Investments

12 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2019

Investments, Debt and Equity Securities [Abstract]

Investments

3. Investments

The Company has investments in publicly traded equity securities, corporate bonds, state and municipal debt securities, REITs, money markets, certificates of deposits and hedge funds. Effective with the Company’s adoption of ASU 2016-01, Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, on May 1, 2018, the Company carries all investments at fair value. The investments in debt securities, which includes all investments except for the hedge funds, mature between June 2019 and January 2044. The Company uses the average cost method to determine the cost of securities sold with any unrealized gains or losses reported in the respective period’s earnings. Dividend and interest income are reported as earned.

As of April 30, 2019 and 2018, investments consisted of the following:

Investments at			Gross		Gross
April 30, 2019	Cost		Unrealized		Unrealized			Reported
	Basis		Gains		Losses			Value
Municipal bonds	$	5,459,000	$	79,000	$	(55,000	)	$	5,483,000
Corporate bonds	$	26,000	$	-	$	-		$	26,000
REITs	$	89,000	$	1,000	$	(6,000	)	$	84,000
Equity securities	$	16,618,000	$	4,143,000	$	(296,000	)	$	20,465,000
Money Markets and CDs	$	1,233,000	$	-	$	-		$	1,233,000
Total	$	23,425,000	$	4,223,000	$	(357,000	)	$	27,291,000

Investments at			Gross		Gross
April 30, 2018	Cost		Unrealized		Unrealized			Reported
	Basis		Gains		Losses			Value
Municipal bonds	$	5,984,000	$	66,000	$	(309,000	)	$	5,741,000
Corporate bonds	$	129,000	$	2,000	$	-		$	131,000
REITs	$	110,000	$	3,000	$	(7,000	)	$	106,000
Equity securities	$	15,930,000	$	3,714,000	$	(311,000	)	$	19,333,000
Money Markets and CDs	$	1,035,000	$	-	$	-		$	1,035,000
Total	$	23,188,000	$	3,785,000	$	(627,000	)	$	26,346,000

Marketable securities that are equity securities are carried at fair value on the balance sheets with changes in fair value recorded as an unrealized gain or (loss) in the Statements of Operations in the period of the change. Upon the disposition of a marketable security, the Company records a realized gain or (loss) on the Company’s statements of operations. On April 30, 2019, as a result of the adoption of ASU 2016-01 – Financial Instruments, the Company reclassified $2,424,000 of net unrealized gains on marketable securities, that were formerly classified as available-for-sale equity securities before the adoption of the new standard, from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income to Retained Earnings.

The Company evaluates all investments for other-than temporary declines in fair value, which are defined as when the cost basis exceeds the fair value for approximately one year. The Company also evaluates the nature of the investment, cause of impairment and number of investments that are in an unrealized position. When other than a temporary decline is identified, the Company will decrease the cost of the investment to the new fair value and recognize a loss. The investments are periodically evaluated to determine if impairment changes are required. As a result of this standard, management recorded impairment losses of $68,000 for the year ended April 30, 2019 and $31,000 for the year ended April 30, 2018.

The following table shows the investments with unrealized losses that are not deemed to be other-than-temporarily impaired, aggregated by investment category and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position, at April 30, 2019 and 2018.

Unrealized Loss Breakdown by Investment Type at April 30, 2019

	Less than 12 months					12 months or greater					Total
Description	Fair Value		Unrealized Loss			Fair Value		Unrealized Loss			Fair Value		Unrealized Loss
Municipal bonds	$	772,000	$	(4,000	)	$	580,000	$	(50,000	)	$	1,352,000	$	(54,000	)
REITs	$	—	$	—		$	32,000	$	(6,000	)	$	32,000	$	(6,000	)
Equity securities	$	932,000	$	(102,000	)	$	1,652,000	$	(195,000	)	$	2,584,000	$	(297,000	)
Total	$	1,704,000	$	(106,000	)	$	2,264,000	$	(251,000	)	$	3,968,000	$	(357,000	)

Unrealized Loss Breakdown by Investment Type at April 30, 2018

	Less than 12 months					12 months or greater					Total
Description	Fair Value		Unrealized Loss			Fair Value		Unrealized Loss			Fair Value		Unrealized Loss
Municipal bonds	$	960,000	$	(200,000	)	$	2,385,000	$	(109,000	)	$	3,345,000	$	(309,000	)
REITs	$	55,000	$	(6,000	)	$	27,000	$	(1,000	)	$	82,000	$	(7,000	)
Equity securities	$	2,545,000	$	(127,000	)	$	823,000	$	(184,000	)	$	3,368,000	$	(311,000	)
Total	$	3,560,000	$	(333,000	)	$	3,235,000	$	(294,000	)	$	6,795,000	$	(627,000	)

Municipal Bonds

The unrealized losses on the Company’s investments in municipal bonds were caused by interest rate increases. The contractual terms of these investments do not permit the issuer to settle the securities at a price less than the amortized cost of the investment. Because the Company has the ability to hold these investments until a recovery of fair value occurs, which may be maturity, the Company does not consider these investments to be other-than-temporarily impaired at April 30, 2019.

Marketable Equity Securities and REITs

The Company’s investments in marketable equity securities and REITs consist of a wide variety of companies. Investments in these companies include growth, growth income, and foreign investment objectives. Management has evaluated the individual holdings and does not consider these investments to be other-than-temporarily impaired at April 30, 2019.