Member Articles

Domestic Pharma Drives JNJ’s 1Q; Stock Hits All-Time High

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By Kris Rosemann The recent decision to add Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) to the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio is beginning to look like a very timely one, as the company is looking poised to use its recent quarterly report and guidance increase to drive a rally in shares. Meanwhile, its performance in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, where it was added at ~$66 in late 2011, speaks for itself at this point as it continues to be one of the most dependable and competitive dividend payers on the market. Though reported top-line growth in the first quarter was a paltry 0.6% on a year-over-year basis, operational sales growth came in at 3.9% after backing out the negative currency impact of … Read more

ETE Down 70%; IBM Poor Quality, Netflix Begins to Implode

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Shown above: Energy Transfer Equity’s recent share price performance. A lot of investors depend on us for our energy research. We’ve been busy publishing on the website, and we can’t possibly send out all of our research via email, so please come visit. Many are aware of our take in any case: the energy master limited partnership (AMLP, AMZ) isn’t going away tomorrow, but it may not last over the long haul. This is nothing new. We’ve been saying this since the peak in energy MLP share prices, which just so happened to coincide with Energy Transfer Equity’s (ETE) heights in the mid-$30s. Our readers understand that we’re taking the long view with MLPs when we talk about business models … Read more

Dividend Giant Hasbro Surges; Raises Dividend 10%+

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“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” – attributed to Henry Ford Image Source: Disney Entrepreneur Henry Ford had to be very careful listening to customer feedback when he first rolled out the automobile. If he hadn’t focused on his vision, he would have found himself trading the assembly line for a line of stalls housed to breed faster horses. The thought-processes behind the Valuentum strategy are much like those of Henry Ford selling the very first automobile to the American public. Though the horse and automobile both address means of transportation, the latter required a brand new way of thinking about travel itself. The automobile wasn’t “wrong,” if there can be a … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending April 15

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Costco location in Enfield, CT. Mike Mozart Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending April 15. 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 Adams Express (ADX): now $0.05 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.03. Antero Midstream (AM): now $0.235 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.22. Aon (AON): now $0.33 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.30. Carnival (CCL): now $0.35 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.30. Ciner Resources (CINR): now $0.564 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.5575. Costco Wholesale (COST): now $0.45 per share … Read more

The Bubble Is Still Inflating

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The laws of finance are being bent, broken even. NIRP (negative interest rate policy) has changed everything. The world is upside down. At the beginning of the year, we were expecting ongoing contractionary monetary policy by the Fed, but on January 29, all of that changed. In a surprise move, the Bank of Japan introduced a negative benchmark interest rate of -0.1%, meaning that instead of paying interest on deposits, it would charge banks to hold their money. The move seemed to blindside the Fed, and from where we stand, it has effectively put rate increases on pause. There’s a reasonable chance of a rate hike in December, but the latest read from the CME is that there’s no chance … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending April 8

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Proctor & Gamble’s headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. Barta IV Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending April 8. 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 Constellation Brands Inc (STZ): now $0.04 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.31. Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte (OMAB): now Ps. 3.50 per share annual dividend, was Ps. 3.00. H.B. Fuller Company (FUL): now $0.14 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.13.                  IDEX (IEX): now $0.34 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.32. Pembina Pipeline Corp. (PBA): now $0.1219 per share … Read more

Alcoa Continues Swoon, Revises Aerospace 2016 Outlook to 6%-8% Expansion

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Image Source: Boeing; image source: Alcoa Alcoa (AA) kicked off first-quarter 2016 earnings season April 12, but nobody reading our work should have much interest in shares. Our $10 fair value estimate for the company explains the lack of opportunity, and we laid in out in no uncertain terms in April 2015 that we thought, “The Time to Consider Owning Alcoa Has Passed.” Even a few months before that write-up, we said the aluminum giant was trading at a peak multiple on peak earnings, a classic valuation “no-no,” and since that time, shares of Alcoa have fallen more than 40%, “Alcoa Kicks Off Fourth Quarter (2014) Earnings Season:” From our Jan 13, 2015 article: Would we ever considering owning Alcoa … Read more

Technical Analysis: It’s Not What You Think

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A version of this article appeared on our website May 9, 2014. By Brian Nelson, CFA I’ve spent most of the morning trying to figure out who was first to say ‘technical analysis is like reading tea leaves.’ After being unsuccessful, I’ve given up looking and moved on to more important items. However, whoever first uttered those words — and those that repeat it mindlessly — may have done (and are doing) a great disservice to the novice investor. Let me explain why technical analysis in some form should be a part of your stock-selection arsenal. Even if you do not buy into the traditional “pattern” or “breakout” nomenclature that many associate with technical analysis, a stock chart is extremely valuable in a number of different ways: … Read more

Debt, Debt and More Debt

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Image Source: Michael Fleshman Many readers may be familiar with the rhetoric of the Presidential Election Cycle of 2016 and Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders’ view on making “college tuition free and debt free.” You can take a read of the 6 steps Bernie will take as president to make college debt-free here. Many may find his last point rather intrusive to the heartbeat of the American economy and the driver behind innovation and standard-of-living improvements, but we’ll leave that conversation for another day. But what’s the shocking statistic, right? Get this – and I hope you are sitting down. According to an article by the Journal, “more than 40% of Americans who borrowed from the government’s main student-loan program aren’t … Read more