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Central Securities

CET
75
Asset Management · Financial Services
Price
$52.43
-0.32 (-0.61%)
Market Cap
$1.55B
Exchange
New York Stock Exchange American
Winston Score
75
Winston is happy
A high-quality business with solid fundamentals.

Share count rising — dilution

+6.3% over 4y

The company has issued more shares over this period, which dilutes each existing shareholder’s stake.

Diluted shares outstanding: 27.3M (2021) → 29.0M (2025)

Central Securities Corp. is a closed-end investment fund based in the United States. It pools money from investors and uses it to buy stocks and other securities, mostly in American companies. The fund has been operating since 1929, making it one of the oldest closed-end funds in the country.

The company makes money by earning dividends and interest from its investments, as well as by selling securities at a profit. Its largest and most well-known holding has historically been Plymouth Rock Company, a private insurance firm, which gives Central Securities an unusual concentration compared to most diversified funds. Because it is a closed-end fund, its shares trade on a stock exchange like regular stocks, and they often trade at a discount to the actual value of the underlying assets — meaning investors sometimes pay less than what the portfolio is worth. The main risk is that its heavy concentration in a few key holdings makes performance heavily dependent on those specific investments.

Winston Score History

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+21.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

+46.2% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Strong earnings growth

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (7%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

41.2%ownership

Insiders own a meaningful stake in the company

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$1.8B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth + cash flow

Central Securities is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 22%. The Winston Score doesn't fully credit this transition from "burner" to "earner."

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Gross Margin
91.9%
Premium pricing power — 91.9% gross margin
Operating Margin
422.4%
Excellent — 422.4% operating margin
ROCE
9.0%
Below par — 9.0% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales YoY
+22.8%
Fast-growing sales (22.8% YoY)
EPS YoY
+70.1%
Earnings growing fast (70.1% YoY)

Earnings growing 25%+ a year. The compounder zone.

EPS Consistency
6/8 quarters
Earnings grew in most of the last 8 quarters

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion
7%
Weak — only 7% of profit becomes cash
FCF Margin
25.1%
Converts sales into free cash efficiently (25.1%)

Free cash flow margin above 20%. Out of every $100 in sales, more than $20 is real cash they keep.

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Stability

Debt / Equity
0.00
Conservative — low debt load (0.00)
Interest Cover
100.00x
Comfortably covers interest (100.0x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)
2.7x
Attractive valuation — P/E 2.7

P/E under 10. The price tag is small relative to last year's profit.

P/E vs Forward
N/A
not available
Data not available

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Dividends

Dividend Yield
5.20%
Healthy income — 5.20% yield

Generous yield. Worth checking whether the payout is sustainable.

Dividend Growth
+17.7%
Dividend growing fast (17.7% YoY)

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