Nike Beats Estimates Aided By Its Omni-Channel Selling Strength
June 25, 2021
Image Shown: Shares of Nike Inc popped higher after its latest earnings report. By Callum Turcan On June 24, Nike Inc (NKE) reported fourth quarter earnings for fiscal 2021 (period ended May 31, 2021) that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Shares of NKE popped higher after the report. The top end of our fair value estimate range for Nike sits at $160 per share, meaningfully above where shares of NKE are trading at as of this writing–even after the latest bounce in its stock price. Earnings Update Keeping in mind that the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic creates a lot of noise when it comes to year-over-year comparisons, Nike’s GAAP revenues surged higher 96% year-over-year last fiscal quarter. Nike-branded footwear
Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week June 25
June 25, 2021
Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending June 25. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week Alico (ALCO): now $0.50 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.18. Bancolombia S.A. (CIB): now $0.072 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.064. Darden Restaurants (DRI): now $1.10 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.88. Empire (EMLAF): now CAD 0.15 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.13. Fifth Street Asset Management (FSAM): now $0.014665 per share final dividend, was $0.0145. First Bancorp (FNLC): now $0.32 per share quarterly dividend,
Mortgage REITs Have Underperformed Significantly the Past Several Years
June 24, 2021
Image: An ETF that tracks the mortgage REIT industry has fallen more than 31% on a price-only basis, while an ETF that tracks the S&P 500 has advanced more than 160% on a price-only basis, as measured from May 2013. By Brian Nelson, CFA Mortgage REITs (REM) are popular vehicles because of their deceptively enticing dividend yields, but we’ve never been bullish on the group. We’re reiterating our take today that these instruments are not for the individual investor or even prudent financial advisor and are more complicated vehicles than many investors believe. In May 2013, we first starting warning about the group, and the performance, as shown in the image above, hasn’t been pretty. On a price-only basis, the
Energy: A Small Part of the S&P 500 But Making a Comeback
June 24, 2021
Image Source: Bureau of Land Management By Callum Turcan and Brian Nelson, CFA The energy sector remains a small part of the S&P 500 (SPY), coming in at just ~3% nowadays. Collapsing energy resource prices, overspending on capital projects, and a fallout in the pipeline MLP space have been primary causes for the sector’s ever-shrinking representation in the S&P 500 over the past five years or so, but we still think some exposure is warranted. For starters, we currently include a 1-2% weighting in the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) and a 3%-5% weighting in energy-heavy Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. During the past several months, raw energy resource pricing, from crude oil (USO) to natural
Lululemon’s Growth Outlook Is Bright
June 24, 2021
Image Source: Lululemon Athletica Inc – First Quarter of Fiscal 2021 IR Earnings Infographic By Callum Turcan Athleisure wear maker Lululemon Athletica Inc (LULU) recently reported first quarter earnings for fiscal 2021 (period ended May 2, 2021) that smashed past both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Its company-operated stores posted net revenue growth of 106% year-over-year as global economies began to recover from the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. The company’s direct-to-consumer (‘DTC’) net revenue grew 55% year-over-year (the e-commerce side of its business) last fiscal quarter, keeping in mind its DTC business more than doubled its net revenues in fiscal 2020. We were impressed with Lululemon’s latest results, and there could be room for shares of LULU to continue climbing higher.
Best Idea Korn Ferry Posts Record Results, Shares Surge
June 23, 2021
Image Shown: Korn Ferry posted record fee revenue and diluted EPS performance in the final quarter of fiscal 2021 as its business continued to recover. We include Korn Ferry as an idea in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and continue to be huge fans of the name. Image Source: Korn Ferry – Fourth Quarter of Fiscal 2021 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan On June 22, the global organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry reported fourth quarter earnings for fiscal 2021 (period ended April 30, 2021) that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Shares of KFY surged higher by almost 10% during the normal trading session on June 22 as management provided promising near-term guidance in conjunction with the earnings
Kroger Raises Guidance After Solid Earnings Report
June 22, 2021
Image Source: Kroger Co – First Quarter of Fiscal 2021 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan Grocers are facing tough year-over-year comparisons due to the pantry stockpiling dynamic seen in 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, though demand for consumer staples products remains healthy. On June 17, Kroger Co (KR) reported first quarter earnings for fiscal 2021 (period ended May 22, 2021) that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Kroger’s management team also noted how the grocer views the current inflationary landscape, which we will cover in this note. Earnings Update and Guidance Boost Though Kroger’s same-store sales fell by 4.1% in the fiscal first quarter, on a two-year stack basis (the sum of its same-store
Top Ideas Doing Great
June 21, 2021
Image Source: Aguayo Samuel By Brian Nelson, CFA Hi everyone: Hope you’re doing great. The S&P 500 (SPY) continues to roar higher. No longer is the market as easy of a call when we pounded the table near the bottom in April 2020, but we remain bullish on the backdrop. The economy remains very healthy, borrowing rates remain near all-time lows, and widespread interest in equities remains elevated given the paltry yields on alternatives such as investment-grade bonds. We continue to let our winners run, though we remain vigilant in protecting the downside. Quietly, the two top holdings in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, Alphabet (GOOG) and Facebook (FB), have raced to outsized performance during 2021, advancing 43%+ and ~21%
Best Idea Korn Ferry Getting Ready to Post Earnings
June 21, 2021
Image Shown: Korn Ferry’s revenue generation mix across business operating segments, geographies, and industries as of the third quarter of fiscal 2021. Image Source: Korn Ferry – Third Quarter of Fiscal 2021 Earnings IR Presentation By Callum Turcan The management consulting firm Korn Ferry (KFY) was added to the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio on January 12, 2021 (link here) after the firm registered a 9 on the Valuentum Buying Index (‘VBI’). Shares of KFY have increased by 31% since then versus an 11% gain for the S&P 500 (SPY) as of the end of normal trading hours on June 18. The top end of our fair value estimate range sits $79 per share of KFY, well above where shares of
Dividend Growth Idea UnitedHealth Group Boosts Payout
June 21, 2021
Image Shown: We include UnitedHealth Group Inc as an idea in our Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. The health care giant recently boosted its quarterly payout by 16% on a sequential basis. By Callum Turcan Recently, the US-based health care insurance, services, and solutions provider UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH) boosted its quarterly dividend by 16% to $1.45 per share or $5.80 on an annualized basis. On a forward-looking basis, shares of UNH yield ~1.5% as of this writing. We include UnitedHealth Group as an idea in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio as its forward-looking dividend coverage is rock-solid. Strong Payout Coverage UnitedHealth Group’s Dividend Cushion ratio sits at 3.1, which incorporates our expectations the firm will significantly grow its payout in
