PICO Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PICO)

when you need "frackin' water"..this is who you can call ....lol...seriously this is a play on natural resources.....80% insider owned and almost no debt

Well below target.

What's to like?

I am LOVING REIT's right now!

water is under-rated. water shares are under-valued. It's only a matter of time before water is properly valued.

Water. In NV and AZ, where its most prized. Additionally they've been trying to make inroads into CA. I also appreciate the security and diversification that their insurance businesses bring to the stock.

The focus on increasing book value per share appeals to me and is backed up by their linking of it to exec compensation. I've read some of the other Fools and the articles drawing a comparison to early Buffett style management. Sometimes, its nice to hope that maybe, just maybe, that comparison will win out over the long term.

Insider buys.

This 5 star stock on the upswing has hit it's low note in January and with Directors buying up shares sends a signal to this Fool that management is committed to the long term.

C&C

Recession

TMF report compares management to Warren Buffet. Huge reserves of water rights in the west. Pickens is buying stock.

Given historical water deficiencies in the arid West, I think anyone who controls rights to water will do well over the long term. With climate change effecting the amount of water in the Green/Colorado River systems the downstream states (Nev, Ariz, Cal) are all going to be looking for more water. I live at the base of the Wind River Mts. in Wyoming and have seen the glaciers that are the headwaters of the Green River shrink by 30% in the last couple decades. Eventually they'll be gone! No more continual summer supply of water down the Green!

I'm bullish on PICO.

We need Water in order to subsist. In the future, Water demands will increase and Pico will profit from it.

maximise long-term shareholder value

A smart investor guy told me this stock will soon be worth about $48 a share. This pick's for you! I hope you and Boone Pickens is right, ya here.

This company reminds me of Berkshire Hathway witht the way it is run. PICO has invested heavily in water (seems like a strange "commodity", I know) around the SouthWest region of the states, such as Nevada. Water is already becoming scarce there, and it is projected to get much worse as demand rises (from people moving there to retire, etc). PICO owns hundreds of thousands of acres of land, and they sell water rights on that land. The potential returns that PICO can pull in is huge. I think PICO will easily outpace the S&P 500 over the next 5+ years.

This stock looks like a winner with the market currently suffering in a credit crisis. It has capital available, and it is a conservatively operated company. I believe it has the potential to survive this recession, and possibly benefit from it in the long run. It is in a position to gain more assets at cheap prices, and further seperate itself from its competitors. Management is also excellent.

Time to sell.

A diversified holding company seeks to build and operate businesses where value can be created from the development of unique assets, and to acquire businesses. The Company's objective is to maximize long-term shareholder value.