Member Articles

Costco Sinks on Margin Pressures

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Image Source: Mike Mozart Wholesale food retailer Costco disappointed investors with its fiscal first quarter report as margin pressures outweighed strong comparable sales performance. By Kris Rosemann Shares of bulk food retailer Costco Wholesale (COST) faced material selling pressure following the release of its fiscal 2019 first quarter report December 14 as concerns over margin pressures outweighed its impressive top-line growth. Total company comparable sales, adjusted for changes in gasoline prices, foreign exchange rates and revenue recognition changes, grew 7.5% on a year-over-year basis in the quarter, and e-commerce sales leapt 26.2%. The company’s US operations led the way with 8.3% comparable sales growth, and total revenue advanced 10.2% from the year-ago period. Despite the impressive top-line growth, Costco’s GAAP … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending December 14

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending December 14. 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 AES (AES): now $0.1365 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.13. Albany (AIN): now $0.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.17. AT&T (T): now $0.51 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.50. Balchem (BCPC): now $0.47 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.42. C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW): now $0.50 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.46. CenterPoint (CNP): now $0.2875 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.2775. CNB Community Bancorp (CNBB): … Read more

Marathon Oil: Riding a Rollercoaster

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Image Source: Marathon Oil Investor Presentation Let’s take a look at how Marathon Oil, a midsized oil & gas producer, is navigating capricious oil markets at a time when the industry is waiting to see what impact the OPEC+ production cut deal might have on global energy markets. By Callum Turcan Key Takeaways Marathon Oil has built its asset base around four key unconventional oil and gas plays in the US in the Permian Basin, the SCOOP/STACK, the Eagle Ford, and the Bakken. Its goal is to develop well locations within its unconventional drilling inventory that are liquids-rich, enabling the firm to grow crude production, which carries higher margins. In light of recent geopolitical events, it is possible oil prices … Read more

Facebook to Test New Ad Feature

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Image Shown: Facebook’s share price performance since late 2017. Shares may be poised to breakout of a recent downtrend. Source: TradingView.com Facebook has faced significant pressure from a number of sources in recent months, but we continue to like the stock, which may be poised for a technical breakout and appears undervalued. By Kris Rosemann It’s no secret that simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio idea Facebook (FB) has been working to right the ship while under an intense level of scrutiny from a variety of sources. The company has been caught in perhaps an unprecedented culmination of social and political pressures, but these are unprecedented times. We continue to like shares of Facebook due to the robust free cash flow … Read more

Automakers Gain on Potential Tariff Easing

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Image Source: Truck Hardware A potential easing of tariffs on auto imports to China, as President Trump had previously hinted, has improved sentiment across the auto manufacturing space as investors eye up the potential for more free exchange of autos between the world’s two largest economies. By Kris Rosemann US equities continue to be quite sensitive to US-China trade talk reports, and the auto manufacturing space has been the most recent beneficiary of potentially favorable developments. China (FXI) is reportedly considering a reduction of its auto import tariff to 15% from 40%, a win President Trump had pointed to as a positive development resulting from his meeting with Chinese officials during the recent G20 summit. The month of November marked … Read more

In the News: Generic Drug Price Fixing and Apple’s Legal Battle in China

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An investigation into pricing practices in the generic drug industry has substantially expanded, and implications may be far more widespread than initially expected. Meanwhile, Apple is fighting a preliminary order that will ban the sale of its iPhones that utilize certain software. By Kris Rosemann Price fixing of generic drugs broke into the news as an antitrust lawsuit over just two drugs in late 2016, but the investigation now reportedly involves at least 16 companies and 300 drugs. The generic drug industry is one that has been lauded as a potential savior of rampant healthcare costs in the US, but Joseph Nielsen, an assistant attorney general and antitrust investigator in Connecticut, used evidence such as the volume of drugs and … Read more

In the News: OPEC Production Cut Agreement, Jobs and Consumer Sentiment, and Altria Gets in the Pot Game

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Let’s take a look at some major headlines. Topics include OPEC’s production cut, the recent jobs and consumer sentiment reports, and Altria’s investment in a marijuana company. By Kris Rosemann OPEC and its allies have reportedly agreed to cut crude oil (USO) production by 1.2 million barrels per day from October production levels as the baseline. The agreement will last for six months and will be reviewed once again in April. OPEC member nations, with the exception of Iran, Libya, and Venezuela, will lower output by 800,000 barrels per day, while Russia and other allies will reduce production by 400,000 barrels per day. The production cut agreement comes shortly after news broke that the US became a net exporter of … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending December 7

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending December 7. 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 Agree Realty (ADC): now $0.555 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.54. Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE): now $0.97 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.93. AllianzGI Convertible & Income Fund 5.5% Cum Pfd Registered Shs Series A (NCZ.PA): now $0.34375 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.076389. AllianzGI Convertible & Income Fund 5.625% Cum Red Perp Pfd Registered Shs Series A (NCV.PA): now $0.3515625 per share quarterly dividend, … Read more

Verint Systems’ Strategy Delivers

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Image Source: Verint Systems Investor Presentation Actionable intelligence leader Verint Systems continues to deliver on its strategy in its ‘Customer Engagement’ segment, while its ‘Cyber Security’ segment is taking advantage of a number of trends. Management’s initial guidance for next fiscal year impressed. By Kris Rosemann Simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio idea Verint Systems (VRNT) turned in a solid fiscal third quarter report December 6 as momentum stemming from investments in advanced analytics, automation, and cloud across its actionable intelligence portfolio are driving expectations for ongoing demand growth. Organizations need this actionable intelligence to create an engaged workforce and smarter customer engagements, and its cybersecurity business is taking advantage of the necessity for protection against ever-advancing cyber threats. Initial guidance … Read more

Trade Uncertainty Update

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Image Source: John Karakatsanis The arrest of a high profile Chinese tech executive has renewed concerns over trade tensions after the US markets were closed for a day of remembrance for the 41st President of the US. Also, the Fed released its Beige Book. By Kris Rosemann Despite the markets being closed December 5 in remembrance of the passing of George H.W. Bush, the 41st President of the US, investors continue to be pulled in different directions regarding the state of US-China trade negotiations, and the situation continues to become more muddled. After a weekend of optimism, a new round of doubt was cast over the legitimacy of the progress made at the G20 Summit, but China’s (FXI) commerce ministry offered … Read more