Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending October 18
October 18, 2019
Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending October 18. 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 1st Source (SRCE): now $0.29 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.27. Aquesta Financial Holdings (AQFH): now $0.11 per share annual dividend, was $0.10. Brunswick (BC): now $0.24 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.21. Canadian Banc Corp (CNDCF): now CAD 0.0883 per share monthly dividend, was CAD 0.0795. CNX Midstream Partners (CNXM): now $0.4001 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.3865. Credit Suisse Crude Oil Shares Covered Call
An Update on Facebook’s Libra as Roughly Two Dozen Members Sign On
October 17, 2019
Image Shown: Facebook has room to run higher, with or without Libra. While several large financial technology and payment processing firms have recently made it clear they no longer want to be a part of the nascent Libra Association, that didn’t stop roughly two dozen members from signing the group’s charter in Geneva, Switzerland, on October 15. We really must stress that our discounted free cash flow models for Facebook don’t take in account the upside its proposed asset-back cryptocurrency Libra might generate. This opportunity represents pure upside to our forecasts, and we continue to like Facebook as a top holding in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. By Callum Turcan Regulatory and political fears have apparently scared off several companies
Honeywell’s Aerospace Division Its Crown Jewel
October 17, 2019
We’re huge fans of Honeywell. The company’s Aero operations are its crown jewel, and while Boeing is facing some troubles these days, we don’t expect much impact on Honeywell at all. In fact, we expect commercial aerospace to remain strong, even in the face of broader industrial weakness. The risks to the company’s HBT business could be starting to mount given some concerns in commercial real estate, but management isn’t really seeing any signs of yet, pointing to only moderating growth in 2020. The SPS division, while a headwind, probably won’t be a factor next year, but it could bounce back as inventories are cleared from the channel. By Brian Nelson, CFA Honeywell (HON) has facilitated a number of changes
Citigroup Lags Peers in Key Metrics
October 17, 2019
Image Source: Matt Buck By Matthew Warren Cititgroup’s (C) third-quarter report, released October 15, showed revenue of $18.57 billion, which beat consensus by $30 million and non-GAAP EPS of $1.97 which beat by $0.02. GAAP EPS of $2.07 beat by $0.12. Revenue in the quarter was up only 1%, as currency headwinds lowered overall reported growth rates. The efficiency ratio worsened slightly to 56.3% from 56.1% in last year’s quarter. On this key metric, the bank lags its money center peers. Similarly, it lags peers with respect to return on tangible common equity (ROTCE), too, which came in at 12.2% in the quarter, though this metric has improved markedly under the current management team. Earnings before taxes were down 1%, but
Wells Fargo’s 4%+ Dividend Yield Offers Support to Shares
October 16, 2019
Image Source: Mike Mozart By Matthew Warren On October 15, Wells Fargo (WFC) reported third-quarter results that showed revenue up 0.3% to $22.01 billion, which beat consensus estimates by $690 million. Earnings came up short with non-GAAP EPS of $1.07 missing by $0.11 and GAAP EPS of $0.92 missing by $0.31. The adjusted figure excludes a $1.6 billion (0.35/share) discrete litigation accrual (related to previously disclosed retail sales practices matters) and a $1.1 billion (0.20/share) gain from its previously-announced sale of its Institutional Retirement and Trust Business. Net interest margin compressed from 2.94% in last year’s quarter to 2.66% in this year’s quarter, due to the lower interest rate environment and assets repricing lower more quickly than deposits. Deposits grew only
BREAKING: UAW-GM Reaches Deal, More Coming from Valuentum Soon…
October 16, 2019
BREAKING: UAW-GM Reaches Deal, More Coming from Valuentum Later… please note that this note was written prior to the deal announcement today. Valuentum will have more to say about the deal soon. Image Shown: Shares of General Motors Company are beginning to recover as the company is reportedly getting closer to reaching a deal with the UAW, which would end a strike that is estimated to have cost the company over $1 billion according to some analysts. By Callum Turcan As the strike of ~46,000 United Automobile Workers (“UAW”) employees at US factories run by General Motors (GM) enters its second month, it looks like the chances for a breakthrough are growing. The Wall Street Journal reported that General Motors’
JPMorgan Continues to Go from Strength to Strength
October 16, 2019
Image Source: Gideon Benari By Matthew Warren On October 15, JPMorgan (JPM) posted third-quarter earnings of $2.68 per share, ahead of the average analyst estimate of $2.45. Revenue of $30.06 billion advanced 8.1% compared to the same period last year and $1.7 billion ahead of consensus. Basically, the company managed to overcome very muted expectations for the quarter. Return on tangible common equity continued along at a high level of 18%, versus 17% in the same quarter last year. Importantly, the overhead ratio improved to 55% from 56% last year. The balance sheet remains very strong with a common equity Tier 1 ratio of 12.3%, up slightly sequentially. Loans were flat compared to last year but were up 3% excluding loan
Johnson & Johnson Raises Full-Year Guidance Yet Again
October 15, 2019
Image Shown: Shares of Johnson & Johnson climbed higher on October 15 after reporting a nice third quarter earnings report and raising guidance for the full year. By Callum Turcan On October 15, Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter holding Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported third-quarter 2019 earnings that were positively received by the market. The healthcare giant once again boosted full-year non-GAAP sales and EPS guidance, which we appreciate, on the back of solid performance at its ‘Pharmaceuticals’ and ‘Medical Devices’ segments. Please note that Johnson & Johnson had already raised its guidance for 2019 twice before this latest increase, which we covered in this July 2019 piece here and this April 2019 piece here. During the third
Economic Commentary: Robots, Value Trap, and Politics on the Markets
October 14, 2019
Tickerized for stocks in the DIA. Valuentum sat down for the latest installment of its periodic economic commentary, and the team tackled a wide array of topics, from robots on Wall Street, to President of Investment Research Brian Nelson’s new book Value Trap, to political influence on the markets and boyond. Let’s set the stage with a prompt from a recent Bloomberg article, “The Master of Robots…Coming for Wall Street:” “The problem is, computer-powered strategies are struggling to live up to the hype, with a Eurekahedge index of AI hedge funds lagging peers in recent years. That spells opportunity for the likes of Lopez de Prado with his outfit True Positive Technologies — a dig at the erroneous conclusions derived
ICYMI: Interview with Valuentum’s President Brian M. Nelson, CFA
October 12, 2019
Catch up with Valuentum’s President Brian M. Nelson, CFA in a recent interview with dividend growth investor Arne Magnus Lorentzen Ulland of the blog stockles. By Brian Nelson, CFA Recently, I was interviewed by Arne Magnus Lorentzen Ulland of the blog stockles. Arne is a dividend growth investor like many of you, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the interview he put together. I’m very grateful for his interest. His questions were fantastic. We discuss why and how I incorporate independence and integrity into the service at Valuentum. We go into detail regarding why Valuentum views stocks the way it does, and how Valuentum combines enterprise valuation and the information contained in prices in its stock-selection process. I discuss the pitfalls
