Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week September 4
September 4, 2020
Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending September 4. 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 Formula Systems (FORTY): now $0.5206 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.4609. Kenon (KEN): now $2.23 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.21 per share quarterly dividend. JOYY (YY): now $0.31 per share/ADS quarterly dividend. RCI Hospitality (RICK): now $0.04 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.03. Royalty Pharma (RPRX): now $0.15 per share quarterly dividend. Sabine Royalty Trust (SBR): now $0.20329 per share monthly dividend, was $0.1017. Smith
3 Lessons in Portfolio Management Over 10 Years
September 3, 2020
Dear members: — We’re finally getting a pause in the rapid ascent of the markets on September 3rd. Though headlines may look scary and momentum/volatility investors could start to pile on to the downside, a modest retracement is actually a good thing. We continue to focus on the long haul with our processes, and we’re viewing the sell-off as profit taking, for the most part. — In the near term, the markets will also have to digest some speculators betting on mean reversion between “value” (cyclical) versus “growth” (secular), but we maintain the view that the value-versus-growth conversation is largely nonsense (see block quotes below), and mean reversion is something akin to the gamblers’ fallacy, in my humble opinion. Investors should also continue
Schlumberger and Liberty Oilfield Services Make a Deal
September 3, 2020
Image Shown: Schlumberger NV is combining its OneStim business with Liberty Oilfield Services Inc. The picture above is an overview of the combined company on a pro forma basis. Image Source: Liberty Oilfield Services Inc – Schlumberger to Contribute OneStim to Liberty IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On September 1, Schlumberger NV (SLB) and Liberty Oilfield Services Inc (LBRT) announced that Schlumberger would combine its onshore hydraulic fracturing business in the US and Canada, OneStim, with Liberty Oilfield Services. That includes Schlumberger’s pressure pumping and pumpdown perforating businesses in the relevant regions, and its frac sand business in the Permian Basin (West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico). In return, Schlumberger is getting a 37% equity stake in Liberty Oilfield Services
Apple Reportedly Launching 5G iPhone Soon
September 3, 2020
Image Shown: Shares of Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio holding Apple Inc have continued to surge higher this year. The tech giant is supported by strong demand for its hardware offerings, the launch of new services, and growing demand for its existing services. We are intrigued by the upcoming launch of its first 5G-capable iPhone, which is reportedly due to be released this Fall. By Callum Turcan Very recently, Bloomberg reported that Apple Inc (AAPL) is asking its suppliers to get ready to deliver at least 75 million 5G iPhones later this year, which may grow as high as 80 million. What makes these targets particularly noteworthy is that it appears Apple is expecting demand for its
The Merits of Concentrated Portfolios
September 3, 2020
My dear friends: — Many thanks for your continued interest in our work. — Though uncertainty in the efficacy of any vaccine for coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”) remains, the New York Times reported today that the CDC “has notified public health officials in all 50 states and five large cities to prepare to distribute a coronavirus vaccine to health care workers and other high-risk groups as soon as late October or early November,” just weeks from now. — While expected by the optimists, we continue to view this as good news. The sheer amount of resources, both public and private, seeking a vaccine for COVID-19 leads me to believe we’ll have one sooner than later, in time to set the economy up for a stronger-than-expected
ALERT: Markets Now Fairly Valued
September 2, 2020
Hi everyone: — Long-term investing is a great proposition. You have an incredible advantage over most professional investors that have to deliver on a quarterly or annual basis. The reason is due to something called time horizon arbitrage. — For example, where most professionals are focused on near-term economic data or near-term earnings, you can focus on how the broader earnings trajectory might look like in 2022 and beyond. I think we’d both agree that the economic data or earnings performance for the remainder of 2020 won’t matter much when we turn the calendar to 2021 in just a few months–and in 2021, the market will be looking at 2022 numbers. — Markets will always be forward-looking, and stocks are long-duration
Experience and Judgment
September 1, 2020
Hi everyone: — I think you and I would both agree that there’s far too much noise out there. For every investor that believes one thing, another investor might believe the complete opposite. From those pushing market-tracking index funds to those seeking to outperform the market, there’s no shortage of paths for an investor to pursue either. There are day-trading aficionados with huge followings on social media and factor-based investing gurus highlighting “science” as the secret to stock market outperformance–and just about everything in between. — A number of years ago while I was looking to hire someone on our sales staff at Valuentum, the view came up that research was a commodity. It was weird because, in my view,
Valuentum Website Overview
September 1, 2020
Overview of the key features of valuentum.com/ (03:55). Valuentum (val∙u∙n∙tum) [val-yoo-en-tuh-m] Securities Inc. is an independent investment research publisher, offering premium equity reports, dividend reports, and ETF reports, as well as commentary across all sectors/companies, a Best Ideas Newsletter (spanning market caps, asset classes), a Dividend Growth Newsletter, modeling tools/products, and more. Independence and integrity remain our core, and we strive to be a champion of the investor. Valuentum is based in the Chicagoland area. Valuentum is not a money manager, broker, or financial advisor. Valuentum is a publisher of financial information. The Benefits of Premium Membership >> Subscribe Now!
Berkshire Hathaway Is Finally Putting Its Enormous Cash Pile to Use
August 31, 2020
Image Shown: Shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B are recovering from the steep pandemic-induced fall as the company has started to put its enormous cash-pile to work. By Callum Turcan On August 31, Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.A) (BRK.B) announced it had “acquired slightly more than 5% of the outstanding shares in five of the leading Japanese trading companies” and that the firm considered these to be “passive stakes.” Those positions were acquired over approximately the past year through purchases made on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Here are the five companies in alphabetical order (by ticker): Itochu Corporation (ITOCF), Marubeni Corporation (MARUF), Mitsui & Co. Ltd. (MITSF), Mitsubishi Corporation (MSBHF), and Sumitomo Corporation (SSUMY). Berkshire As of June 30, 2020,
Alibaba Mirrors the Performance of Its Western Peers
August 31, 2020
Image Shown: Alibaba Group Holding Limited posted strong results for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2020, mirroring the performance of its large-cap tech peers based in Western countries (particularly the US). Image Source: Alibaba Group Holding Limited – June Quarter 2020 Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan At a time when US-China geopolitical tensions are rising and the Trump Administration is pushing the Chinese tech firm ByteDance to divest (at least) the US-based operations of TikTok, many Chinese tech firms are still thriving. The ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic has fundamentally altered daily life for most households around the world. Social distancing practices have aggressively driven up e-commerce demand along with demand for cloud computing offerings (as more employees work from
