MoneyGram International, Inc. (MGI)

bear rally

Several strong bull and bear pitches on this one. I think it is worth waqtching, and may buy in the next few months if it suffers a set back.

Here's a theory for you to disregard...
There seems to be a lot of conversation that days of the good ol' "moneygram" is another one of those items that is slowly being phased out as a result of nearly every bank getting into free eTransfers and all that good stuff.

I tend to agree that while us North American folks are able to do a lot more with our computers, what I have discovered is that these sorts of services are still a very popular way for folks in North America to send money overseas to nations that don't quite have the PC infrastructure that we enjoy on a day to day basis.

If you weigh the cost of sending money overseas between MGI in comparison to WU & GPN you will find that MGI actually has a very competitive fee structure and a very broad range of services. It seems MGI has cut themselves a very nice international niche market which seems to be a pretty sound model assuming that we will continue to have people send money overseas or to the Caribbean etc.

Loved it at a buck, still like it at three.

Short term technicals and high rating in CAPS.

This stock is expensive . You might think it is only $200 Million market capt. But it has a large mezzanine equity which will be converted to common stock at $2.5 per share in 2013 or sooner . It will eat around 86% stake in the company.From my calculation ,there gonna be a least 600 mil common share in 2013. So if we do the match by accounting the preferred shared , at around $2.5 .This is $1.5 billion company which is more than Euronet or another remittance companies in better financial and operational situation. No way the stock can go much. It will be pulled back soon unless it shows some tremendous growth in this 5-year time frame.

New locations across all america (Canada and Mexico mostly), due to the migration of Mexican workers to Canada, this is going to make this stock to rise like the sun in a summer day. But is not just that companies like Wal-Mart, Bancomer, Coppel, Gigante, Banorte, Uniteller, Bansefi, Caja Popular Mexicana, Divisas Del Balsas, Telecomm/Telegrafos, Operadora Merco, Intermex, Caja Libertad, Grupo Senda, have offices of Moneygram already.

major international expansions over last year with largest bank in middle east, focusing on money transfers, low revenue bill pay services pullback, recent earnings loss due to one time payments, walmart backing, debt finally under good control.

Moneygrams business model is outdated and management has not kept up with the times. It is so easy in todays world to move money around with out MGI's help, so they either need to expand into other areas or die. I am a long time holder of MGI from the Dial to Viad now to MGI days. I sure hope it would out perform but I'm not counting on it after doing reserch on management, so it is just sitting and rotting in my portfolio, waiting for the time when I need a write off, yes I rode it all the way down from the mid $30's. I saw it in the mid $20 and didn't think much of it and the next thing I know it's below $5.

Ev

Many products and services same as WU that trades over 17 dollars while MGI is under 3 dollars. Under rated

This company is prime for 2 things before year end. 2 more quarters to report before year end and they will blow out any expectations. And with there growing presence and getting back to business focus i think someone will make a buyout before 2009 ends at a cheaper rprice today then tomorrow theory . Iam buying heavy on this one, my gut tells me so!

They are very similar to another Mpls-based financial services company called, Metris that went from $30/share to $1/share before being bought by HSBC at $15/share. T.H.Lee stepped in with capital to save Metris and structured the same kind of preferred stock offering as they did with MoneyGram. Further, I feel (hope) that losses from sub-prime securities have been realized. They are getting back to basics by focusing on their core business.

Joining up with VISA should take these guys up, up, and away.

Everyone needs money from somebody to survive during these hard times.

MGI has been beaten up and taken advantage of - but they are working to a better future. They are growing in all the right places!!! India, China and Africa. Profits will return this year and grow over the next several. Management has a vested interest in growing these profits - this one is headed up and will outperform the S & P by several percentage points over the next several years.

Great System

I've owned stock in this for almost a year. In that time, the market has taken a huge tumble.. MGI was almost sold out, but it fell thru.. Which is a good thing for MGI.. In this past year they've opened thousands of new locations, world wide.. Joined forces with VISA.... Now they are aggressively working with China.. They've had a presence in China since 1994 and are widely used.. But are about to expand at rapid pace.. This is a 20 bagger, waiting to pop..,,,,,

Following the trend on this one. It seems to be undervalued. Trying to apply common sense (which may or may not work) it seems like there is a potential for many people to need money wired for various reasons in the coming months/years.

This is a great business that has been hurt by the subprime market and having to write down securities in that market. In the coming quarters income will continue increasing until it is back to its 52 week highs.

Having worked in the payments industry, I am *very* impressed by their core business model and feel it's been beaten down more than it deserves.

This is an industry that is on fire, with a pretty good sized moat that takes decades to build into what is essentially a cash machine.

They douple dip with their fee structure - in that you pay to send money and you pay to collect (through a currency conversion fee).

The subprime mess and bad CEO descions have hamstringed them...but it is survivable.

They are growing in niche markets (aquisitions in Spain) and getting back to fundamentals.

When I look at the revenue being genrated, what they have done to avoid bankruptcy, their expansion plans...coupled with industry knownledge....This is a real world holding I'll keep adding to for sometime to come.

The financials are horrid - but the structure is sound...and time will allow them emerge from their recent missteps quicker than I believe most people anticiapte.