Benj Gallander
Penn Treaty American Corp.
PTA-N
TOP PICK
Jul 16, 2004
Health-insurance has been hit hard. Was facing possibility of chapter 11 and they are still not out of the woods but they are moving in the right direction. Revenues are up 28% on a year-over-year basis. Large debt load.
They were flirting with chapter 11 and still not out of the woods. Had hoped they would get back into the California marketplace which seems to have happened. Have a debt load they have to deal with. Trading at less than a third of book value.
A risky, speculative type of buy. Premiums for long term care were not high enough, but starting to get back in shape. Have also raised some capital. They are doing better, but not out of the woods yet.
At a reasonable price to buy. Into long term health care. Had major, major difficulties, a lot from mismanagement, but have been turning around very smartly. Just reported a profitable quarter. Book Value is $19 plus, but fully diluted it's $13.61. Still has difficulties and problems to overcome but on the risk/reward scale it's positive.
(A Top Pick Sept 6/05. Up 10%.) This is in the long-term care. He likes this insurance company. Once insurance companies, as a whole does better, this should do well. They have reentered the Californian market which is huge for them. Have eliminated all of their debt. This could be a very good ride.
Long term health insurance. Bought it and lost money, but still owns it. A major problem for them has been their statutory filings. Have been doing a lot of work to get them up-to-date. A lot of risks, but possibility of tremendous returns.
Congress has been taking a look at it, which is a bad sign. They have gotten behind on their accounting. They are giving all the positive signs, he is wondering though. He's "happy to hold" but wouldn't buy.