Forum Topics WDS WDS WPL direction
knowlesy
Added 6 years ago

I Have been following WPL for a few months now, got in @ 17.05, when the sell off happened I got out @ 17.28; The thinking was that with the fuel price down, company recording a loss, and a 300 worker reduction being some big red flags that I would be able to get back in at a better price, reality is that this stock keeps bouncing around and I can't workout why. This is a great company 35% on sale from fair value really good dividend payer, has a good moat, good cash reservs, has been prepairing to buy up companys on sale, and will hold for many years but I always hear don't double down on a stock, but in this case thats how i feel i should have done instead of selling.

Just trying to gauge what's everyones position is on doubling down?

Was I worng in thinking that these were red flags? (fuel price down, company recording a loss, and a 300 worker reduction)

 

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Bear77
Added 6 years ago

Hi Knowlesy, I've replied to your other WPL query in the "Where to from here for ASX?" thread - see here: https://strawman.com/forums/topic/4789 However, regarding this post of yours (above) - The 300 worker reduction is just right-sizing the workforce for the current environment - with less demand for their gas - they can easily put workers back on when things pick up again. Apparently they had or have 3,834 employees - see here: https://www.owler.com/company/woodside So that puts the employee reduction into some context - less than 8% of their workforce. Woodside is very well run and are long term strategic planners, so they will continue to invest through the cycle to enable future growth. Many of their projects take decades to come online, which is partly because of their offshore locations, and partly just because of the industry they are in and the time it takes to reach FID and develop the necessary infrastructure to bring these fields online - and the infrastructure to process the gas into compressed liquid for shipping, etc. Such companies often report statutory losses in years when prices for what they sell are down, but I tend to keep my focus on the future with a company like Woodside, which is also what Peter Coleman and his executive management team are doing. Woodside is the largest energy company on the Australian market, and they have been one of the best energy sector performers over the decades - in terms of average total shareholder returns. However... you can make even more money by buying more WPL shares when they're down (like now) and trimming your position when they're absolutely flying. In terms of doubling down, I did a bit of that in March, including with WPL, but I'm not doing it at the moment, which I explained in my other reply earlier today. I still hold plenty of WPL shares. However, I do hold more Gold sector shares than I hold Energy sector shares at this point in time.

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