Member Articles

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending July 14

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending July 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 Acme United (ACU): now $0.11 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.10. Antero Midstream (AM): now $0.32 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.30. Ares Dynamic Credit Allocation Fund (ARDC): now $0.1050 per share monthly dividend, was $0.1025. Basset Furniture (BSET): now $0.11 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.10. China Petroleum & Chemical (SNP): now $2.2013 per share semi-annual dividend, was $1.0532. Computer Services (CSVI): now $0.31 per … Read more

Systemic Risk in These Frothy Times

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Let’s talk about index investing, market valuations, and mention how a few ideas in the Best Ideas Newsletter are doing. By Brian Nelson, CFA For most investors during most parts of the economic cycle, index investing (VOO), or holding a broad basket of stocks that approximate the returns of a large market index may make a lot of sense. I have always said this from the very beginning: Individual stock selection is not for everyone. What may not be well-known, however, is that index funds have experienced multi-year periods of both outperformance and underperformance relative to actively-managed funds since the dawning of the very first index fund many decades ago. I’m worried that some investors today may not have this … Read more

Important Valuentum Announcements

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We have a few important announcements and a couple reminders to share. Hi everyone, I hope you are doing great! I wanted to let you know of a few things that I am very excited about. First, in case you missed the rollout of our enhanced stock and ETF pages, you can read that message here. The enhanced pages make it easier to access and consume data on companies on our website, including their respective fair value estimates, Dividend Cushion ratios, and beyond. We plan to continue to develop these pages to make them as user-friendly as possible. Our goal, however, is to keep them as free from potential bias as possible, so at the moment, outside news services are … Read more

Analyzing the S&P SPDR Biotech ETF

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ETFs are rapidly becoming the preferred investment vehicle to gain broad exposure to a particular sector. The biotech industry is no different with two distinct ETFs dominating the niche. The article discusses the unique characteristics of the SPDR Biotech ETF to determine the merits of the idea. By Alexander J. Poulos Introducing the S&P Spider Biotech ETF The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) is a position weighted index with the top 10 components accounting for less than 25% of the overall assets of the index (see image below). The XBI differs sharply from its primary rival the iShares Nasdaq Biotech Index ETF (IBB) which is market-cap weighted with industry stalwarts such as Amgen (AMGN) accounting for over 8% of the … Read more

Loxo Oncology Presents Compelling Data on Its TRK Inhibitors

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Image Source: Loxo Oncology The field of oncology remains an area of intense focus with a dire need for new novel therapies. Loxo Oncology generated lots of excitement with the release of its clinical data for Larotrectinib, a TRK-inhibitor for the treatment of a diverse number of tumors. By Alexander J. Poulos TRK Fusion Loxo Oncology (LOXO) is targeting new therapies that take aim at the tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) gene abnormalities that lead to TRK-fusion cancers. A defective TRK gene can fuse with another otherwise healthy gene resulting in abnormal growth. The newly fused cell will continue to grow leading to tumor growth.The abnormal TRK fusion gene is witnessed in a wide swath of tumors–genetic testing can help identify … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending July 7

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending July 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 Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK): now $0.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.175. Enterprise Products Partners (EPD): now $0.42 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.415. Highway Holdings (HIHO): now $0.10 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.07. HopFed Bancorp (HFBC): now $0.05 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.04.        Medtronic (MDT): now $0.46 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.43. NetApp (NTAP): now $0.20 per share quarterly dividend, was … Read more

MLP Speak: A Critique of Distributable Cash Flow

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–> Handout 1: Pitfalls of Distribution Yield Analysis (pdf) –> Handout 2: Linking P/DCF to Enterprise Free Cash Flow Valuation (pdf) Let’s talk about a controversial metric that is used in master limited partnership (MLP) reporting. Just how useful is it, and should it be allowed? By Brian Nelson, CFA It’s been a few years since the fallout in the prices of most master limited partnerships (AMLP), but to me, it still feels like yesterday. We continue to have many concerns about the longevity of the business models of MLPs, and we maintain our view that the operating structure will be challenged over the long haul. New equity and debt funding (issuance) continues to, in part, fuel the distributions of most MLPs, … Read more

Our Reports on Stocks in the Specialized Semiconductor Industry

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Image Source: Bernard Goldbach Structure of the Specialized Semiconductor Industry The specialized semiconductor industry is intensely competitive and has been characterized by price erosion and rapid technological change. Participants compete with major domestic/international semiconductor companies and often have to defend intellectual property rights against entities that have copied proprietary product lines. Firms are exposed to the global economic cycle, wide supply/demand fluctuations, and continuously face the risk of excess or obsolete inventories. Constituents must introduce new products with more features at higher prices to maintain margins. We don’t like the group. Please click on a company name below to view the corresponding equity report: << Our Dividend Reports