Brian Nelson

Thanksgiving Weekend Sales Were Weak…

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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 … Read more

Dividend Increases for the Week Ending November 28

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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 … Read more

$45 Oil Prices!?!? There Is Never a Sense of Urgency When One Is Prepared

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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 … Read more

Happy Thanksgiving! 5 Entrepreneurs To Be Thankful For!

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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 … Read more

Highlights from Tiffany’s Third Quarter

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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 … Read more

Europe and China

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Europe and China are on high alert. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi made it known that the ECB will do everything in its power to “expand its asset purchase programs if inflation fails to show signs of quickly returning to the ECB’s target.” Just a few weeks ago, Draghi had sent shudders through the global equity markets with his view that “without reform, there can be no recovery.” It appears that significant and aggressive monetary action may be the only option for a European continent that could once again be headed into recession and/or deflation. This announcement won’t be the last that we hear regarding moves to aid the European economy. Iron ore prices have been in free fall … Read more

What a Ride! Intel Jumps Past $35 Per Share

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The news flow in the markets has started to slow as third-quarter earnings season nears a close. According to FactSet, through November 14, “of the 462 companies (out of the S&P 500) that have reported earnings to date for Q3 2014, 77% have reported earnings above the mean estimate and 59% have reported sales above the mean estimate…The blended earnings growth rate for Q3 2014 is 7.9%.” It appears that even with some big disappointments from such large firms as McDonald’s (MCD), Coca-Cola (KO), IBM (IBM) and Amazon (AMZN) that third-quarter earnings season could be considered better than mixed. That said, “for Q4 2014, 62 companies have issued negative EPS guidance and 19 companies have issued positive EPS guidance.” We … Read more

Best Buy Beats in Third Quarter

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Best Buy (BBY) has been marked for dead for years. The demise of Circuit City and strategic concerns about excess floor space are two of the biggest red flags for a business model such as that of Best Buy. But the dagger in the Best Buy long thesis has always been that the company is merely a showroom where consumers flock to in order to try out new gadgets only to buy them at online competitors such as Amazon (AMZN) or eBay (EBAY) for a discount. Best Buy revealed in its third-quarter results, however, that it is handling the tumultuous competitive market quite well, and we think the firm’s fundamental resilience speaks to the general health of the brick-and-mortar big … Read more