Member Articles

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending July 20

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending July 20. 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 1st Source (SRCE): now $0.25 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.24. Ally Financial (ALLY): now $0.15 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.13. Antero Midstream GP (AMGP): now $0.125 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.108. Antero Midstream Partners (AM): now $0.415 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.39. AptarGroup (ATR): now $0.34 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.32. Aqua America (WTR): now $0.219 per share quarterly dividend, was … Read more

Johnson & Johnson Powers Ahead, Litigation Overhang Remains

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Image Source: J&J quarterly presentation. Amid headline pressure from consumer lawsuits, Johnson & Johnson continues to execute well, as evidenced by its solid second quarter report. By Kris Rosemann Newsletter portfolio holding Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) turned in a solid second-quarter 2018 report that revealed total reported sales growth of 10.6% on a year-over-year basis thanks in part to a nearly 12% international sales increase. Double-digit growth in the company’s ‘Pharmaceutical’ business and improving top-line momentum in ‘Medical Devices’ were cited as key drivers of the top-line expansion. A number of drugs reported impressive sales growth rates in the second quarter, but most impressive may have been its Oncology division delivering 42% reported year-over-year growth. Adjusted diluted earnings per share … Read more

What Are the Downside Risks of Gilead Sciences?

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We think the risk-reward at Gilead remains positively skewed in investors’ favor, but let’s examine the downside case for Gilead Sciences so there are no surprises. It’s always a good approach to evaluate where an investor may go wrong with an investment idea, and assessing upside and downside cases, as in a fair value range, remains par for the course. By Alexander J. Poulos Key Takeaways We wanted to highlight a few key points on what could go wrong on our bullish thesis on Gilead Sciences. We believe the HCV market is stabilizing with Gilead on track to meet its dramatically-reduced revenue forecast. Biktarvy–Gilead’s next-gen HIV product–is poised to steal significant market share. Yescarta, the recently-acquired CAR-T treatment, should generate … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending July 13

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending July 13. 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 Avangrid (AGR): now $0.44 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.432. Bassett Furniture (BSET): now $0.125 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.11. BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust (BPT): now $1.4076 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.2748. Clough Global Allocation Fund (GLV): now $0.1138 per share monthly dividend, was $0.1135. Clough Global Equity Fund (GLQ): now $0.1278 per share monthly dividend, was $0.1234. Clough Global Opportunities Fund (GLO): … Read more

In the News: More Tariff Talk Keeps Markets Volatile

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Many market observers were caught by surprise after President Trump continued down a path of escalating trade tensions late July 10. By Kris Rosemann As with many developments surrounding the Chinese (FXI, MCHI) economy, metals have found themselves at the fore of the discussion. After the Trump Administration threatened additional 10% tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports July 10, copper (COPX) and other metals prices plunged as the newest list of targeted goods includes manufacturing export industries, electronics, textiles, metal components, and auto parts. It is worth noting that the US imports far more Chinese goods than vice versa, suggesting China would not be able to match US tariffs dollar-for-dollar if a full-on trade war ensues, though such a … Read more

What Are the Qualities of Highly-Rated Stocks on the Valuentum Buying Index?

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If you were a CEO, what are the 7 most important metrics to focus on to get a rating of 10 on the Valuentum Buying Index? This is a great question because it hits at the absolute heart of the most important concept of investing. Investing may be about buying a great company with a solid and growing dividend, but it most certainly is about buying a great company at a discount to intrinsic value. The difference between what someone can pay for something and what something is worth is the most important concept of investing: price versus value. The price-versus-value component is an integral part of the Valuentum Buying Index. In fact, it is the first component. After all, … Read more

Biogen Hits a Potential Home Run

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We closely follow the progress of the clinical pipeline of companies in the pharma/biotech sector. Unlike other less product-driven industries, the pharma/biotech sector can experience wide swings in operating performance as a result of the lapsing of patent protection on key drugs, underscoring the importance of innovation to replace aging products. Biogen may have hit a home run in the critical field of Alzheimer’s, an area of tremendous untapped need. By Alexander J. Poulos Key Takeaways Biogen’s current product lineup is beginning to show its age, and a fresh injection of novel products may be necessary to jumpstart top-line revenue growth. Spinraza is a notable step in the right direction, but we fear new gene-editing therapies may disrupt Spinraza, thus … Read more

Twitter Working Backwards?

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Image Source: Xiaobin Liu The social media platform known for its tweets faced selling pressure after reports surfaced that it had removed 70 million fake accounts from its website. Social media is still a relatively young technology, and our top idea in the space remains the cash-rich Facebook. By Kris Rosemann Shares of Twitter (TWTR) fell more than 5% during the trading session July 9, less severe than the drop had been at its session worst, following a report from The Washington Post outlining the company’s suspension of 70 million fake or spam accounts in the months of May and June. Twitter had 336 million monthly active users as of the end of the first quarter of 2018, but company officials … Read more