-06-17T03:32:31.951-04:00I don't like super exotic, microcaps with litt...I don't like super exotic, microcaps with little to no trading volume in general. How do you leave the trade? <br /><br />In this case guys, take a run for your money:<br /><br />http://www.scribd.com/doc/75684107/Case-Study-4-Clear-Investment-Thesis-Winmill-cash-Bargain<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-69717977380632395912013-06-16T21:36:02.920-04:002013-06-16T21:36:02.920-04:00Jimmy,
Thanks for the links to the articles and a...Jimmy,<br /><br />Thanks for the links to the articles and additional color on Winmill - very helpful. Notably, the WSJ article was from 1998 so the issues at Winmill are not new. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-38207784204396367332013-06-16T21:32:13.322-04:002013-06-16T21:32:13.322-04:00Thanks for the reply Nate.
Winmill appears to be...Thanks for the reply Nate. <br /><br />Winmill appears to be ridiculously cheap and someone might end up with a multi-bagger, but it won't be me. I agree with your comment about partnering with a management that is hostile to shareholders, particularly when said management controls all of the voting shares. <br /><br />I second Jimmy's comment about really enjoying the blog. In addition to the great investment advice, I thought your post on advice to graduates was wonderful; keep up the great work! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-22402476601708454992013-06-16T18:20:04.532-04:002013-06-16T18:20:04.532-04:00Jimmy,
This is indeed cheap, someone sent me some...Jimmy,<br /><br />This is indeed cheap, someone sent me some of the VIC write-ups, and I think it's been cheap for ages. Someone mentioned in one of the write-ups from the early 2000s that it had been cheap for 10 or 20 years. So we're going on possibly thirty years of undervaluation unfortunately. With management working against shareholders I'm not sure when it might change.<br /><br />NateNate Tobikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05660387777171986124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-70625537336589906522013-06-16T18:18:47.409-04:002013-06-16T18:18:47.409-04:00There is no annual report available, if you google...There is no annual report available, if you google their site creatively you can find annual reports for various years, the last is 2009.<br /><br />The reason they don't have an annual report is because management doesn't feel like distributing one. There's a hedge fund that sued them under the Delaware section 220, which is a records request. The company is vigorously fighting the request.<br /><br />So why haven't I invested? Management is what's holding me back. In the Delaware lawsuit the hedge fund alleges that management purposefully is withholding information so they can drive the share price down. I don't want to partner with management that is not only hostile to shareholders, but actively working against them.Nate Tobikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05660387777171986124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-81439845622979177612013-06-14T22:47:33.238-04:002013-06-14T22:47:33.238-04:00Great find Nate!
A few questions:
(i) Is an annu...Great find Nate!<br /><br />A few questions:<br /><br />(i) Is an annual report available for Winmill? I'd like to see if there are any liabilities (debt) encumbering the value of the equity positions in Bexil and Tuxis.<br /><br />(ii) What's holding you back from investing in Winmill given what appears to be a very attractive risk/reward profile?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-80390139249654509012013-06-14T17:59:31.649-04:002013-06-14T17:59:31.649-04:00I've looked at Winmill a few times over the ye...I've looked at Winmill a few times over the years and while I came to the same conclusion as you about their discount to NAV, I'm less certain about the potential to realize that NAV. They are small and closely-held and have shown no particular willingness to reward outside shareholders or ability to compound BVPS. When you're dealing with a company this small, margins of safety (or profits margins) can vanish quite quickly into overhead. It's true of any small company, of course...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-46613822935256526682013-06-14T11:48:17.326-04:002013-06-14T11:48:17.326-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00845845361066120851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2149523431587168680.post-22882125593698200802013-06-14T10:44:54.268-04:002013-06-14T10:44:54.268-04:00Great find.
Indirectly through Midas Securities G...Great find.<br /><br />Indirectly through Midas Securities Group, a wholly-owned sub, Winmill owns 638,588 shares of Foxby Corp. (See Winmill Form 3 filed on 7/20/11 and Midas Securities Group Form 5 filed on 7/20/11.) At $1.60/share, that stake is worth about $1 million.<br /><br />Winmill directly owns 127,869 shares of Global Income Fund. (See Winmill Form 4 filed on 8/2/12.) At $3.85/share, that stake is worth about $500,000.<br /><br />On the other hand, the AUM of the Midas Fund has collapsed in the last two years (from $140MM to $45 MM) along with the share prices of precious metals miners. (See pg. 17 of the Midas Funds 2012 Annual Report.)<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com