Member Articles

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week July 9

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending July 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 Caledonia Mining (CMCL): now $0.13 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.12. Civista Bancshares (CIVB): now $0.14 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.12. Eagle Point Income Company (EIC): now $0.09 per share monthly dividend, was $0.0085. First Republic Bank (FRC): now $0.2938 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.2200.            Five Star Bancorp (FSBC): now $0.15 per share quarterly dividend. Fortitude Gold Corporation (FTCO): now $0.035 per share monthly … Read more

ExxonMobil’s Immense Upside in Guyana

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Image Source: ExxonMobil Corporation – 2021 Investor Day Presentation By Callum Turcan On June 27, we added shares of ExxonMobil Corporation (XOM) as an idea to the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio (link here). The backdrop for the energy complex has improved considerably in recent months. Raw energy resources pricing has surged in the wake of demand for refined petroleum products beginning to recover in earnest, while demand for various petrochemical products is also on the rise. Near-term Brent and WTI futures are trading north of $70 a barrel as of this writing, keeping in mind Brent averaged ~$60-61 per barrel and WTI averaged ~$57-$58 per barrel during the first three months of 2021. On … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week July 2

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending July 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 AGF Management (AGFMF): now CAD 0.09 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.08. Alta Equipment Group Inc. 10% DP SHS PFD A (ALTG.PA): now $0.625 per share quarterly dividend. Arbor Realty Trust Series D Pfd. (ABR.PD): now $0.25677 per share dividend. Armanino Foods of Distinction (AMNF): now $0.0275 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.0225. Banco Bradesco (BBD): now $0.737 per share monthly dividend, was $0.03. Boise … Read more

Best Idea Facebook Soars!

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Image Shown: Facebook’s shares soared during the trading session June 28 as the company received a favorable ruling regarding a couple complaints that tried to make the case it is operating as a monopoly. By Brian Nelson, CFA On June 28, a federal judge ruled that a couple antitrust cases lacked legal merit in their attempt to peg Facebook (FB) as a monopoly. We view the development positively, and while there is a possibility that amended arguments could be filed, Facebook’s shares remain cheap whether it is preserved in current form or whether the market is forced to value it on a sum of the parts basis. Shares of Facebook soared to $355+ on the news, and our fair value … Read more

Two Alerts and Bull Market On!

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By Brian Nelson, CFA It’s very hard not to be bullish on the stock market these days. The prudence exercised by many of the largest companies in the S&P 500 remains unprecedented, in our view. Some of the best companies out there have tremendous balance sheets, as evidenced by huge net cash positions. Perhaps two of our favorite companies, Microsoft (MSFT) and Facebook (FB) are the best examples of this, but Apple (AAPL) still retains quite the large net cash hoard as it works to net-cash breakeven. As we look at the next couple years, most investors will continue to focus on the Fed. We’ve seen this song and dance following the Great Financial Crisis (GFC) that wreaked havoc on … Read more

Nike Beats Estimates Aided By Its Omni-Channel Selling Strength

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Image Shown: Shares of Nike Inc popped higher after its latest earnings report. By Callum Turcan On June 24, Nike Inc (NKE) reported fourth quarter earnings for fiscal 2021 (period ended May 31, 2021) that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Shares of NKE popped higher after the report. The top end of our fair value estimate range for Nike sits at $160 per share, meaningfully above where shares of NKE are trading at as of this writing–even after the latest bounce in its stock price. Earnings Update Keeping in mind that the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic creates a lot of noise when it comes to year-over-year comparisons, Nike’s GAAP revenues surged higher 96% year-over-year last fiscal quarter. Nike-branded footwear … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week June 25

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending June 25. 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 Alico (ALCO): now $0.50 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.18. Bancolombia S.A. (CIB): now $0.072 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.064. Darden Restaurants (DRI): now $1.10 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.88. Empire (EMLAF): now CAD 0.15 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.13. Fifth Street Asset Management (FSAM): now $0.014665 per share final dividend, was $0.0145. First Bancorp (FNLC): now $0.32 per share quarterly dividend, … Read more

Mortgage REITs Have Underperformed Significantly the Past Several Years

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Image: An ETF that tracks the mortgage REIT industry has fallen more than 31% on a price-only basis, while an ETF that tracks the S&P 500 has advanced more than 160% on a price-only basis, as measured from May 2013. By Brian Nelson, CFA Mortgage REITs (REM) are popular vehicles because of their deceptively enticing dividend yields, but we’ve never been bullish on the group. We’re reiterating our take today that these instruments are not for the individual investor or even prudent financial advisor and are more complicated vehicles than many investors believe. In May 2013, we first starting warning about the group, and the performance, as shown in the image above, hasn’t been pretty. On a price-only basis, the … Read more

Energy: A Small Part of the S&P 500 But Making a Comeback

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Image Source: Bureau of Land Management By Callum Turcan and Brian Nelson, CFA The energy sector remains a small part of the S&P 500 (SPY), coming in at just ~3% nowadays. Collapsing energy resource prices, overspending on capital projects, and a fallout in the pipeline MLP space have been primary causes for the sector’s ever-shrinking representation in the S&P 500 over the past five years or so, but we still think some exposure is warranted. For starters, we currently include a 1-2% weighting in the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) and a 3%-5% weighting in energy-heavy Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. During the past several months, raw energy resource pricing, from crude oil (USO) to natural … Read more

Lululemon’s Growth Outlook Is Bright

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Image Source: Lululemon Athletica Inc – First Quarter of Fiscal 2021 IR Earnings Infographic By Callum Turcan Athleisure wear maker Lululemon Athletica Inc (LULU) recently reported first quarter earnings for fiscal 2021 (period ended May 2, 2021) that smashed past both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Its company-operated stores posted net revenue growth of 106% year-over-year as global economies began to recover from the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. The company’s direct-to-consumer (‘DTC’) net revenue grew 55% year-over-year (the e-commerce side of its business) last fiscal quarter, keeping in mind its DTC business more than doubled its net revenues in fiscal 2020. We were impressed with Lululemon’s latest results, and there could be room for shares of LULU to continue climbing higher. … Read more