There’s No Space Like Aerospace
July 11, 2014
The recovery from the stock-market bottom in March 2009 has been five years in the making, but as the cyclical threat of an eventual global downturn looms, the aerospace industry is one of the few industries that we think will continue to be resilient in the face of such pressures. We expect commercial aircraft build rates to continue to climb at least through 2018. If the multi-year backlogs of unfulfilled deliveries at the large airframe makers aren’t enough, Boeing’s (BA) updated 20-year outlook for commercial aerospace demand, released June 10, was about as rosy as can be. The reason for such a long-range view has to do with the nature of aircraft building. When airframe makers build next-generation aircraft, they
Ford’s China Sales Continue to Impress
July 9, 2014
June proved to be another great month for Best Ideas portfolio holding Ford (F) in China (1). First-half sales numbers, released Monday, increased to nearly 550,000 wholesale vehicles compared to just over 400,000 in the first half of 2013. Ford’s June sales alone increased 17%, to 87,783. The news showcases Ford’s continued sales momentum in the country, something we’ve been monitoring closely for some time. The Ford Focus, Ford Kuga, Ford Mondeo and the Ford EcoSport have been key sources of strength, with the Focus becoming a huge hit with consumers in the country. A latecomer to China, Ford may be trailing early-movers such as GM (GM) and Volkswagen (VLKAY), but the automaker’s rate of sales growth continues to significantly
Dividend Increases for the Week Ending July 4
July 7, 2014
Let’s take a look at dividend increases for the week ending July 4.
Utilities Are Safe Income Vehicles…Most of the Time
June 30, 2014
Many dividend growth investors have capital invested in steady-eddy utilities firms, and there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, we also have exposure to the Utilities Select SPDR ETF (XLU) in the Best Ideas portfolio and to PPL (PPL) in the Dividend Growth portfolio. Though the regulated ‘returns’ and steady performance of utility-entities are quite attractive, especially when they pay annual dividend yields of 3%-4% per annum or more, we think it is very important for investors of all types to understand that the dividends of utilities are not without risks. In fact, the nature of their capital structure sometimes exposes utilities to more risks than other entities, especially with respect to the dividend. Before we get started, it’s
Dividend Increases for the Week Ending June 27
June 29, 2014
Let’s take a look at dividend increases for the week ending June 27.
Sizing Up Dividends in the Homebuilding Industry
June 28, 2014
Let’s evaluate the health and strength of the dividend of the highest-yielding homebuilder.
GE ‘Wins’ Alstom’s Assets
June 23, 2014
Over the weekend, General Electric (GE) announced that the Alstom Board of Directors has unanimously approved GE’s offer to buy the Power and Grid businesses of France-based Alstom. The US-based industrial giant’s bid prevailed over that of a convoluted offer from a Siemens (SI) and Mitsubishi consortium that had hoped to spoil the tie-up and prevent GE from strengthening its presence in Europe. Here are the details of the GE-Alstom transaction: GE’s offer to acquire the Power and Grid businesses of Alstom remains unchanged at $13.5 billion (€9.9 billion) enterprise value and $3.4 billion (€2.5 billion) of net cash, totaling $16.9 billion (€12.35 billion). The all-cash transaction is valued at 7.9 times pro-forma earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
The Crash of 1929
June 23, 2014
An understanding of fear and greed is vital to understanding what moves stocks. Let’s take a look at a PBS special, the Crash of 1929. 53 minutes.
Dividend Increases for the Week Ending June 20
June 23, 2014
Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending June 20. 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 Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE): now $0.72 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.70. Apollo Residential Mortgage (AMTG): now $0.42 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.40, First Bancorp (FNLC): now $0.21 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.20. Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB): now $0.13 per quarterly dividend, was $0.12. Horizon Bancorp (HBNC): now $0.13 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.11. John Wiley & Sons (JW.A): now $0.29 per
