Today, 2/21/11, I sold 2 Apr12 TIE $17 Covered Calls for a net deposit of $20.48 in an IRA account.  My basis for these TIE shares is now $14.87, excluding dividends received.  This transaction represents a simple return of about .68% and an annualized return of about 4.16% if held to expiration.

I am considering these TIE shares as part of my core holding for at least the foreseeable future.  Titanium is a metal that is used a lot in the aerospace industry, which is still in the early stages of a multi-year growth period.  I read that the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner uses a massive 116 metric tons of Titanium, and Boeing has something like a 7 year order backlog on the books.  The dividend and the option premiums available for TIE fit my general investment goals.  The tie in to the aerospace industry is an added bonus.

Speaking of dividends, TIE goes ex-dividend in a couple of weeks on 3/7/12 and will pay their customary .075 quarterly dividend on 3/12/12.  This dividend represents about a 2.0% yield on the current price and a fractionally larger dividend on my basis.

S&P has a 12-month price target of $19.00, down from an earlier $21.00, with a continuing Buy recommendation.  MarketEdge has lowered it price opinion to $14.85 from an earlier $16.10, and now has an Avoid recommendation on TIE.  Neither S&P nor MarketEdge have a very good track record predicting TIE price movements over the past year though.  The 3 YHOO analysts have a 12-month price target of $17.17, down from an earlier $18.50 and now have a rating of 2.6, where 1.0 is a strong sell and 5.0 is a string buy.