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The following are today's upgrades for Validea's Book/Market Investor model based on the published strategy of Joseph Piotroski. This value-quant strategy screens for high book-to-market stocks, and then separates out financially sound firms by looking at a host of improving financial criteria.

FUTUREFUEL CORP (FF) is a small-cap value stock in the Chemical Manufacturing industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Joseph Piotroski changed from 0% to 80% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: FutureFuel Corp. is a manufacturer of diversified chemical products and biofuels. The Company operates in two segments: chemicals and biofuels. The chemicals segment manufactures specialty chemicals for specific customers (custom chemicals) as well as multi-customer specialty chemicals (performance chemicals). Its custom manufacturing product portfolio includes agrochemicals, adhesion promoters, a biocide intermediate, and an antioxidant precursor. The performance chemicals products include a portfolio of nylon and polyester polymer modifiers and several small-volume specialty chemicals and solvents for diverse applications. The biofuels segment primarily produces and sells biodiesel to its customers. In addition, the Company sells petrodiesel in blends with biodiesel and with no biodiesel added. It offers B100 and biodiesel blended with petrodiesel (B2, B5, B10, B20, B50, and B99 blends) at its Batesville facility and at a short-term leased storage facility in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of FUTUREFUEL CORP

GRAHAM HOLDINGS CO (GHC) is a mid-cap growth stock in the Schools industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Joseph Piotroski changed from 0% to 80% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: Graham Holdings Company is a diversified holding company. The Company's segments include Kaplan International, Kaplan Higher Education, Kaplan Supplemental Education, Television Broadcasting, Manufacturing, Healthcare and Automotive. Kaplan International includes postsecondary education, professional training and language training businesses outside the United States. Higher Education includes Kaplan as a service provider to higher education institutions. Supplemental Education includes Kaplan's test preparation programs and domestic professional and other continuing education businesses. Television Broadcasting includes seven television stations located in Houston, Texas (TX); Detroit, Michigan; Orlando, Florida (FL); San Antonio, TX; Roanoke, Virginia (VA); and two stations in Jacksonville, FL. The Company's manufacturing companies comprise the ownership of a supplier of pressure treated wood and a supplier of parts used in electric utilities and industrial systems, among others.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of GRAHAM HOLDINGS CO

TIMBERLAND BANCORP INC (TSBK) is a small-cap value stock in the Regional Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Joseph Piotroski changed from 0% to 80% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: Timberland Bancorp, Inc. is a holding company for Timberland Bank (the Bank). The Bank is a community-oriented bank, which offers a variety of savings products to its retail and business customers while concentrating its lending activities on real estate secured loans. Its lending activities are focused primarily on the origination of loans secured by real estate, including residential construction loans, one-to-four-family residential loans, multi-family loans and commercial real estate loans. The Bank also originates commercial business loans and other consumer loans. It offers personal checking, savings accounts, timberland financial services, health savings accounts, online banking, cash management and remote deposit, ACH transactions, merchant services, and others. The Bank serves consumers and businesses across Grays Harbor, Thurston, Pierce, King, Kitsap and Lewis counties, Washington with a full range of lending and deposit services through its 23 branches.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of TIMBERLAND BANCORP INC

About Joseph Piotroski: Piotroski isn't your typical Wall Street big shot. In fact, he's not even a professional investor. He's a good old numbers-crunching accountant and college professor. But in 2000, shortly after he started teaching at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, Piotroski published a groundbreaking paper in the Journal of Accounting Research entitled "Value Investing: The Use of Historical Financial Statement Information to Separate Winners from Losers". In it, Piotroski laid out an accounting-based stock-selection/shorting method that produced a 23 percent average annual back-tested return from 1976 through 1996 -- more than double the S&P 500's gain during that time. Piotroski's findings were reported in major financial publiations like SmartMoney. Today, he teaches accounting at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.

About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.