Brian Nelson

Dividend Growth Giant Microsoft Raises Its Dividend 10%!

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Image Shown: Microsoft has been a fantastic dividend grower the past several years. The company announced September 20 another 10% increase in its quarterly dividend per share, to $0.68. Image Source: Microsoft. By Brian Nelson, CFA  On September 20, dividend growth giant Microsoft Corp (MSFT) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.68 per share, a 10% increase from the prior rate, revealing a forward estimated yield of ~1.1% at the time of this writing. Microsoft has been the quintessential dividend growth stock, and the company remains an idea in the simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, which has held up quite well during 2022 thus far. Image Shown: The simulated Valuentum newsletter portfolios have held up well in a very difficult market … Read more

Should You Gear Up for the Porsche AG IPO?

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Image Shown: Unit sales at Porsche fell 5% during the first half of 2022, but demand remains particularly strong for its SUV models despite a troubled supply chain and higher input cost inflation. Image Source: Porsche AG. By Brian Nelson, CFA German luxury and sports car maker Porsche AG (POAHY) (POAHF) is planning to go public in the coming weeks, following in the footsteps of Ferrari (RACE), which listed a few years ago. Porsche-owner Volkswagen AG (VWAGY) (VLKAF) has been investing heavily in electric vehicles, and the IPO of the Porsche brand will provide it with fresh capital to be more competitive on that front. The Porsche AG IPO would be one of the biggest ever in Europe at a time when … Read more

High-Yielding Digital Realty Is Committed to Rewarding Income Seeking Investors

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Image Shown: Digital Realty Trust Inc continues to secure new leases which supports its growth outlook. Image Source: Digital Realty Trust Inc – Second Quarter of 2022 Earnings Press Release By Callum Turcan Data center real estate investment trusts (‘REITs’) are a great source of income with ample growth opportunities given the secular tailwinds underpinning data demand growth. The proliferation of cloud computing, the Internet of Things (‘IoT’) trend, the rise of autonomous automobiles, households that previously did not have access to the Internet gaining access (particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asian), the rollout of 5G wireless services, and other factors are all driving up data demand around the world. In turn, that makes it easier for data center … Read more

Nelson Nailed Food Price Inflation Risks; Markets Heading Lower

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Image Source: Liz West “Milk was up 17%, poultry up 15.9%, while eggs were up 39.8% in the August CPI report.” By Brian Nelson, CFA Hi everyone: I put together a video several weeks ago on August 27, explaining how consumers were tapped out due to inflationary squeezes, particularly at the grocery store, as a big reason for being incrementally more bearish on the equity markets. The August CPI report, released September 13, showed that consumer prices advanced 8.3% on a year-over-year basis and are still accelerating, increasing 0.1 percent from July, where the pace was unchanged. Milk was up 17%, poultry up 15.9%, while eggs were up 39.8% in the August CPI report. We don’t think the market was … Read more

U.S. Housing Market Showing Signs of Weakness

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Image Shown: The US housing market is starting to show signs of weakness. Companies involved in the home building business in the US are starting to feel the heat, with the iShares US Home Construction ETF down ~30% year-to-date as of early September 2022 on a price-only basis. By Callum Turcan The national U.S. housing market has been on fire during the past few years. Sharp increases in U.S. housing prices are now contending with rising mortgage rates, which is prompting the question, are U.S. housing prices heading for a crash? Affordability issues are rampant, with many households now priced out of the market, and signs of weakness are emerging in the U.S. housing market. Background The Federal Reserve is … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of September 9

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending September 9. 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                Atalaya Mining Plc (AYM:CA): now $0.036 per share dividend. Garrett Motion Inc. SERIES A CUMULATIVE CONVERTIBLE PFD STK (GTXAP): now $0.17 per share quarterly dividend. Grindrod Shipping (GRIN): now $0.84 per share interim quarterly dividend, was $0.47. Hammond Power Solutions (HMDPF): now CAD 0.10 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.085. I3 Energy (ITEEF): now GBP 0.1425 per share monthly dividend. Kilroy Reality (KRC): now … Read more

Post-Mortem on Facebook (Meta Platforms): Apple Crushed Our Thesis

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Image: Thesis creep kept us excited about Meta, but we’ve since trimmed the “weighting” in the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, as updated August 19. What more can we say–Apple is eating Facebook’s lunch, and the iPhone giant is now advancing with its advertising revenue, too. Apple blew up our thesis on Meta, and that’s the long and short of it. By Brian Nelson, CFA Meta Platforms (META) wasn’t the first idea that hasn’t worked out perfectly for us, and it won’t be the last. Frankly, we’re as surprised as the next person at how quickly things fell apart at Meta, and there wasn’t much time to be patient on the idea as the savviest portfolio managers like to do. … Read more

Korn Ferry’s Stock Helps Diversify Best Ideas Newsletter Portfolio

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Image Shown: Within the realm of the global consulting industry, Korn Ferry’s revenues are well-diversified in terms of both the geographic markets and industries it caters to. We like shares of Korn Ferry as an idea in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. Image Source: Korn Ferry – First Quarter of Fiscal 2023 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan On September 7, the global consulting firm Korn Ferry (KFY) reported first quarter earnings for fiscal 2023 (period ended July 31, 2022) that beat consensus top-line estimates but missed consensus bottom-line estimates. Korn Ferry has been steadily shifting towards a model of digitally delivering its services, when feasible, to its client base as a way to boost its revenue generating potential per … Read more

Video: How Many Stocks Should You Own?

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Video: Valuentum’s President of Investment Research, Brian Nelson, CFA, explains the importance of diversification, how to think about firm-specific and systematic risk, how many stocks one should own to achieve 90% of the diversification benefits, how to think about active asset allocation versus active equity management, and why diversification is a means to achieve goals, not the goal itself. A content-packed 14-minute video. Don’t miss it! –——— Tickerized for holdings in the ARKK. Also tickerized for META, PYPL. Brian Nelson owns shares in SPY, SCHG, QQQ, DIA, VOT, BITO, and IWM. Valuentum owns SPY, SCHG, QQQ, VOO, and DIA. Brian Nelson’s household owns shares in HON, DIS, HAS, NKE. Some of the other securities written about in this article may … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of September 2

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending September 2. 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                ABC Technologies Holdings (ABCT:CA): now CAD 0.0375 per share quarterly dividend.         Athene Holding Ltd. 4.875% DEP PFD Dp (ATH.PD): now $0.3046 per share quarterly dividend. Avnet (AVT): now $0.29 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.26. Banco Bradesco (BBD): now $0.0034 per share monthly dividend, was $0.0032. BHP Group (BHP): now $3.50 per share semi-annual dividend, was $3.00. Brady (BRC): now $0.23 per share quarterly dividend, … Read more