Let’s Talk Business Analysis

Valuentum’s Brian Nelson explains the benefits of combining both economic moat and economic castle analysis in business analysis. An excerpt from part II of Valuentum’s four-part investment education workshop. If you cannot see the video, please view the transcript below or select the link here. If you would like to purchase Valuentum’s investment education workshop, please visit the page here. Brian Nelson, CFA: “In business I look for economic castles, protected by unbreachable moats… (quoting Warren Buffett).” If you take out some of the prepositions, Warren Buffett looks for economic castles. So what we do is we provide the analysis associated with the Economic Castle rating. The Economic Castle rating is based on the academic framework that suggests that economic profit … Read more

Gilead’s Stock Rockets Higher

Gilead’s stock is soaring on a technical breakout of the downtrend. Value investors have joined the party, too, as the hepatitis-C powerhouse remains undervalued on our discounted cash-flow process. When value and technical/momentum investors like the same stock, it often surges, and that’s what we’re witnessing. Gilead has become a Valuentum stock. By Brian Nelson, CFA It’s good to see the Valuentum stock-selection methodology working well. The latest example is Gilead (GILD). For a long time, we thought shares of the hepatitis-C powerhouse were undervalued on our discounted cash-flow process, but we didn’t add it to the newsletter portfolios until shares broke through their defined downtrend more recently. Since the time we added shares to the newsletter portfolios (July 31), … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending August 25

Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending August 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 Altria (MO): now $0.66 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.61. Canadian Imperial Bank (CM): now CAD 1.30 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 1.27. Capital City Bank (CCBG): now $0.07 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.05. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT): now $0.092836 per share monthly dividend, was $0.077397. Expedia (EXPE): now $0.30 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.28. First Capital (FCAP): now $0.22 per share … Read more

Manufacturing Woes Continue to Hamper ZimmerBiomet

Image Source: ZimmerBiomet The medical device industry continues its torrid run during 2017 as the perception of a more-favorable regulatory environment continues to fuel investor enthusiasm for the industry. While a rising tide can lift all boats, shares of ZimmerBiomet have come under intense selling pressure post its recent earnings debacle. Let’s review the company’s prospects. By Alexander J. Poulos Overview ZimmerBiomet (ZBH) is a leading supplier of medical devices with a focus on the musculoskeletal market. The company holds a sizeable market share in artificial knees, hips, and spinal solutions thanks in large part to the recently-completed merger of Zimmer with Biomet. The musculoskeletal market’s overall value is estimated to be worth $50 billion, but it is growing at … Read more

Procter & Gamble Is No Gamble

Image Source: P&G Let’s look at recent results from consumer-products behemoth P&G. Shareholders have benefited from the best of both worlds at P&G of late. Activist pressure is keeping management on its toes, and we like that a lot.  By Brian Nelson, CFA Procter & Gamble (PG) is a wonder of a company. Almost everyone knows its name, and it’s hard to argue against the view that its consumer-packaged goods have improved the lives of millions of consumers around the world. What we like most about P&G, however, is its history. Built on the foundation of an enterprise started by William Procter and James Gamble in 1837, P&G has a lot to be proud of over its long lifespan. The … Read more

Cisco’s Shares Still Look Cheap

Image Source: Cisco Cisco is trading well below the market multiple, while sporting a large net cash position and a solid cash dividend backed by copious amounts of free cash flow. By Brian Nelson, CFA Cisco’s (CSCO) name has become synonymous with networking, but over the years, the company has broadened its appeal as the preeminent go-to entity for delivering a vast portfolio of incremental IT-based products and services. It’s hard not to like its enviable position at the intersection of data, the cloud, video proliferation, enhanced mobility, the growing need for security, and the increased importance of collaboration and analytics. Rightly so, Cisco believes that “data is the most strategic asset,” and it is working tirelessly to connect “everything … Read more

Our Thanks to You

Image Source: Katharina Friederike Dear reader, Valuentum has been among the most successful investment publishing companies launched in this decade. As we’ve grown and added more features, we’ve learned so much along the way! More recently, you may have noticed that we changed the prices of our membership plans and now only offer monthly plans, save for custom arrangements and the Nelson Exclusive publication. Our new prices are $29.99/month for the individual plan, $49.99/month for the adviser plan, and $99.99/month for an institutional seat. The Nelson Exclusive remains $1,000/year. I wanted to let you know that the new rates only apply to new subscribers, effective a couple weeks ago, so if you are on an existing plan and want to keep … Read more

Shire Plc Continues To Underwhelm

Image Shown: Shire’s equity has been under enormous pressure as of late. The share price of Shire Plc remains under pressure after posting decent quarterly results in early August. On the surface, the results themselves do not merit the equity hitting a new low, in our view. However, the market continues to grapple with the future direction of the company. Let’s examine the various components of Shire’s underlying business in this article. By Alexander J. Poulos Overview Shire PLC (SHPG) is a Dublin, Ireland based pharmaceutical company with an interesting past. Abbvie (ABBV) attempted to acquire Shire in order to enact a tax inversion which it subsequently abandoned. The failed merger emboldened Shire to become aggressive in the M&A front … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending August 18

Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending August 18. 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 Ares Management (ARES): now $0.31 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.13. Atrion (ATRI): now $1.20 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.05. Canadian Banc Corp (CNDCF): now CAD 0.10333 per share monthly dividend, was CAD 0.099942. Community Bank System (CBU): now $0.34 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.32. Digirad (DRAD): now $0.055 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.05. Dillard’s (DDS): now $0.10 per share quarterly dividend, was … Read more