I disagree. See, despite your "educated" analysis, you...

I disagree. See, despite your "educated" analysis, you confuse/conflate the shareprice with the underlying business. How can you say either RRT or AFG have been "tread[ing] water"? What suggests that they have been? I wager this, too, can't be substantiated. I have read, re-read and re-re-read all their announcements, yet fail to see your point. A better viewpoint might be that previously investors were paying too much (at least for AFG).

So you have a friend that says they push the rules. True or not, we don't know your friend. We don't know how they push the rules. We don't know how much this would distort accounting reality. And, even if they were, I don't think that it suggests necessarily that it's not a healthy company. Come on, "buddy", either you're within the rules or you're breaking them. Like your friend, he's probably breaking the confidentiality provisions of his employment contract!

Finally, although it is true that as far as we can tell MFS and CNP's directors are not going to jail, their director's actions were simply bad business dealings, not cooking the books as you imply (which is illegal). You may find that this nuance somewhat confusing, but let me assure you the courts and "educated" judges don't!

Good luck.