Brian Nelson

Assessing Materiality of 5 Relatively Poor Incremental Data Points from eBay

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eBay (EBAY) has one of the strongest business models on the market today. The firm uniquely benefits from a network effect in its auction business and a secular trend toward consumer online consumption in its payments business, PayPal. Recent same-store sales performance has also been solid, albeit slowing, in recent periods. According to ChannelAdvisor same-store sales growth at eBay came in at 11.5% in May, down from 14% in April. eBay retains a vibrant Economic Castle. Before we start walking through the five relatively poor incremental data points from eBay, we need to make a couple things clear. First, we hold eBay in the portfolio of our Best Ideas Newsletter, and we do not expect to make any changes to … Read more

The M&A Environment Remains Robust

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Let’s take a look at a few deals that hit the wires recently – some proposed, some speculated. Analog Devices (ADI) Scoops Up Hittite Microwave (HITT) Norwood, MA (06/09/2014) – Analog Devices, a global leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal processing applications, and Hittite Microwave Corporation, an innovative designer and manufacturer of high performance integrated circuits, modules, subsystems and instrumentation for RF, microwave and millimeter wave applications, announced that the two companies have entered into a definitive agreement whereby ADI will acquire Hittite for $78 per share in cash. The closing price of Hittite’s common stock on June 6, 2014 was $60.56 per share. This agreement reflects a total enterprise value for Hittite of approximately $2 billion. ADI expects to … Read more

Dividend Increases for the Week Ending June 6

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Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week Avago (AVGO): now $0.29 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.27. CatchMark Timber Trust (CTT): now $0.125 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.11. FEI Company (FEIC): now $0.25 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.12. Helmerich & Payne (HP): now $0.6875 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.625. UnitedHealth Group (UNH): now $0.375 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.28. >>Last week’s dividend increases.

New Highs: Intel Makes Splash in Mobile; AIG Scooping Up Underpriced Shares

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At the Computex conference in Taiwan late last week, Best Ideas portfolio holding Intel (INTC) revealed the most energy-efficient processor in history — its Core M line of processors. The goal of the Core M, which is based off of the Core i3, i5, and i7 processors, is to enhance processor performance (with less power consumption) in mobile products, and we think the firm will make a big splash with the new chip. Picture: The first 14nm fanless mobile PC reference design from Intel; it has a 12.5 inch screen that is 7.2mm thin with keyboard detached and weighs 670 grams. The design is based on Intel’s next generation 14nm Broadwell processors. Named the Intel Core M processor, it delivers … Read more

Beige Book: Expansion in All 12 Districts

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<< Source All twelve Federal Reserve Districts report that economic activity expanded during the current reporting period. The pace of growth was characterized as moderate in the Boston, New York, Richmond, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, and San Francisco Districts, and modest in the remaining regions. Compared with the previous report, the pace of growth picked up in the Cleveland and St. Louis Districts but slowed slightly in the Kansas City District. Consumer spending expanded across almost all Districts, to varying degrees. Non-auto retail sales grew at a moderate pace across most of the country: Although improved weather generally gave a boost to business, lingering wintry weather in the Northeast continued to weigh on sales in parts of the Boston and New … Read more

Valuentum’s June Edition of Its Dividend Growth Newsletter!

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Strong Performance Continues by Brian Nelson, CFA The month of May was another great month for dividend growth investors, and we trust you continue to be very happy with the performance of the Dividend Growth portfolio (please see page 5). The next couple weeks for portfolio holding Apple (AAPL) will be busy. The iPhone-maker’s Worldwide Developers Conference is this week, and we’re expecting some big needle-moving announcements (please see page 16). Shares have rallied to ~$630 each at the time of this print, and we continue to anticipate material upside on the basis of the company’s fundamentals and cash flow. Investors should expect Apple’s previously-announced 7-for-1 stock split to go into effect June 9. The firm currently yields ~2% (not stellar … Read more

More Excitement from Apple

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Apple’s (AAPL) Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is just around the corner (June 2-6), and we would expect the iPhone-maker’s equity to face some volatility during the conference and as it heads into the expected 7-for-1 stock split, which will go into effect June 9. Given all the moving parts in the next couple weeks, we plan to release an updated 16-page report on Apple the week after the split, or the week of June 16, so please be sure to stay active on our website for the update. On a split-adjusted basis, members should expect our valuation of the iPhone maker to come in at just over $100-$105 each (roughly in-line with its current $715 per share estimate, unadjusted for … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending May 30

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending May 30. 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 Altisource Residential (RESI): now $0.45 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.40. BMO Financial Group (BMO): now $0.78 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.76. CSG Systems (CSGS): now $0.1575 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.15. El Paso Electric (EE): now $0.28 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.27. First Connecticut Bancorp (FBNK): now $0.04 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.03. Pegasystems (PEGA): now $0.03 per share quarterly dividend, … Read more

The Risks of Dividend Growth Investing

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Did you know that if you invested in retail-focused REIT Realty Income’s (O) stock in October 1994 with an original investment of $8,000, your current annual dividend income would be $2,190, equivalent to a yield on cost north of 27%?!?! For any dividend growth investment, yield on cost is the current annualized dividends divided by the original investment, or $2,190/$8,000 in this example. The benefits of dividend growth investing have never been more evident, and a prudent, well-defined dividend growth plan targeting the ‘right’ companies over the next 20 years could result in your portfolio generating a 27% yield on cost in a couple decades, too! Though this sounds fantastic (and perhaps, unreal), investors must be aware of the significant … Read more

Update: Stocks That Have Attractive EV/EBITDA Multiples and High Returns on Capital

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To access the 16-page stock report of a firm in the list below, please click on the firm’s name or ticker symbol or use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. << About our Valuentum Buying Index << About our ValueCreation Rating Important Note: The data and rankings below are updated frequently and are current as of the date of this article. Valuentum may have updated the stock and dividend reports of companies after the published date of this article. Members should view the rankings in this article as a starting point for further research and always access the individual report of each desired company on our website for its most recent ratings, metrics, and valuation information. If you have … Read more