This is a reprint of my 25 August 2008 RealMoney column.

Owens & Minor (OMI) is the nation’s leading distributor of medical and surgical supplies to the acute-care market. It’s also a health care supply-chain management company and a national direct-to-consumer supplier of testing and monitoring supplies for diabetics.

Most of its revenue is derived from fees based on a percentage of the value of products distributed, but 32% of its revenue is contracted on the basis of the company’s costs. Its primary competitor in medical/surgical distribution is Cardinal Health (CAH) . In the direct-to-consumer diabetes supply business, its largest competitor is Liberty Medical, a subsidiary of MedcoHealth Solutions (MHS) .

Owens & Minor has been establishing a track record of earnings surprises, beating analysts’ estimates in each of the last three quarters. Analysts are beginning to reward the company with higher full-year 2008 and 2009 estimates, which now stand at

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Good article on CNN Money today about the Real Estate market, check it out: Let the bargain hunting begin. Prices may still be falling, but they're low enough for some investors to buy, sell, and pocket a tidy profit. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Rock-bottom home prices have finally begun to lure vulture real estate investors into the fray. Sharon Restrepo, a broker in South Florida, where home prices have dropped nearly 27% over the past 12 months, recently bought a three-family home in Cape Coral from a very motivated seller for a mere $65,000. It listed for $195,000. She can rent ...

Fast Money’s Karen Finerman loves “bargain real estate.” But what conclusion did she reach on Maguire Properties (MPG)?

She likes “the dynamic of absolute forced selling.”

While I appreciate the contrarian perspective on a stock with a broken deal and discontinued dividend, I have to say it doesn’t look too good on the models I follow.  Here’s how it looks:

Earnings momentum: Neutral Earnings quality: Negative Price Momentum: Negative Free cash flow: Neutral Return potential: Negative