Buy and Sell Actions June 2018

Further (and hopefully final) consolidation.

With this month’s actions, I am holding minimal cash in my portfolio. I have to wait for the next batch of dividend before further purchase. Of course, if the market continues to go south and my portfolio goes below 10% (it’s below 5.2% now), then it is time to use the opportunity fund.

Raising cash for better opportunities

Sold the following counters to raise cash for counters which I have more confident in.

• APAC Realty which was bought at $0.885 last month.  Divested at $0.92 for an extremely small gain of 2.6%.
• IFS Capital was sold at $0.225 at a loss of 16.1%. Initially,  I was hoping that it will turn around in Q1 but it did not. It might still do so for the year but am unsure about it.
• Took a loss of 9.7% for Keong Hong by selling at $0.52. I still think it is a good company but construction is not a sector I am not too familiar with.
• Hypens Pharma was a lucky strike turns south.  Divested my IPO allocation at a loss of 5.6%.
• Nordic was divested at $0.515 at a loss of 11.3%. I continue to think that the company is well managed but my interest level for its business is just insufficient for me to find out more about it.

With the cash raised, I accumulated the following counters.

• Added UMS at $0.89 which brings my average price to $0.95. If it continues to pay out $0.06 dividend (which I believe it is capable of), the yield based on my average cost is 6.3%. Business from Applied Materials might be flattish for next few quarters but its components sales should help to cushion that.
• Added JEP at $0.205 which brings my average price to $0.26. Going to give the new boss 2 to 3 years to bring it to the next level. Unless there is further changes in its fundamentals, will probably stick with the current stake that takes up 2% of my portfolio.
• Straco has bought back shares at around $0.76 – $0.78 in late April and the price has stayed at around $0.78 after that. With the trade war between US and China, it dipped to $0.745 on Monday. I decided to pick some up at $0.755, bringing my average price to $0.82 and it got back into my core holdings as it now takes up 5% of my portfolio.
• Hong Kong Land has finally rallied beyond my average purchase price last week but with the trade war, it dropped on Monday. Decided to add more at US$7.16, bringing my average price to US$7.34.

On the international front

• I have been waiting to initiate a position on Tencent. Finally took the plunge and bought at HK$413. With a trailing PE of >40, it is definitely not cheap but it has been growing its earning at more than 40% for the past decade and at 73% for last year. Based on the past few quarters results, it does not seem to be slowing down at the moment. Hence, the current correction from its 52-week high of HK$477 provided an opportunity for me to have a stake in this massive giant. Despite its size, I think it still has potential for further strong growth in the next few years.
• Added Starbucks at US$57.2, bringing my average price to US$57.5. On the very next day of my purchase, chairman Howard Schultz announced his departure! Talk about timing! I am still confident of the company’s growth prospect in China but just lamenting that I could have bought my second stake at a lower price.
• Added Ulta Beauty at US$255, bringing my average price to US$217. It’s no longer as cheap as the initial price I bought but it has continued to deliver a strong performance for 2018 Q1. That provides me the confident of its performance for this year and beyond.
• Added Disney at US$101, bringing my average price to US$103. Disney continues to announce good results for the year. With two strong quarters, it signals that Mickey is back on track again after a dismal 2017. At current price, its forward PE is only 13+, definitely value for money.
• Added Arista Net at US$275, bringing my average price to US$259. While its price has gone up by 10% since my first purchase, I still think that the current price is a fair one to pay, considering its relentless growth.

Rebalancing of REIT

Sold my rights and excess rights of Frasers Logistic Trust at $1.05. Basically break even with my average price of $1.04. Also, decided to sell Frasers Hospitality Trust at $0.695, taking a loss of 4.9% as I feel more uncertain about its performance in Sydney after reading its recent presentation.

With the cash, I added more Mapletree REITs.

• Added Mapletree Industrial Trust at $1.90, bringing my average price to $2.04.
• Added Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust at $1.14, bringing my average price to $1.16.
• Added Mapletree Commercial Trust at $1.55, bring my average price to $1.58.