Opened in 1962 in a ceremony attended by President John F. Kennedy, Penn South was seen as a housing model where New Yorkers of modest means became shareholders, aided by extensive city and state tax breaks.
The management timidity described in the Forbes cover story of Feb. 3, 1992 has finally led to a modest uprising among shareholders.
For a short period the line earned a modest return for shareholders, but for most of its life the L&B made a loss.
Its net profit in the first quarter was 36% lower than a year earlier, its share price has fallen by 30% over the past 12 months, and it performed badly in the stress tests of American banks, prompting the Federal Reserve to reject its plans for a modest increase in its shareholder dividend.
And, despite outrage over lavish bonuses and much talk about curtailing excessive risk-taking on Wall Street, President Obama has made only a modest proposal for greater shareholder oversight of executive compensation, leaving it to the French to press for stronger curbs on excessive pay.
The company uses modest leverage to increase shareholder returns.
Eighteen months after privatisation, the Italian government is still the firm's largest shareholder, with a modest 3.4% stake that it wants to sell.
Moreover, many of those smaller firms are privately held meaning that there's less pressure to choke down a modest valuation to appease antsy shareholders.
By contrast, the biggest gains in shareholder wealth were relatively modest.
BAE is positioned to deliver top line and earnings growth (albeit modest) with further material returns to shareholders in 2015.
