Why A Supposed Telecom Company Should Be In Your Energy Portfolio

I am, as regular readers may have gathered, somewhat of a contrarian by nature. I put that down to nearly twenty years in currency dealing rooms around the world, where such an attitude serves well. My wife might believe that it is just that I am an awkward so and so, but that is my story and I’m sticking to it. Anyway, as a contrarian, a stock that has lost around 40 percent in three months is always of interest to me; hence my initial interest in Mas Tec Inc. (MTZ).

  The first thing that might strike you about the chart above is that VectorVest, whose chart it is, places Mas Tec in the Telecom equipment sector. Talking about it here, in an energy focused newsletter may therefore seem a little strange, but all will become clear if you bear with me.

The first thing to point out is that when a six month chart looks like the one above, while it may pique my interest, it should also be approached with caution. The “dead cat bounce” is familiar to most traders, and is based on the fact that even a lifeless object, if it has fallen far enough, will at some point bounce. For a few reasons, though, MTZ doesn’t strike me as an example of that phenomenon, but rather as just great value now that a bottom would appear to have been found.

The first of those reasons explains why a stock listed as a telecom company is appearing here. Mas Tec isn’t just in that business. They are, in fact, a construction company that specializes…