Why Investors Want Crocs, Corning and Dollar General

The company is even saying China will buy lots of new TVs and other electronics as that country gets ready to celebrate the New Year's holiday. Optimism is as ubiquitous as the number of shares traded on Nov. 27, over 42 million compared to its average daily trading volume of less than 14 million shares.

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Below is the one-year price chart for GLW with its retained earnings and its price-to-book value, which as of the most recent quarter was only 0.77. This may be the second most impressive chart of the day. Pay close attention to the direction of retained earnings. GLW data by YCharts

The generous dividend that GLW pays represents a payout ratio of only 24% of earnings. This means not only is the dividend sustainable, it's likely to be increased in the year ahead. This stock still looks like a bargain from my perspective.

Finally, there's good old Dollar General (DG), a company I've written about before. It's still my #1 pick when it comes to discount retail stores, and by many measurements it makes Wal-Mart's (WMT) stock look expensive.

To make matters sweeter for DG, it will be added to the benchmark S&P 500 after the close of trading on Friday. It'll take the place of Cooper Industries (CBE), which is being consumed by Eaton (ETN).

So every fund and every manager that claims to duplicate the action of the S&P 500 will be buying DG shares real soon and in significant numbers. It's difficult to know how much this may help the price of DG, but the analyst consensus of a one-year price target near $61 is beginning to look more doable.

DG will be announcing its latest quarterly numbers on Dec. 11, and if the Thanksgiving weekend retails sales estimates were accurate, it wouldn't surprise this analyst if DG surprises to the upside. Consider buying some on the next down day and then wait for the earnings details to come.

Who says there are no bargains to be found in stocks? CROX, GLW and even DG are attractively priced and have the retained earnings and revenue (and some special circumstances) that should make investors smile throughout the remainder of 2012 and into the new year ahead.

As of the time of publication the author has a position in DG.

This article was written by an independent contributor, separate from TheStreet's regular news coverage.



Jim Cramer and Stephanie Link actively manage a real money portfolio for his charitable trust- enjoy advance notice of every trade, full access to the portfolio, and deep coverage of the latest economic events and market movements.

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