? about CCL stock upgraded by Analysts at....

[bepsf]

Karen and I cruise a great deal on HAL and for the years since buying the 100 shares of stock (for around $3,000 by the way) we have averaged around $1,000 each year in OBCs. I kind of think that this is a rather great investment.

 

Sometimes the perks are worth far more than the basic return from the investment. And for us, this is the case for owning CCL stock

 

That makes a great deal of sense for folks like you who are frequent cruisers, taking longer cruises and take suites - $1000/year is nothing to sniff at...

...but for the average person who takes just one 7-day cruise/year in a standard stateroom - $100/year may not be worth it.

[Cinder Again]

Not saying CCL is not a good buy, have no idea, but how can price not matter when making an investment?

Same as sellling a house, Joanie. Price only matters when you SELL!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Still disagree. Price matters when you're either buying or selling. You need to look at a stock historically and see if it makes sense to buy high. If you're going to hold it until retirement and that's a long way off, then it may not matter. But I always want to get the biggest bang for my buck and the more shares I can buy with a certain amount of money, the better.

 

So the buying price does matter. What doesn't matter is what it is between when you buy and when you sell. Still, we had a stock that rose at one point so high I thought we'd won the lotto .... except we didn't sell. And then Jack fell down and broke his crown. So that was that:o.

[ironin]

Still disagree. Price matters when you're either buying or selling. You need to look at a stock historically and see if it makes sense to buy high. If you're going to hold it until retirement and that's a long way off, then it may not matter. But I always want to get the biggest bang for my buck and the more shares I can buy with a certain amount of money, the better.

 

So the buying price does matter. What doesn't matter is what it is between when you buy and when you sell. Still, we had a stock that rose at one point so high I thought we'd won the lotto .... except we didn't sell. And then Jack fell down and broke his crown. So that was that:o.

 

Wise advice! [WILD APPLAUSE!] Bears repeating. As do bepsf's comments earlier. Brian, after all, is in the business.

[IRL_Joanie]

Most 401K's are invested in Mutual Funds - not directly in equity or debt securities.

Employers never match purchases in other company's stock - they may match purchases made of their own company stock within an employee stock purchase plan, but most often they simply match investments in the mutual funds within employee 401K's up to a certain dollar amount.

 

Brian, it is a 401k program. I do know that the employees own the company and they invest in various aspects of the Stock Market with wide diversity. I know hubby has stock in companies that manufacture computer components, other electronics as well as Cereal manufacturers and more. I also know that more of his stock is on the NASDAQ but does have a few on the Dow Jones (I think I have those right, keep in mind I am not into the stocks, so....)

 

I've always been leery of the Stock Markets, family lost all their money in '29, so never really paid attention until now that we are cruising so much with HAL.

 

So now, it is looking like a nice investment, no matter how small returns might be.

 

Joanie

[serendipity1499]

When I started this thread, never expected to have such a nice discussion..

 

But have to admit that I too purchased it with the OBC's in mind..Now we've only received a total of $650 in OBC's & dividends, since we purchased it in March of 2009, but to me it's been fun to have...

 

BTW I treated this stock purchase the same way I treat my small amount of gambling money on the ship..Have a certain amount to spend & am aware that I could lose it all..Only play the slots to have fun & if I don't have fun I quit..Last cruise I spent a total of $15.00 in 20 days in the casino, since I was not having fun with the new machines..I enjoying hearing & seeing those quarters dropping down into the tray..Hated that I had to put my card into the slot machine to cash out..

 

If I win then I'm delighted, but if I lose I'm not upset..In the case of the CCL purchase, it was a chunk of cash, in the money market doing nothing..

 

And yes, I do agree with you both Brian & Heather..It makes no difference what the stock is worth to us now unless we're planning to sell it, which we're not...

 

I'm still having fun tracking it!

 

Cheers....:):)Betty

[DFD1]

Serendipity, you're right. I bought additional shares on 10/11/10 at $40.15.

It closed today at $47.55. If my math is correct, that is a gain of $7.40 in about 84 days.

 

Still, not too bad!

[serendipity1499]

Serendipity, you're right. I bought additional shares on 10/11/10 at $40.15.

It closed today at $47.55. If my math is correct, that is a gain of $7.40 in about 84 days.

 

Still, not too bad!

 

:) You're right...Not bad at all..But hope I didn't junx it..;) If I had some extra $$$ laying around I might take a chance & buy more, but I'm still chicken when it comes to stocks.. I'm very conservative with my IRA..

 

Cheers.. Betty

[erewhon]

Serendipity,

As a non US citizen, may I enquire as to What is your IRA ?

[bepsf]

Serendipity,

As a non US citizen, may I enquire as to What is your IRA ?

 

An IRA is an "Individual Retirement Account"

 

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/ira.asp

[Willsot]

Price per share is just a function of how many shares are outstanding, not how good or bad the investment is.

[serendipity1499]

Serendipity,

As a non US citizen, may I enquire as to What is your IRA ?

 

As Brian mentioned an IRA is an "Individual Retirement Account" ..When I was employed, I put a percentage of my salary into a company sponsored "Thrift & Savings Plan"...My company matched me dollar for dollar & I did not pay taxes on it..

When I retired, I rolled it over into an "IRA"...Now according to U.S. laws, we must begin to take a certain percentage out of our IRA's every year starting at age 70 and a half..When we take the money out, we then pay income taxes on the amount which is withdrawn..

If we've invested wisely, we'll have enough funds, with our

pensions & Social Security to live comfortably for the rest of our lives & continue to cruise..If we don't invest wisely, then we may not be able to cruise as often..Therefore, I'm quite careful with my IRA as want to continue to travel as much as possible..

Cheers....:)Betty

[erewhon]

Brian and Betty,

 

Thank you both for explaining.

[bepsf]

Price per share is just a function of how many shares are outstanding, not how good or bad the investment is.

 

 

If that were truly the case, prices would remain quite stable rather than fluctuating since there are not daily fluctuations in the numbers of shares outstanding.

[serendipity1499]

Price per share is just a function of how many shares are outstanding, not how good or bad the investment is.

 

I'm thoroughly confused now..:confused:

If I buy 100 shares of stock at $20 a share & it goes up to $30 a share in a year & for the first time in several years, pays a dividend, are you saying that I can't tell how good or bad my investment is? :confused::confused:

 

If that were truly the case, prices would remain quite stable rather than fluctuating since there are not daily fluctuations in the numbers of shares outstanding.

 

Now you've both lost me...:confused: Don't understand the meaning of "number of shares outstanding"..

Betty

P.S. I've jinxed it...It closed higher yesterday & going down today...;)

[DFD1]

Not to worry. IMO it is a good stock in a very well run company. You're okay.

 

The market is in a tither today. Nothing new about that, especially in the last few months.

[bepsf]

I'm thoroughly confused now..:confused:

 

If I buy 100 shares of stock at $20 a share & it goes up to $30 a share in a year & for the first time in several years, pays a dividend, are you saying that I can't tell how good or bad my investment is?

 

Now you've both lost me...:confused: Don't understand the meaning of "number of shares outstanding"..

 

Betty

 

P.S. I've jinxed it...It closed higher yesterday & going down today...;)

 

 

Betty--

Every company who is publicly traded issue a certain number of shares - Some are held in reserve while others are distributed to employees and officers of the company and the remainder is sold on the open market.

When the demand for purchases of that company's stock goes up and the offers for sales drops due to the company's financial perfomance, ratings changes or whim & speculation - the price goes up. When demand for purchases drops and the offers for sales increase, the price goes down.

A volatile market occurs when the price of the stock has very little to do with actual performance of the underlying corporation - it's based on rumor, whim and speculation which creates artificial short-term changes in demand for purchases and/or sales.

Nowadays with people playing the stock market like a roulette wheel, and having no appreciation or understanding for what they're buying, there's often very little correlation between the actual value of a company and it's share price on any given day. It's best to look at the underlying factors of the company such as the quality of it's management, the quality and market acceptance of it's product, it's cash reserves, its actual costs to do business, it's profitability and other factors to determine whether it's a worthy investment of your dollars over the long term.

[CowPrincess]

 

 

P.S. I've jinxed it...It closed higher yesterday & going down today...;)

 

No, you did not jinx it -- I did when I was telling DH about what it closed at yesterday :D

[serendipity1499]

Betty--

 

Every company who is publicly traded issue a certain number of shares - Some are held in reserve while others are distributed to employees and officers of the company and the remainder is sold on the open market.

 

When the demand for purchases of that company's stock goes up and the offers for sales drops due to the company's financial perfomance, ratings changes or whim & speculation - the price goes up. When demand for purchases drops and the offers for sales increase, the price goes down.

 

A volatile market occurs when the price of the stock has very little to do with actual performance of the underlying corporation - it's based on rumor, whim and speculation which creates artificial short-term changes in demand for purchases and/or sales.

 

Nowadays with people playing the stock market like a roulette wheel, and having no appreciation or understanding for what they're buying, there's often very little correlation between the actual value of a company and it's share price on any given day. It's best to look at the underlying factors of the company such as the quality of it's management, the quality and market acceptance of it's product, it's cash reserves, its actual costs to do business, it's profitability and other factors to determine whether it's a worthy investment of your dollars over the long term.

 

Thanks Brian...I gotcha..Nice easy & a simple explanation..You should be a teacher of finance..! You make it very understandable..Many Many years ago, I belonged to a stock club & we looked at everything including the backgrounds of the Officers...We made some good buys, but some bad ones too..Have forgotten most of what I learned in that club, but still interested.. Fortunately we have an excellent Broker who knows exactly what we want & has helped to keep us solvent for more than 20 years..I didn't always listen to him, but have learned quite a bit from him..

 

No, you did not jinx it -- I did when I was telling DH about what it closed at yesterday :D

 

Oh, so you're the Culprit!;):D Phew, Thought I was going to get blamed again!

Cheers everyone Betty

[bepsf]

Thanks Brian...I gotcha..Nice easy & a simple explanation..You should be a teacher of finance..! You make it very understandable.

 

Thanks Betty - That's very kind of you to say!

I'm glad I could be of some help.

:)

[m steve]

and you get dividends and OBCs it's really what you should be happy with. It's almost back to what I paid several years ago and my only regret was not buying more when it was in the teens but I was looking for high dividend stocks at that time. It would have been my best growth stock if I had.

[darienill]

carnival just raised the divided from 10 cents a qtr to 25 cents a qtr.

[Richie2pies]

Taking 4-5 cruises a year on Princess and HAL has paid for me. The OBC is great and the divident is just an added bonus. The stock has also made me some $$$, not that I'm looking to sell.