Member Articles

Valuentum’s Economic Roundtable: Trade War, Factors and Beyond

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Tickerized for holdings in the DIA. The markets rallied hard September 5 on relief that the US and China (FXI, MCHI) will go back to the negotiations table next month. This back-and-forth news cycle is enough to give any investor whiplash. Let’s catch up with the Valuentum Team on the latest developments, not only with the trade war but also with respect to factor investing, possible bubbles and beyond. Let’s kick things off with the following prompt from ForeignPolicy.com, released August 2: Trump Hired Robert Lighthizer to Win a Trade War. He Lost. Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, agreed to serve in President Donald Trump’s cabinet in order to test his theory: that if the United States freed itself … Read more

Top Ten Dividend Growth Stocks to Consider Amid COVID-19

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Image Shown: A look at some of the top dividend growth stocks to consider, companies with strong Dividend Cushion ratios and nice payout growth trajectories, in light of ongoing turbulence in equity markets. The ‘Multiplier’ column multiplies a company’s dividend yield by its Dividend Cushion ratio. Alphabetical order by ticker: AAPL, CSCO, DLR, INTC, JNJ, LLY, MRK, MSFT, NEM, RL By Callum Turcan The novel coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic continues to wreak havoc on global economies, credit and equity markets, and the livelihoods of many. We sincerely hope everyone stays safe during this pandemic. US equities have sold off aggressively during the past month, with the S&P 500 (SPY) down ~25% year-to-date as of this writing, punishing the names of several … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending March 27

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending March 27. 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 AT&T Inc. 4.750% PFD SER C (T.PC): now $0.2408 per share quarterly dividend. AT&T Inc. 5 DEP RP PFD A (T.PA): now $0.3125 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.1701. Bancolombia (CIB): now $0.751 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.3000. Centerra Gold Inc. (CAGDF): declared CAD 0.04 per share interim dividend, was $0.0285. Future Fuel (FF): declared $3.00 per share special dividend, was $0.06. Healthcare Trust, Inc. … Read more

Update: COVID-19 Vaccine Race

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Image Source: Johnson & Johnson – Second Quarter of Fiscal 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan The ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic has devasted the global economy (though things are starting to improve) and has fundamentally altered daily human life. According to a draft report from the World Health Organization (‘WHO’), there were 29 COVID-19 vaccine candidates undergoing clinical trials as of August 13 along with 138 other candidates undergoing preclinical evaluation. It is a race against the clock. Unfortunately, as of this writing on August 18, there have been ~170,000 COVID-19-related deaths in the US alone according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (‘CDC’). We are optimistic that one of the many “shots on … Read more

The Success Equation Book Review: Is the Skill Paradox a Myth in Investing? We Think So

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“If I’d just tried for them dinky singles, I could’ve batted around .600.” – Babe Ruth — “In investing, the trend toward conformity is clear. For example, portfolios today look more like their benchmarks than they did thirty years ago. The average active share, a measure of how different a mutual fund portfolio is compared to its benchmark, has fallen from 75 percent in 1980 to about 60 percent in 2010 in the United States. Leaders in sports as well as in business fear straying too far from convention, even in cases where the convention isn’t all that great (page 174).” – The Success Equation (2012) — This article was originally published October 16, 2020. — By Brian Nelson, CFA — … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week January 22

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending January 22. 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 Alliant Energy (LNT): now $0.4025 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.38. BlackRock (BLK): now $4.13 per share quarterly dividend, was $3.63. Calamos Long/Short Equity & Dynamic Income Trust (CPZ): now $0.13 per share monthly dividend, was $0.12. Canadian Banc Corp (CNDCF): now CAD 0.0748 per share monthly dividend, was CAD 0.0733. Century Bancorp (CNBKA): now $0.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.16. Century Bancorp, Inc. B … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week February 12

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending February 12. 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 AllianceBernstein (AB): now $0.97 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.69. Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN): now $0.19 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.17. Alpine Income Property Trust (PINE): now $0.24 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.22. Ameren (AEE): now $0.55 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.52. American Assets Trust (AAT): now $0.28 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. Amtek (AME): now $0.20 per share quarterly dividend, was … Read more

The Best Years Are Ahead

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By Brian Nelson, CFA — The wind is at our backs. — The Federal Reserve, Treasury, and regulatory bodies of the U.S. may have no choice but to keep U.S. markets moving higher. The likelihood of the S&P 500 reaching 2,000 ever again seems remote, and I would not be surprised to see 5,000 on the S&P 500 before we see 2,500-3,000, if the latter may be in the cards. The S&P 500 is trading at ~4,100 at the time of this writing. — The high end of our fair value range on the S&P 500 remains just shy of 4,000, but I foresee a massive shift in long-term capital out of traditional bonds into equities this decade (and markets … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week August 6

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending August 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 AllianceBernstein (AB): now $0.91 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.81. Altabancorp (ALTA): now $0.17 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.15. APA (APA): now $1.50 per share special dividend, was $0.025. Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. (BSBR): now $0.145 per share dividend, was $0.135. Barings BDC (BBDC): now $0.21 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.20. Berry (BRY): now $0.06 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.04. BG Staffing (BGSF): … Read more

Nutrien Benefiting from the Strong Global Farm Economy, Shares Yield ~2.5%

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Image Source: Nutrien Limited – 2020 Annual Report Executive Summary: Nutrien Limited is benefiting from the strong global farm economy. The company sells tens of millions of metric tons of potash, nitrogen, and phosphate products every year, which are key ingredients used in the production of fertilizer. With geopolitical tensions building in Eastern Europe, Nutrien is preparing to bring idle potash production capacity in Canada back online while steadily expanding its nitrogen production capabilities. Nutrien is a great free cash flow generator with a promising growth outlook, though its net debt load is rather large. The firm is focusing on deleveraging activities in the near term, which we appreciate. Shares of NTR yield ~2.5% as of this writing, and we think … Read more