Fairfax Financial (TSE: FFH) is a Buy Once Again

For people who have ha the opportunity to follow my posts: my first report on the company, when I commented on the company taking it's subsidiaries private or on a recent acquisition over the past two years, know how much we are fond of Fairfax Financial Holdings limited. This Canadian based insurer has provided great returns for it's shareholders through astute acquisitions and massive gains on credit default swaps derivative contracts in 2008. I am very pleased with it's performance for the past two years I have held at the company's stock.

The company announced on January 18th 2011 that the 99% of the shareholders of First Mercury Financial Corporation that cast their vote had visibly almost unanimously voted in favor of the friendly takeover bid proposed by Fairfax Financial. This acquisition is very typical of the way the company's CEO, the great investor Vivan Prem Watsa manages these operations. For those who are not accustomed to the company, it's name stands for Fair and Frieldly Acquisitions and should not be mistaken with Fairfax county in Virginia. The company will generally come with a bid for a company that is usually higher than the target's current price and win the approval of shareholders.

It is interesting to note that acquisitions and major investments are managed at the holding company level by  Vivam Prem Watsa and his small team. As of the last quarterly earnings release, the company stated that it had $32.5 billion of assets and close to $8.9 billion of shareholder's equity or 416$ per share and this is certainly the first reason to buy the stock. We also know from the 2010 annual meeting slide presentation that when current management took over in 1985, the company's book value was 1.52$ per share. They have to be doing something right in the tough insurance business.

Many other factors have to be taken into account, but I have noticed that when the company is trading under book value per share, it tends to rally back to this value. At the current price of 383$ per share, that implies at least an 8.3% return if book value doesn't change by the next quarterly filing on February 17th 2011.

10 year target price: 910$

Disclosure: The author is long FFH.TO