L.A. Value Stocks Returning to Life.

An increasing number of solidly profitable but relatively

* The companies themselves are instituting stock repurchase programs, which tend to elevate a stock's per-share market price.

* Money managers and private investors alike are taking some profits on their high-flying tech stocks and plowing the proceeds back into solid value stocks.

* So-called "lockup periods," during which Internet insiders are prohibited from exercising their stock options, are expiring. So insiders are exercising some of those options and diversifying some-what into value stocks.

* Professional buyout firms are joining with local public company managers and buying up all the outstanding shares to take certain public companies private.

"Value investing is not dead," said John Buckingham, chief portfolio manager for AI Frank Asset Management in Laguna Beach. "So many people have made so much money on tech stocks, either as insiders or otherwise, that they have taken some money and put it into (value) stocks. We have clients who have done that with us."

The firm's mutual fund invests largely in undervalued stocks, and is up 24 percent this year after rising 60 percent in 1999.

Buckingham has "buy" recommendations on such diverse local value stocks as Westlake Village-based K-Swiss Inc., which has a price/earnings ratio of 4.7; Santa Monica's FirstFed Financial Corp. (P/E ratio 7.1) and West L.A.'s Kaufman and Broad Home Corp. (P/E ratio 5.9). All three have stock-repurchasing programs underway.

"These are all stocks in sectors that have been ignored, but that can't last," he said.

Indeed, value stocks dominated the top gainers on the LABJ Stock Index of 100 local companies for the week ended March 22. Among the top gainers were stocks from some of the most-depressed sectors, like bank stock City National Corp., which jumped 16.9 percent for the week. K-Swiss was the index's second-largest gainer, with an 18.8 percent jump in share price for the week.

Given how K-Swiss stock has performed of late, however, it's probably too early to start celebrating. Despite its robust 1999 earnings per share of $2.99, the athletic-shoe maker has had a tough time getting noticed by Wall Street. But company executives profess unconcern.