Gilead Sciences: The Going Rate for a Stock Analyst These Days?
December 3, 2014
Image Source: September 2014 Best Ideas Newsletter, page 9 If there is one thing that I would encourage all of you to do when looking at your holdings in your portfolio it would be to look at their long-term charts. There is nothing that provides greater perspective than looking at historical performance and assessing when price moves may just be reasonable profit-taking (and/or risk-mitigation) versus something more serious. You don’t have to be a highly-trained technician to know that a 5% pullback on a stock that has more than quintupled is a meaningless move. Case in point: Gilead Sciences (GILD). I want you to check your stocks every day, if you feel the need, but you shouldn’t make assessments on
Valuentum’s December Edition of the Dividend Growth Newsletter!
December 2, 2014
Please download the December edition of the Dividend Growth Newsletter .
Valuentum Update – Post-Thanksgiving
December 1, 2014
Hi members, We hope you had a long and happy holiday weekend with your families! I wanted to touch base today for a variety of reasons. I received a few emails over the holiday weekend regarding a couple of the newsletter portfolio holdings that are trading down with the markets. Nothing out of the ordinary, but for those who are new to the stock market, this may be a bit startling and confusing. If you didn’t know already, we target the best ideas to converge to intrinsic value over a 12-24 month period, and sometimes longer, if market conditions do not cooperate. First, you should be aware of the collapse in crude oil prices (1). As it relates to the
Thanksgiving Weekend Sales Were Weak…
December 1, 2014
According to preliminary survey results released Sunday by the National Retail Federation, retail sales during the Thanksgiving weekend tumbled 11% to $50.9 billion from $57.4 billion during the same weekend last year. Executives are having a difficult time explaining the sharp drop off in retail sales (RTH), given similar aggressive strategies and promotions as previous years, but we think there are a few reasons for the hefty decline. For one, the lure of the post-Thanksgiving “mad-rush” may be wearing off, and the emerging “negative” social stigma of those willing to shop (instead of resting with family) coupled with those who believe they are “being forced to work” during the holiday (see Walmart strike) without fair wages may be turning off
Dividend Increases for the Week Ending November 28
November 30, 2014
Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending November 28. 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 Becton, Dickinson (BDX): now $0.60 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.545. Capital City Bank (CCBG): now $0.03 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.02. Glacier Bancorp (GBCI): now $0.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.17. Hormel Foods (HRL): now $0.25 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.20. McCormick & Company (MKC): now $0.40 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.37. Merck (MRK): now $0.45 per share quarterly dividend, was
$45 Oil Prices!?!? There Is Never a Sense of Urgency When One Is Prepared
November 29, 2014
Image Source: Macrotrends The bull market in energy (XLE) has lasted for the better part of a decade. Ever since the turn of the new century, energy perma-bulls have made the case that “black gold” (USO) should continue its ever-upward price advance thanks to ongoing demand from emerging and developing economies coupled with reduced inventories and areas of supply. We’re seeing this thesis challenged right at this moment. In deciding not to cut crude oil output in the face of oversupply and falling prices, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), for the lack of a better phrase, is now essentially engaged in a price war with producers in the US that are using breakthrough technology to produce oil
Happy Thanksgiving! 5 Entrepreneurs To Be Thankful For!
November 27, 2014
By Brian Nelson, CFA “Global Entrepreneurship Week” was November 17-23 this year, and the U.S. Congress continues to work diligently to establish the third Tuesday in November a national holiday celebrating the contributions of entrepreneurs to the U.S. as well as “honor those entrepreneurs who ignite innovation and inspire the next generation.” Today, this Thanksgiving, we wanted to celebrate the contributions of 5 entrepreneurs to be thankful for this holiday season. Feel free to add your favorite entrepreneur to this list as well and any obscure fact you want to share about him or her. The list is not meant to be comprehensive, but entertaining and educational. Please don’t forget to answer the bonus question below. Be sure to enjoy
Highlights from Tiffany’s Third Quarter
November 25, 2014
TIFFANY REPORTS SOLID THIRD QUARTER RESULTS Key Takeaways from Tiffany’s Third-Quarter Results Tiffany (TIF) is executing fantastically, and the Americas region, where comps jumped 11% in the quarter, was the standout. We expect the US to be the bright spot in the global economy for the holiday season across the luxury goods space. The US consumer is relatively healthy (the preliminary reading for GDP in the third quarter, released today, was 3.9%, a very healthy pace). Tiffany has become a gross margin story. The firm’s gross margin increased 250 basis points in the third quarter thanks to strong pricing, better cost controls, and a mix shift to higher-margin fashion jewelry. We expect sales and margin strength to continue into the
Dividend Increases for the Week Ending November 21
November 23, 2014
Let’s take a look at dividend increases for the week ending November 21.
