Walter Schloss Screen Scrutinising the New Lows

Definition of a Schloss Screen A set of indicative criteria for a Schloss investing screen might be: A stock at or near its 52-week low price – Being at / near a low could signal a possible bargain stock, although it is important to distinguish between temporary and permanent problems. As Greenwald notes, Walter and Edwin Schoss "scrutinize[d] the new lows list to find stocks that have come down in price. If they find stocks is at a two or three year low, so much the better”. No long-term debt - Schloss avoided companies with much debt as this increased the risk profile of the investment. Price Less Than Book Value per Share - Schloss saw it as a potential bargain if the price per share was below the book value per share. Buffett said that Schloss “doesn’t worry about whether it’s January…whether it’s Monday…whether it’s an election year. He simply says if a business is worth a dollar and I can buy it for 40 cents, something good may happen”. His son, Edwin, was more flexible in wanting some asset protection but being more willing to look at a company’s earnings power. Insider Ownership above average for the industry - Schloss wanted company management to own stock in the company. Long Price History – Schloss liked to look at where a stock was ten or more years ago so he valued the long financial history available in ValueLine. - See more at: http://www.stockopedia.com/content/walter-schloss-investing-screen-scrutinising-the-list-of-new-lows-58099/#sthash.TknoUVnX.dpuf

by Aditya