The start of this tale begins in 2003. I had been looking for stocks with better than average dividends. After being burned somewhat in the 2000 stock debacle that was the undoing of the stock boom period, I had sought for other ways to generate wealth.

At that point, I had bought a few other dividend ETFs with returns around 8-9%. Actually, since then I’ve done quite nicely (another story, perhaps). Anyway, one of the searches that I did using Yahoo! Stock screener showed up NAT which was trading at about 13.83. It had generous dividends of around 30% at the time, though they proved to be quite volatile.

Still, I was intrigued. This was before the big run up in oil prices, as well. Oh, if only I had known how hot oil would become…. So I put my big toe by ponying up for $1000 worth of shares through my broker. Total amount of shares was 72 @13.83 + 10.99 dealer’s fee. I was quite smug, I thought, “I have bought a great stock with a generous dividend. Cool.”

But the stock did the quick whiplash, so common after purchases. I ended up exiting the position feeling lucky that I got out at $12.20 and change. Net loss: about 12%. CANSLIM teaches you that stocks that go down dramatically like that rarely recover. That may be true for those facing inherent problems. I think I read at the time that their container contracts were not being renewed, so that future revenues were no longer assured.

And then I forgot about it. Until the oil price began to matter. I checked it periodically, sometimes with relief, but then most recently with horror at how wrong my second decision had been. If I had stayed put, I’d say that each share would be worth $48.40 before taxes ($33.76 per share + $48.40 total dividends from 2003 to present), not including future revenues.

Actually, even at today’s prices,… (Courtesy of Yahoo! Finance)

… it is still looking quite attractive. But it is no longer a bargain price! Oh, well.

I was incensed by people’s attitudes to this young man’s mistakes. Read the blog by yourself and come to your own conclusions. But here is my reply:

Casey,

Don’t let these idle comments from naysayers bring you down. Concentrate on fixing up your mistakes by trying to do the best for everyone.
Too many comments are by people who think they know best how to solve your problem, you know, like get two jobs, this blog ain’t gonna make you money… blahblahblah.. I don’t know why people feel so compelled to ‘lecture’ you on your mistakes. Like you didn’t know or something?! It’s ridiculous! I guess there is always that perverse part about human nature that likes to say “I told you so” “You shouldn’t have done that…”
So I say: keep plugging away, try to fix up the mistakes you made, and most importantly, LEARN… because that’s what life is for. There are too many cowards out there who are scared shitless to do anything, because of the fear of making a mistake! They’re too scared to change their job, too scared to move out of their family home, too scared even to buy a pc, … I guarantee, you’ll never be a success if you never make any mistakes! So, as soon as you get over the fear of making mistakes, the sooner your education can begin!
Just my 2c.
Kenneth