Every investor has heard the name Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B); Warren Buffett’s famous conglomerate has so much going on in so many industries, it can be hard to keep up, asserts Todd Shaver, editor of Bull Market Report.
Just this week, Buffett asked the Fed for permission to up his stake in Bank of America (BAC) above 10%, where it currently sits. Buffett is promising not to become an active shareholder and trying to sway corporate strategy (the banking industry is highly regulated).
Berkshire has made a strong reputation over the generations by investing in brand name companies that outperform over decades — Geico, Dairy Queen, American Express (AXP) — and clearly Buffett believes in Bank of America for the long run.
Meanwhile, Berkshire is looking at emerging technologies. The company made an early stage investment in an Indian digital payments processors, Paytm, which just closed $2 billion in funding.
Berkshire is also building a $200 million wind farm in Canada, which coincides with the company’s plan to shut down all of its coal-fired plants by 2038. So Berkshire isn’t the stodgy old investor everyone thinks it is, as the company is extremely forward-looking as it seeks to dominate emerging markets.
The stock has been on a roller coaster this year, and is currently up 3% year-to-date. Not the best performance, but stable and reliable. We believe there is at least 10% more upside in this stock through the rest of the year.
