Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS)

witness1260 (81.91) Submitted: 8/31/2011 12:33:32 PM : Start Price: $11.09 BCS Score: -4.44

There's a lot of hate out there for the BCS because every year some random team like Boise State or Utah goes undefeated and doesn't get to play for the national championship. So everyone wants a playoff instead. Personally, I kind of like the BCS and don't think there should be a playoff. So that's why I think BCS is going to beat the market.Seriously, though, I do like this stock. In the financial crisis of 2008, Barclays did pretty well. They were secure enough to make a bid for Lehman Brothers and then buy it out of bankruptcy. I think they know what they're doing and will be fine through the crisis. Honestly, I have no idea how to read a bank's balance sheet because everything is under Other Non-Current, but their debt, while it has increased a lot since 2008, is tiny compared to their massive assets, and they have less of it than similar banks. I also have no idea how a bank has a profit margin, but theirs is almost twice the industry average, which I like in most companies. And their CFO assured the Wall Street Journal that they're in good shape with liquidity, which is what did the banks in in 2008.Here's the most compelling reason of all: let's say that some horrible calamity did befall the world economy (or even just Barclays) and they were forced to write down everything by half. Literally they just announced one day that they were worth half as much as they were yesterday. They would STILL be trading at less than book value. I don't think they will have to take a write-down like that, but it's nice to know that that's how little investors have valued this company. Eventually the panic will have to stop.