Benj Gallander, president of Contra The Heard Investment Letter
Focus: Contrarian investing

MARKET OUTLOOK

In all likelihood there will be a different president sitting in the White House in a little over a year, if not before. That will offer more stability to both the U.S. and global economies. The current self-described “very stable genius” will be relegated to the annals of history. That will ultimately help the markets, albeit a recession remains in the wind.

TOP PICKS

NORTHERN EUROPEAN OIL ROYALTY TRUST (NRT:UN)
Last purchased at $6.52 in 2017.

This company has royalty rights on oil and gas in Germany. It is working with ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell and Vermillion. It normally pays an excellent distribution, which varies with the resource prices.

BLACK DIAMOND GROUP (BDI:CT)
Last purchased at $2.11 in 2018.

Alberta-based modular home and workspace provider Black Diamond has improving numbers and they are expected to progress further, though it is still losing money. The company has been diversifying into other geographies and sectors, which should help. Overall insiders have been acquiring.

FIRST US BANCSHARES (FUSB:UW)
Last purchased at $8.32 in 2015.

This Alabama-based regional has been the laggard of the many American banks acquired by us. It appears to have the potential to do better than a double while paying a quarterly dividend of $0.02.  In the past, it paid dividends of better than $1 a year with roughly the same share count.

PAST PICKS: OCT. 22, 2018

OBSIDIAN ENERGY (OBE:CT)
Stock reverse split 1-for-7 on June 10, 2019.

• Then: $1.02
• Now: $0.88
• Return: -88%
• Total return: -88%

REITMANS (RET/A:CT)

• Then: $4.06
• Now: $2.48
• Return: -39%
• Total return: -35%

INNODATA (INOD:UW)

• Then: $1.49
• Now: $1.37
• Return: -8%
• Total return: -8%

Total return average: -44%

COMPANY TWITTER: @ContratheHeard
PERSONAL TWITTER: @BenjContra
WEBSITE: contratheheard.com