Brian Nelson

Core System Sales Slowed at Intuitive Surgical

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Shares of da Vinci surgical systems maker Intuitive Surgical (click ticker for report: ) fell in after-hours trading Monday afternoon after the company released weak preliminary results. Fiscal year 2013 second quarter revenue is expected to be 7% higher than the same period a year ago at $575 million—well below the consensus estimate calling for $630 million. Net income is expected to be marginally higher at $160 million compared to $155 million during the same period last year. This net income figure implies earnings per share in the $3.85-$3.87 range, well below consensus estimates calling for $4.29 per share. Management was quick to blame other parties, saying on the press release:  “The slowdown in benign gynecologic procedures reflected a number … Read more

Fourth of July Weekend Highlights the New Norm for Disney

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The recently passed Fourth of July weekend once again brought moviegoers several new films to watch. Disney (click ticker for report: ) and Comcast’s Universal (click ticker for report: ) went head-to-head with The Lone Ranger and Despicable Me 2, respectively. The results are in, and the clear winner was Comcast’s Despicable Me 2, which earned a record $142 million during its first five days. The Lone Ranger wasn’t even close, grossing $48.9 million over its first five days—a number that wouldn’t look so bad, except that the film cost Disney an estimated $375 million to create and market. An Uneven Track Record Although we like Disney’s future prospects–given its robust pipeline of films related to The Avengers and Star … Read more

Could TV Get Competitive?

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Compounding worries that internet-based distribution will continue to eat away from traditional cable distributors, Intel (click ticker for report: ), DirecTV (click ticker for report: ), Time Warner Cable (click ticker for report: ), and Charter Communications (CHTR) are seeking deals to over-the-top (OTT) rights from programmers. This matters because OTT rights could give content distributors the ability to deliver TV shows via the internet rather than set-top boxes. If such a dynamic were to take hold, the TV business could become more competitive, as it would allow virtually every participant to offer services everywhere. Thus far, only Best Ideas Newsletter holding Intel has showed that it is serious about offering a broadband TV service, while the previously-mentioned companies are … Read more

The 10-year Treasury Yield Keeps Rallying

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The 10-year Treasury yield jumped an impressive 22 basis points during trading Friday to end the session at 2.73%. We continue to monitor changes in this important benchmark rate because it impacts the decisions of income investors, the financial performance of equities levered to spread income (and often their book values), and the risk-free rate we use in our discounted cash-flow valuation models. US Generic Govt 10 Year Yield Image Source: Bloomberg The risk free rate we use in our valuation models is a weighted average of the long-term historical average of the 10-year Treasury and the current spot rate of the 10-year Treasury. We update the discount rate systematically across our coverage universe periodically when material changes warrant such … Read more

Just One Dividend Increase During the Shortened Holiday Week Ending July 5

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Below we provide a list of firms that increased their dividends for the week ending July 5. 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. Dividend Increases for the Week Ending July 5 Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK): now $0.19 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.17. << Last Week’s Dividend Increases Ever wonder why we use the Valuentum Dividend Cushion score as a key component of our dividend analysis? Click here.

Ford Paces US Auto Sales in June

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With an estimated SAAR of 15.7 million units during June, the US auto market continues to surge back to relevancy. Let’s take a look at the major players and their respective results. Ford Best Ideas Newsletter holding Ford (click ticker for report: ) continues to execute at an exceptionally high level. Unit sales jumped 13% year-over-year to 235,643 units. With the housing recovery in full gear, pickup sales have really accelerated, as F-Series sales surged 24% year-over-year to 68,009 units. Heavy truck sales increased 31% year-over-year, but only accounted for 726 units. Car sales were also fantastic, with sales increasing 13% year-over-year. Sales of the Fiesta more than doubled, while Focus sales jumped 9% and Taurus sales surged 15%. Fusion … Read more

Another Elite Mind Heads to Apple

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Best Ideas Newsletter holding Apple (click ticker for report: ) is perhaps best known for its relentless focus on design elegance, with a legacy started by Steve Jobs and carried on by Jony Ive. That trend continued this week when the company nabbed high-end fashion brand Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve. Devene will join as an executive in charge of “special projects” and will allegedly report directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook. Why does this matter? In our view, it signals that Apple could be branching out into different product lines, and after Apple filed to trademark iWatch in Japan, we think it could mean the company is currently focusing more extensively on wearable technology. At the ‘All Things … Read more

Linn Energy: SEC Sees Smoke…Is There Fire?

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Controversial independent oil and gas company Linn Energy (click ticker for report: ) announced Tuesday morning that the SEC has launched an informal inquiry into Linn and LinnCo (LNCO). As we previously outlined June 3, we have no interest in adding the company to the portfolio of our Dividend Growth Newsletter given the cloud of questions, poor internally-generated cash flow, and numerous downside risks. We’re retaining the firm on the watch list of our Dividend Growth Newsletter, however, as we continue to monitor developments closely. As always, our best dividend growth ideas are included in our Dividend Growth portfolio. We give credit to Linn’s management team for revealing the explicit details of the inquiry, stating in the press release: “The SEC … Read more

China News Flow Remains Bearish

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Earlier this week, the HSBC China Manufacturing PMI was released for the month of June, coming in at 48.2—marginally below the flash PMI of 48.3 we saw earlier in the month (and signaling further contraction). Image Source: Markit, HSBC It seems as though the economic decline in China is worsening, with HSBC noting that job-cutting intensified during the month, registering the most job losses since the Great Recession in 2009. We continue to see several structural issues with the nation, including potential excesses in the “shadow banking system” and increasing labor costs that could make the country a relatively less attractive market for global manufacturers. The cost of Chinese real estate remains in nosebleed territory, perhaps foreshadowing signs (or symptons) of the … Read more

Valuentum’s July Edition of Its Dividend Growth Newsletter!

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Putting Our Members First by Brian Nelson, CFA I never forget why Valuentum is in business, and it’s for our members. I was reminded recently why we work so hard day in and day out, covering over 1,000 stocks, publishing two newsletter portfolios that are exceeding their strategic goals, and issuing quarterly publications to our dear advisor members. It’s not only to identify ideas that we think are going to fit the needs and requirements of our members’ investment goals, but also to serve as an independent voice, looking out for our members’ best interests. In this day and age, a service that does this is hard to find, and I’ve been in the industry long enough to know that many research … Read more