Dividend Increases for the Week Ending August 16 Included Weyerhaeuser and Cinemark
August 19, 2013
Below we provide a list of firms that upped their dividends for the week ending August 16. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports, please click here (or use our ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header). Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week Atrion Corp (ATRI): now $0.64 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.56. Avnet (AVT): first-ever quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share. Bolt Technology Corp (BOLT): now $0.09 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.07. Cinemark Holdings (CNK): now $0.25 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.21. Cincinnati Financial Corp (CINF): now $0.42 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.4075. Connecticut Water Service (CTWS): now $0.2475 per share quarterly
Beam and Boston Beer Post Solid Results
August 17, 2013
Leading spirits company Beam (click ticker for report: ) posted fantastic second quarter results led by strong performance from its established brands. Revenue increased 7% year-over-year (5% on a comparable basis) to $638 million, roughly in-line with expectations. Earnings per share increased 8% compared to the year prior to $0.64, also in-line with consensus estimates. Free cash flow was only $1 million for the quarter, but management continues to predict the free cash flow for the full-year of $300-$350 million. Beam has experienced comparable sales growth of 4% year-to-date, with premium brands such as Maker’s Mark (+18%) and Jim Beam (+4%) leading the way. Basil Hayden’s has performed exceptionally well so far this year as consumers show a willingness to
As the Battle Continues, Dell Still Exists
August 16, 2013
Over the past several months, the battle for control of Dell (click ticker for report: ) between founder Michael Dell and activist billionaire Carl Icahn has carried on. While it’s easy to get caught up in the details of the battle, predictions of who will win and the like, at the end of the day, there is a struggling operating company underneath it all. The firm posted second-quarter results earlier this week, with revenue flat year-over-year at $14.5 billion, in-line with consensus estimates. Earnings-per-share was $0.25 on a non-GAAP basis, down 50% from a year ago, but still slightly better than consensus expectations. The big metric that matters in this situation—free cash flow—totaled $1.5 billion, equal to 10% of revenue. Image
Deere’s Third Quarter Highlights Inherent Operating Leverage
August 16, 2013
On Wednesday morning, agricultural equipment giant Deere (click ticker for report: ) posted fantastic third quarter results. Revenue jumped 4% year-over-year to $10 billion, topping consensus expectations by a comfortable margin. Consequently, earnings per share surged 29% year-over-year to $2.56, crushing consensus estimates. Because of its financing business Deere’s cash flows aren’t that easy to follow, but management noted that operating cash flow from equipment operations should total $3.8 billion during fiscal year 2013—a solid figure, in our view. Deere’s third quarter results really demonstrate the tremendous operating leverage inherent in the firm’s business model. Sales in the Agricultural & Turf segment grew 8% year-over-year to $7.8 billion, but operating profit surged 32% year-over-year to $1.3 billion. Incremental margins for
Wal-Mart’s Weakness Persists in the Second Quarter
August 15, 2013
Global retailing powerhouse Wal-Mart (click ticker for report: ) reported soft results for its fiscal year 2014 second quarter Thursday morning. Total sales increased 2.4% year-over-year to $116 billion, slightly below consensus expectations. Earnings-per-share was in-line with consensus estimates, increasing 5.1% year-over-year to $1.24. Year-to-date, Wal-Mart has generated $5.2 billion in free cash flow, equal to 2% of total revenue. Though headline results could have been worse, we were disappointed to see performance in the US remain negative, as same-store sales declined 0.3% year-over-year. Management noted on its second-quarter prepared remarks that traffic improved sequentially and that some softness was due to the firm’s investment in price. Operating margins actually increased 20 basis points year-over-year to 8% of sales, suggesting
Was Cisco’s Fiscal Year 2014 Guidance a Red Flag?
August 15, 2013
Technology heavyweight Cisco (click ticker for report: ) reported solid results for its fiscal year 2013 fourth quarter Wednesday afternoon. Revenue increased 6.2% year-over-year to $12.4 billion, a touch above consensus estimates. Earnings-per-share was also strong, increasing 11% year-over-year to $0.52, also a few cents above consensus expectations. Free cash flow for the fourth quarter tallied $3.7 billion, equal to an impressive 30% of total revenue. For the full-year, free cash flow was $11.7 billion, or 24% of revenue. Cisco has been one of our better calls in the land of technology. Below, please find our rating track record of the firm (listed most recent to least recent). Our rating history for each firm in our coverage universe can always be found
What’s Going on in the Time Warner-CBS Battle?
August 15, 2013
A few weeks ago, CBS (click ticker for report: ) and Time Warner Cable (click ticker for report: ) took their disagreement over carriage fees to another level, as both firms’ existing carriage fee agreement expired, effectively blacking out Time Warner subscribers from viewing the network. Since then, we’ve seen really no signs of the companies coming to any sort of agreement. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) warned on August 9 that, if the two firms didn’t reach an agreement, the government could get involved and force a resolution. Such an event would be an incremental negative to CBS because we doubt the FCC would see a reason why consumers should be forced to pay more for a network they
Eli Lilly Might Have a Blockbuster Cancer Drug
August 15, 2013
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly (click ticker for report: ) saw its shares pop during Tuesday’s trading session after revealing positive data about one of the lung cancer drugs in its oncological pipeline. The company issued a press release on the treatment (necitumumab), saying: “SQUIRE, a recently completed Phase III study, met its primary endpoint, finding that patients with stage IV metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) experienced increased overall survival (OS) when administered necitumumab (IMC-11F8) in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin as a first-line treatment, as compared to chemotherapy alone.” While some have brushed off the news, this is very positive data for Eli Lilly. For one, the treatment met its primary endpoint, implying the efficacy of the drug
National Oilwell Varco Posts Record Second Quarter Results
August 14, 2013
National Oilwell Varco (Click ticker for report: ) posted phenomenal second quarter results July 30. Revenue surged 18% year-over-year to $5.6 billion, smashing consensus estimates. Earnings-per-share was also strong, growing 14% year-over-year to $1.33 (excluding one-time events), in-line with consensus expectations. The firm generated $212 million in free cash flow during the quarter, equal to 6% of revenue. The ‘Rig Technology’ segment performed exceptionally well during the quarter with revenue up 18% year-over-year to $2.8 billion, with an operating margin of 20.7%. Although drilling can take several forms (deepwater, shale, etc.), the company continues to have nice exposure to the major trends in the oil drilling space. CEO Clay Williams reinforced this idea on the conference call, noting: “…4 big macro
Baidu Might Buy China’s Groupon
August 14, 2013
Reports are circulating that Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio holding Baidu (click ticker for report: ) is interested in taking a controlling stake in Renren’s (RENN) daily deal site Nuomi.com, as well as Ding Ding Maps (a map service). Both potential deals could make Baidu look a little more like another Best Ideas portfolio holding, Google (click ticker for report: ). Numoi.com is a daily deals site similar to Groupon (click ticker for report: ) and Amazon’s Living Social (click ticker for report: ), as well as Google’s own Daily Offers. Deals change on geographic location, and the service seems to cover most major cities in China. Without question Baidu could probably start its own daily deals service, but that strategy
