Story of the automobile: Its history and development from 1760 to 1917: With an analysis of the standing and prospects of the automobile industryBarber, H. L. (Herbert Lee)
History
Story of the automobile: Its history and development from 1760 to 1917: With an analysis of the standing and prospects of the automobile industry
Barber, H. L. (Herbert Lee)
Automobiles -- History
There has, therefore, been so little activity in these securities,
that examples of their flotations are negligible in this report.
Those most in the public eye are perhaps:
The Harroun Motors Corporation
The Emerson Motors Company, Inc.
The Ford Tractor Company, Inc., etc. etc.
SOME LEADING EXAMPLES OF APPRECIATION OR DEPRECIATION IN VALUE OF SUCH
STOCKS SINCE THEY WERE PUT OUT.
An example of depreciation in automobile stocks of an exaggerated
type was that of the United States Motor Company, a combination of
the Maxwell-Briscoe, Columbia, Stoddard-Dayton, Brush, and Sampson
Companies. With an issue of about $35,000,000 stock, New York Curb
prices in 1912 for the common ranged from 9 down to 1/16 and for the
preferred from 30-1/2 down to 3/4.
The properties of this company have since been taken over by the
Maxwell Motors Companys, which issued the following securities:
$13,000,000 1st preferred
11,000,000 2nd preferred
13,000,000 common
The prices of these stocks have ranged as follows:
1914 1917
Common 3 47-1/2
1st preferred 22 64
2nd preferred 7 32
This instance gives an extreme example of the fluctuations possible in
motor stocks in one year, in 1912 the market values reaching as high as
7,200 per cent of the value indicated at low. The re-organized company
in less than five years showed a market value of possibly 38,000 per
cent of the market value of the old company at its low, and 500 per
cent of its value at its high.
These great increases in volume and values are what have made so
many motor millionaires, and, conversely, have swept away some large
fortunes.
Another instance is the stock of the Studebaker Corporation, which
sold as low as 20 in 1914 and which now brings 102. Also the
Kelly-Springfield Tire Company’s stock rose from 50 to 299, due to
their great increase in business and consequent large earnings.
GENERAL COMPARISON.
The attached chart, showing the average high and low prices of
representative groups of securities during 1916, may be used as a
comparison of the average selling price of the motor group with that of
railroads, industrials, and mining.
It will be seen that the greatest fluctuations occur in the mining,
steel and iron stocks of the standard list, and that a similar
fluctuation occurs in the tire and automobile stocks of the motor group.
This comparison would tend to show that the tire and motor stocks are
still in the class which fluctuates considerably and therefore, except
in special cases, are more or less speculative. In this light these
figures and comparisons are very interesting and may be carefully
considered from the investment standpoint.
_The following chart compares the average high and low prices of
representative groups of stocks during 1916 with similar groups in the
automobile field:_
[Illustration: Chart]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account