Member Articles

GE Dividend Cut Coming Sooner Than Later, Says Seeking Alpha, Bloomberg

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Image Source: darkon_turaas We’ve been warning about the tight rope GE has been walking with respect to its dividend. Concerns are spreading, and it seems a dividend cut may be coming sooner than later, according to some sources. By Brian Nelson, CFA It’s unconfirmed, but Seeking Alpha is reporting that much-beleaguered General Electric (GE) may potentially slash its quarterly dividend to $0.18 per share from $0.24 per share the week of October 15-21, sourcing Bloomberg. We can’t find much more to substantiate the report other than the Seeking Alpha post, “GE seen cutting dividend next week – Bloomberg,” but we, too, have had myriad concerns about the sustainability of the payout of the former idea in both the Best Ideas … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending October 13

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending October 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 Ameren Corporation (AEE): now $0.4575 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.44. Antero Midstream (AM): now $0.34 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.32. Brown & Brown Insurance (BRO): now $0.15 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.135. Civista Bancshares (CIVB): now $0.07 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.06. Clough Global Equity Fund (GLQ): now $0.1188 per share monthly dividend, was $0.1187. Dominion Resources (D): now $0.77 per share … Read more

An Overview on Valuing Junior Biotech Companies — Does Clovis Fit the Bill?

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The biotech industry remains one of the most fascinating yet perplexing industries for investors. Anecdotes of the entry-stage biotech with a home-run new therapy are often romanticized, but the reality is the vast majority of molecules fail in various stages of clinical testing.  Due to the boom-bust nature of the industry, many are wary of investing in the space, and traditional valuation metrics are not as useful due to a large number of such speculative entities being in the pre-revenue stage. With this in mind, let’s take a glimpse into our thought process when evaluating upstart biotech companies. By Alexander J. Poulos Before we dig in, we feel a word of caution is warranted. Entry-stage biotechs (IBB) inherently come with … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending October 6

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending October 6. 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 American Express (AXP): now $0.35 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.32. Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK): now $0.185 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.18. Calavo Growers (CVGW): now $0.95 per share annual dividend, was $0.90. FNB Bancorp (FNBG): now $0.13 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.12. Frederick County (FCBI): now $0.08 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.07. Intuit (INTU): now $0.39 per share quarterly dividend, was … Read more

The Bull Case for Airline Stocks?

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Image Source: BriYYZ Warren Buffett has famously said that airline stocks are horrible long-term investments, but his vast portfolio now owns a number of airlines. What’s the bull case for owning these capital-intensive, cyclical and often boom-and-bust stocks? By Brian Nelson, CFA Last year, the Oracle of Omaha Warren Buffett shocked the investment world when his company Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) disclosed that it held stakes in American Airlines (AAL), United Continental (UAL), Delta (DAL) and Southwest (LUV). For a die-hard, economic-moat investor, thinking about taking a stake in an airline seems crazy. After all, Buffett himself used to joke that he had an 1-800 number that he could call anytime he had the urge to buy an airline stock … Read more

The Legal Battle Between Regeneron and Amgen Heats Up

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Image Source: Regeneron The legal battle between two of the titans of the biotech world heated up further with a recent ruling overturning the injunction of a critical asset. We are updating our thesis in light of current events. By Alexander J. Poulos Legal Battle Amgen (AMGN) is locked in a protracted battle with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) and its partner Sanofi (SNY) over a potential patent infringement. The asset in question is Praluent which belongs to the PCSK9 inhibitor, which is approved for the patient class afflicted with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia or clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, which require additional lowering of LDL-C. The nexus of Amgen’s complaint is Praluent infringes on some of the intellectual property (IP) that backs its … Read more

Housing Market Very Strong But To “Face Two Contradicting Challenges”

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Image Shown: The iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB) has advanced ~ 24% year-to-date, according to data from YahooFinance. “Housing indicators may be leveling off,” per S&P Corelogic, and the threat of rising interest rates looms (as it has for years), but we like the fundamental strength that we’re seeing from the homebuilders of late, which has translated into strong equity performance. By Brian Nelson, CFA We’ve been bullish on the US housing market recovery since early 2012, and we’ve pointed to several factors as to why–including improved affordability, investment by both individuals and investors, falling unemployment, improved household formation, limited inventory, and more recently, the wealth effect that a rising stock market provides. Things continue to be on the … Read more

Intel’s Stock Is Marching Ever Higher

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Image Shown: Intel’s shares have been catching a bid lately. Shares of newsletter portfolio idea Intel are cheap by our estimates, and the company sports a nice dividend yield to boot. Does it have further upside potential? By Brian Nelson, CFA We finally may be redeemed on our bullish call on newsletter portfolio idea Intel (INTC). It has taken a bit longer than usual but shares of the chip giant are now nearing the $40 per-share mark, levels that we thought it had deserved a couple years ago. Here’s a little background on the story arc – an except I wrote in October 2016: It was nearing the end of 2015, and I don’t think I was more bullish on … Read more

General Motors Is Off to the Races!

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Image Shown: GM’s shares are breaking out. GM’s stock has been out of favor for years, but with an attractive price-to-earnings ratio and healthy dividend yield, is the market finally coming around to the company’s tremendous potential? By Brian Nelson, CFA General Motors’ (GM) share-price performance has been an enigma. The automaker’s price-to-earnings multiple is less than half and its dividend yield is more than double that of the average S&P 500 company, and we thought it was only a matter of time that the company’s share price would break out. There can only be so much time before market anomalies are closed, and GM was a big one. We wrote the following September 7, “Why Won’t GM Break Out … Read more