Member Articles

Our Reports on Stocks in the Auto Specialty Retailers Industry

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Structure of the Retail Auto Parts Industry The retail auto parts industry is characterized by stiff competition in many areas, including brand recognition, customer service, and price. The industry is impacted by both the age and number of vehicles in service, especially those that are no longer under manufacturer’s warranties (typically seven years old and older). Demand for retail auto parts can best be described as counter-cyclical: as consumers’ cash flows decrease, drivers tend to keep their vehicles longer, leading to more retail auto parts sales. Though competition among constituents is intense, we like the industry’s defensive characteristics. We’ve dropped coverage of stocks in the Auto Specialty Retailers Industry.

Improving Our Coverage

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Valuentum continues to scour the stock market for new ideas. We’ll be following the set of companies in this list via commentary on our website and a data sheet updated periodically. By Valuentum Analysts The list of companies in the download below were previously covered by our team via 16-page report and dividend report fashion. Going forward, we are now covering these companies with commentary on the website and via a data sheet updated periodically. This will be a much better use of members’ time, especially as members scour our Best Ideas Newsletter, Dividend Growth Newsletter, stock methodology, dividend methodology, and the hundreds of stock valuation reports and dividend reports on our website, available through the Symbol search box.  We … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending November 15

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending November 15. 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 Alerus Financial Corporation (ALRS): now $0.15 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.14. ALPS Alerian MLP ETF (AMLP): now $0.195 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.19. ALPS ETF Trust – Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF (ENFR): now $0.3496 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.3123. Automatic Data Processing (ADP): now $0.91 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.79. Bancroft Fund (BCV): now $0.97 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. Boyd … Read more

Cisco Remains a Free Cash Flow Cow Supported By a Solid Net Cash Position

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Image Shown: A breakdown of Cisco Systems Inc’s revenue as of the end of its fiscal 2019. Image Source: Cisco Systems – Fiscal 2019 Annual Report By Callum Turcan On November 13, Cisco Systems (CSCO) reported first quarter earnings for its fiscal 2020 (period ended October 26, 2019) that saw shares of CSCO sell off on November 14. That was likely due to the weak guidance management put out for the second quarter of the firm’s fiscal 2020, but we continue to like Cisco’s quality free cash flows and net cash balance. Cisco’s GAAP revenues came in at $13.2 billion last quarter, up 1% year-over-year, and that growth rate rises to 2% when excluding sales related to the divestiture of … Read more

Chesapeake Energy’s Pain Indicates Nothing “Safe” About Energy MLP Distributions

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Summary There is nothing “safe” in the stock market, and given the track record of the distributions of pipeline MLPs, there is nothing “safe” about pipeline MLP distributions. The MLP business model continues to be phased out, a trend that we anticipated when we made our bearish call on the group in June 2015. Chesapeake Energy’s pain is a yet another reminder of the pipeline MLP group’s exposure to energy resource pricing through the health (or rather ill-health) of its customer base. We continue to encourage pipeline operators to disclose free cash flow (cash flow from operations less all gross capital spending) prominently in press releases, alongside other industry-specific metrics. Investors of Chesapeake could get completely wiped out in a … Read more

Intel Still One of Our Favorite Ideas

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Image Source: Intel Corporation – August 2019 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan A holding in both our Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios, shares of Intel Corporation (INTC) have been on a strong upward tear since August. We continue to like the company as it appears shares of Intel are converging towards the top end of our fair value estimate range ($61 per share), with INTC trading at roughly $58.50 per share as of this writing. Looking ahead, Intel’s solid 2.1x Dividend Cushion ratio provides support for a quality dividend growth story (we rate Intel’s Divided Growth trajectory as EXCELLENT), and shares of Intel yield ~2.2% as of this writing. Image Shown: Shares of Intel appear to be … Read more

Keurig Dr Pepper Is Moving in the Right Direction

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Image Source: Keurig Dr Pepper – September 2019 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Keurig Dr Pepper Inc (KDP) markets, sells, and distributes numerous coffees, flavored soft drinks, teas, waters, juices, mixers, energy drinks, and other types of beverages through either its ownership of the brand or through its various partnerships. The beverage giant’s top brands include 7UP, Dr Pepper, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Keurig, Snapple, and Mott’s. JAB Holding Company, a privately-held entity, owns ~87% of Keurig Dr Pepper after Dr Pepper Snapple merged with Keurig Green Mountain last year. We expect Keurig Dr Pepper to generate sizable free cash flows as a combined entity going forward, but we also caution that the company’s hefty net debt load weighs negatively … Read more

Asset Light, Free-Cash-Flow Generating Powerhouse Bookings Holding (Priceline) Remains One of Our Favorite Ideas

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Image shown: Booking Holdings’ equity has been a strong performer the past few years. By Brian Nelson, CFA Booking Holdings (BKNG), formerly Priceline, has been an idea for consideration in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio for some time. A number of our best ideas have a few things in common. For starters, they are asset light, meaning that they generally don’t require lots of reinvested capital to keep their businesses growing. A byproduct of this feature is that they generate considerable free cash flow, and by extension, they have strong cash-rich balance sheets. Booking Holdings fits the bill, and the company has been a strong performer the past few years, as the chart above shows. For those that may not … Read more

High Yield Dividend Newsletter Portfolio Holding BP Sees Cash Flow Profile Improvements Ahead

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Image Source: BP plc – Third quarter 2019 earnings infographic If you may wish to add the High Yield Dividend Newsletter to your membership, please click here. By Callum Turcan On October 29, BP plc (BP) reported third-quarter 2019 earnings, and shares of BP have since climbed higher due in part to the energy giant’s nice cash flow profile and likely due to the improving outlook for a narrow US-China trade deal. We include BP in our High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio as a way to play the raw energy resource market and generate sizable income streams while taking advantage of the protection its large midstream (pipelines, storage facilities, etc.), downstream (refineries and petrochemical plants), and retail (gas stations/convenience stores) operations … Read more

Our Reports on Stocks in the Nonalcoholic Beverages Industry

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Image Source: Mike Mozart Structure of the Nonalcoholic Beverages Industry The nonalcoholic beverage segment of the commercial beverage industry is highly competitive, consisting of numerous companies that make various sparkling beverages, water products, juices, fruit drinks, energy and other performance-enhancing drinks. Pricing, advertising, product innovation, the availability of in-store private-label beverages, and health concerns about sugar-sweetened beverages are key drivers that impact demand. Leading brands with high levels of consumer acceptance and an expansive distribution network are sources of competitive strengths. We like the structure of the group. We’ve reallocated our resources to cover more recession-resistant stocks. See here.