Keeping Title Insurance Stocks on My Radar

To state the obvious, it is slow out there. Breadth is OK, and there is a little action in oil and energy, but this market is thin and choppy, and things are subject to very quick reversals.

Bonds continue to be very strong, and we have the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT - commentary - Cramer's Take) moving back up once again. The good news there is that mortgage rates are likely to keep moving lower. Lower rates will lead to more refinancing and that is a positive for the title insurance business.

There are a number of stocks in that group that I'm actively trading, Fidelity National Financial (FNF - commentary - Cramer's Take), First American (FAF - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Stewart Information Services (STC - commentary - Cramer's Take). They are thin, especially on a day like this, and they are getting flipped actively intraday. The overall patterns there are good, however, and I'm going to keep them on my radar screen.

At the time of publication, Rev Shark was long First American.

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Know What You Own: Fidelity National and First American operate in the surety and title insurance industry, and some of the other stocks in its field include Old Republic (ORI - commentary - Cramer's Take), MBIA (MBI - commentary - Cramer's Take) and CAN Surety (SUR - commentary - Cramer's Take). For more on the value of knowing what you own, visit TheStreet.com's Investing A-to-Z section.

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James "Rev Shark" DePorre is the author of Invest Like a Shark: How a Deaf Guy with No Job and Limited Capital made a Fortune Investing in the Stock Market. He is founder and CEO of Shark Asset Management, an investment management firm, and he also operates sharkinvesting.com, an interactive online community that serves and educates active investors. DePorre holds business and law degrees from the University of Michigan, is a member of the Michigan Bar Association and a former tax attorney and CPA. He lives in Anna Maria Island, Fla., with his wife and two children. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Rev Shark appreciates your feedback; click here.