Johnson & Johnson: A Dividend Growth Gem
October 16, 2015
In Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) third-quarter report, released October 13, reported results weren’t all that rosy for the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio holding. Revenue and adjusted earnings per share fell 7.4% and 7.5%, respectively, compared to the third quarter of 2014, as domestic sales decreased 0.6% in the quarter and international sales dropped 15.7% on a comparable basis. It’s not something that we were very pleased to see, but for a variety of reasons, reported results don’t quite tell the whole story. For one, on an operational basis, which excludes foreign exchange and a number of other items, Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly results were much more encouraging. Foreign currency exchange rates had a negative impact of 8.2 percentage points on
Intel May Have a Breakout Year in 2016
October 15, 2015
Intel’s (INTC) third-quarter results, released October 14, didn’t turn many heads, but the company did beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines, performance that was well-received by the market. Revenue generated in the quarter was approximately flat on a year-over-year basis, but the mark did beat the consensus estimate by $250 million. The chip giant’s earnings of $0.64 per share in the quarter exceeded expectations by a nickel per share. It wasn’t a bad showing by any stretch of the imagination, but Intel continues to feel the pain of a shrinking personal computing market, even as optimism flies high with respect to the firm’s 6th Gen Intel Core processors. Revenue from Intel’s Data Center Group, which includes server,
Bellwether Snapshot: Walmart, Boeing, CSX
October 14, 2015
Alcoa (AA) kicked off third-quarter earnings season with a wimper, which had been preceded by Yum! Brands’ (YUM) doozy of a showing. Incremental news impacting the expected performance of Walmart (WMT), Boeing (BA), and CSX (CSX) hasn’t been great either. Investors continue to write off weakness as “normal,” even “macroeconomic” as if it doesn’t matter, pointing to the transient nature of a struggling global economy suffering from a slowdown in the pace of growth in China and weakness in export-dependent countries, not the least of which is Brazil, as somehow a “good thing,” but it may not matter. The trajectory of expectations of future free cash flow generation is being impacted, and so are fair value estimates as a result,
Altria Receives Augmented Stake in AB-Inbev-SABMiller Combination
October 14, 2015
On October 13, SABMiller (SBMRY) and AB-InBev (BUD) announced that they have agreed in principle on the key terms of a possible recommended offer to be made by AB-InBev. The deal consists of an all cash offer of £44 (~$67.90) per share for ~59% of all SABMiller shares, not owned by the company’s two largest shareholders, Altria (MO) and the Columbian Santo Domingo family via BevCo. This represents approximately a 50% premium to SABMiller’s closing price on September 14, the last day before speculation of a takeover reemerged. All calculations have been made using October 12 closing prices. The remaining 41% of SABMiller shares, approximately 27% of which is owned by Altria with the balance being owned by the Columbian
Video: Are Economic Moats Priced Into Stock Prices? — You Bet They Are
October 14, 2015
President of Equity Research Brian Nelson debunks the myth that the economic moat is not included in stock prices. Length: ~8 minutes. Tickerized for firms in the Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (MOAT), as of October 14, 2015. Brian Nelson, CFA: This is Brian Nelson from Valuentum Securities. I wanted to talk about an important concept and answer an important question. Is Warren Buffet’s economic moat priced into stock prices? Before I answer that question, I think we need to define a couple things. Return on invested capital is a measure of a business’ performance. It’s calculated as earnings before interest divided by net new investment, which is a measure of return on new invested capital. So what is the return the
EMC Will Go Private in Giant Tech Deal
October 12, 2015
On Monday, Dell definitively announced that it plans to acquire IT giant EMC (EMC) for ~$67 billion, making it the largest “tech-only” deal in history. EMC shareholders will receive ~$33.15 total for each share of EMC owned, representing $24.05 in cash and 0.111 shares of brand new tracking stock of VMWare (VMW), of which EMC owns ~80% of the company. The transaction includes a “go-shop” provision that allows EMC to find a more desirable deal. The value of the tracking stock, which in some ways represents a synthetic publicly-traded equity component of the deal structure for Dell (it could have paid all cash), could deviate from the market price of VMWare, given the different characteristics and rights of the stocks.
Dividend Increases for the Week Ending October 9
October 11, 2015
Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending October 9. 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 Ameren (AEE): now $0.425 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.41. Diversified Royalty (BEVFF): now C$0.01854 per share monthly dividend, was C$0.01667. Genesis Energy (GEL): now $0.64 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.625. Goodyear Tire & Rubber (GT): now $0.07 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.06. InfraCap MLP ETF (AMZA): now $0.515 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.51. MV Oil Trust (MVO): now $0.21 per share quarterly
Asset Managers: Capital Retention In the Name of Capital Preservation
October 9, 2015
In recent years, the operating theme for many asset managers has shifted to capital preservation, particularly in their efforts to serve the large and growing number of baby boomers and commercial clients managing pensions. This is a reasonably expected change when considering that many investors lost a significant amount of capital during the Financial Crisis, many of which are still recovering. The ramifications of the credit crunch have led to requirements for increased transparency and regulatory compliance, adding structural costs to the asset-management business model, but this is only one side of the coin. The volume of investable assets is set to increase to a whopping $102 trillion by 2020 from ~$64 trillion today, fueled by an increase in the
Alcoa Disappoints in Third Quarter, China Weakness Prevalent
October 9, 2015
Alcoa (AA) no longer is the industrial bellwether it once was as the global economy migrates more toward a service orientation, but the aluminum giant still has its hands in a lot of end markets. The company’s third-quarter results, released October 8, showed revenue falling 11% on a year-over-year basis, and modest net income of $0.07 per share, excluding special items. Acquisition and divestitures muddied the waters, but the general take was a negative one. The company is doing the best it can to migrate away from the volatility of its lower-margin operations, focusing its efforts on value-add operations, and while it is making progress, the company remains tied to the broader economic environment and the pricing pressures that inevitably
US Auto Sales Continue Breakneck Pace in September
October 7, 2015
The recent market volatility seemed to have had little impact on auto sales for the month of September. Amid a wild ride in the stock market that began near the conclusion of August, the US auto industry posted its best month in September since July 2005 in terms of seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of sales, which came in at 18.17 million. Consensus estimates were not nearly has high as the actual figure, as sales were initially expected to be closer to 17.6 million. A number of factors helped drive the strong sales numbers across the automotive industry. Consumer confidence remains high, as does disposable income; unemployment is at its lowest point since April 2008, and gas prices have fallen.
