Buffett scorecard shows holdings beating Berkshire's stock

Warren Buffett’s largest stock investments at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. have been more rewarding than his own company’s shares this year. Berkshire’s five holdings valued at more than $10 billion all surpassed the 11% advance in the company’s Class B stock through Tuesday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Apple Inc., the company’s most valuable holding, climbed 78% -- the second-biggest gain among U.S.-listed stocks that Berkshire has owned throughout the year. The largest was recorded by StoneCo Ltd., a Brazilian payment processor, which more than doubled.

Buffett's Berkshire trails S&P 500 by avoiding dividends

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s unwillingness to pay dividends has meant shareholders would have been better off with the S&P 500 Index during the past decade. A total-return version of the S&P 500 climbed 405 percent from the index’s March 2009 low through Thursday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Berkshire’s Class B shares, which are included in the index, rose 344 percent over the same period. Meanwhile, Warren Buffett’s company beat the S&P 500’s gain of 310 percent measured before payouts.

 

Buffett’s Berkshire seen as best housing pick

 Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is the best investment for anyone seeking to benefit from a

housing-market rebound, according to Joshua Brown, a vice president at Fusion Analytics Research Partners LLC.

     

     Class B shares have risen 30 percent from last year’s low,  set on Sept. 22. The shares are 3.1 percent away from the highest price since October 2008, before the financial crisis reduced the value of equity investments and derivative contracts owned by Berkshire.

It’s got the safety of a well-diversified business and it hits the housing market from virtually every angle. The Omaha, Nebraska-based company owns insurers, a food distributor, a railroad and a utility, among other units.

     Berkshire’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Co., the largest U.S. mortgage lender, and other banks are among the investments that stand to benefit from a homebuilding recovery.

Buffett’s company owns a more than $13 billion stake in Wells Fargo, second to Coca-Cola Co. among its largest holdings.

     Several Berkshire units are also poised to gain. Benjamin Moore & Co., a paint maker; Johns Manville, a maker of insulation and roofing materials; and Shaw Industries Group Inc., a carpet producer, are among them. They are part of a group that generated 17 percent of first-quarter revenue.