Invest in Yourself

While at the Pick-n-Pull the other day I started wondering just how much money does the place bring in. It doesn’t matter what time I visit my local PNP there is always a long line at the cashiers counter with guys waiting to pay for a wheelbarrow full of used parts. Multiply that by their locations in nine states and in Canada, and it becomes clear that someone is making bank. So I did a little research and learned that the Pick-N-Pull chain is owned by Schnitzer Steel (SCHN), a publically traded company. See, now you can buy some stock in this booming steel company and tell your spouse or significant other that those hours spent at the junkyard aren’t a waste of time, but rather a check on your investments. Oh, and I guess this means you better start paying for the small parts you’ve been sneaking out in your socks.

Louis Navellier, editor of the Blue Chip Growth Letter has this recommendation about the parent company of ‘Pick-N-Pull’:
“My top stock pick for 2004 is Schnitzer Steel (SCHN NASDAQ). The company processes almost 5 million tons of scrap steel and iron annually from auto salvage yards (it also owns Pick-N-Pull), demolition firms and other scrap dealers. All this steel and iron is recycled and sold to steel mills. The industrial expansion in China and Southeast Asia has been causing the prices of recycled steel to soar. The company’s biggest export market is China, but demand is also strong in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Schnitzer Steel’s operating margins have recently doubled, which caused its latest quarterly earnings to soar over 600%. The company has had over 50% annual sales growth during the past four quarters, but trades at less than 23 times forecasted earnings and only 17.2 times forecasted earnings.”