New Choices Range From Tobacco and Shoes to Defense

Source from:  online.wsj.com October 7, 2007 10/09/2007

Here are the picks and Sept. 28 starting prices for Sunday Journal's 29th Investment Dartboard contest, running through March. Altria Group ($69.53) "People are never going to give up their cigarettes," says Risa Paster of Demarest, N.J. She and her husband, Gregg, both attorneys and readers of the Record of Hackensack, N.J., picked Marlboro maker Altria. Caterpillar ($78.43) Farmington, Ill., resident Barbara J. Dollar worked at this transportation-equipment company for more than 20 years before retiring and remains a big fan of the stock. "There's always going to be a need for good construction equipment," the Peoria Journal Star reader says. Motorola ($18.53) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reader and retailing manager Daniel Bellon says Motorola shares have tumbled over the past year, but he is optimistic about a rebound. Skechers USA ($22.10) Retired pharmacist Ronald S. Owsley in Murray, Utah, says his wife thinks Skechers shoes are the most comfortable she's ever worn -- and he decided on his pick while shopping with her. "If you go to a busy store where a lot of people are buying products, it's time to invest, " says the Salt Lake Tribune reader. VMware ($85) Sacramento Bee reader Ralph Silva wishes he had bought stock in this software company when it went public Aug. 14, with the price jumping 76% that day. The database administrator from Elk Grove, Calif., says "VMware's products are two years ahead of the industry." VSE ($47.28) Austin American-Statesman reader Jack Miller has owned shares in aerospace-and-defense firm VSE for more than a year and has watched the stock price rise steadily. The retired book-binder notes that VSE provides many engineering and technical services to the U.S. government. Enditem