More First-Quarter Earnings Flying In: GM, Ford, Big Oil and More

Image Source: General Motors GM’s dividend yield and valuation opportunity are incredible, while Microsoft’s free cash flow generation and solid net cash position speak to tremendous dividend strength. We liked what we saw out of Union Pacific during the first quarter, and you have to be aware of Big Oil’s bloated balance sheets. All of this and more included in this piece. By Brian Nelson, CFA It’s puzzling to think about, but with the first-quarter 2017 US GDP print today, April 28, coming in at just 0.7%, below expectations, one wouldn’t think the stock market is near all-time highs. Interestingly, in the report, too, the weakest area came from real consumer spending, which registered a pace of growth as poor … Read more

Earnings Update on European Big Pharma Featuring Novartis, Sanofi, and AstraZeneca

The drug industry is a global market with an impressive array of competitors headquartered outside the US. The quest to bring forth novel treatments continues. We continue to focus on the large-cap traditional pharmaceutical companies for their defensive characteristics, and many also pay a generous dividend. By Alexander J. Poulos Novartis Poised to Cycle Through Loss of Patent Exclusivity on Gleevec Shares of European heavyweight Novartis (NVS) jumped sharply after posting first-quarter earnings April 25. Growth in the pharmaceutical segment remains hampered as the company lapses the loss of patent exclusivity of one of its top-selling products Gleevec. We are looking past the patent cliff and remain focused on the growth products currently in Novartis’ lineup. Cosentyx, a treatment for … Read more

Competitive Pressures Not Going Away for Teva

The end of the patent life of a lucrative product can often lead to significant legal strife as aspiring biosimilar equivalents jockey for exclusivity. We have found the recent aggressive move by Mylan noteworthy in our ongoing coverage of Teva’s recent struggles. On a separate but related note, the settlement between Amgen and Abbvie underscores the volatile nature of maneuvers conducted in order to extend the patent life of a highly successful product. By Alexander J. Poulos and Kris Rosemann Make no bones about it, the former Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio idea in Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) did not work out as planned. The company was “added” to the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio in mid-2013 at $41.22 and was a strong … Read more

A Little Optimization To Maximize The Value

We continue to help readers find some of our best ideas for consideration, and some of the companies in this article didn’t make the cut for our long-term perspective. We’re allocating resources elsewhere. Clean Diesel Tech (CDTI) Clean Diesel Tech is a leading global manufacturer and distributor of emissions control systems and products to the automotive and heavy duty diesel markets. Clean Diesel Tech is a leading global manufacturer and distributor of emissions control systems and products to the automotive and heavy duty diesel markets. It uses patented technology to reduce emissions and lower the carbon intensity of engine applications. The company was founded in 1996 and is based in California. Clean Diesel Tech expects to realize a shit in … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending February 15

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending February 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 Acadian Timber (ACAZF): now CAD 0.29 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.2825. Activision Blizzard (ATVI): now $0.37 per share annual dividend, was $0.34. Agnico Eagle (AEM): now $0.125 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.11. ALPS Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF (ENFR): now $0.2589 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.1863. ALPS Alerian MLP ETF (AMLP): now $0.195 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.1913. Ares Capital (ARCC): now … Read more

The “Hierarchy” of Valuentum Idea Generation

Let’s talk about this hierarchy of idea generation in this note. —  A version of this article was sent to members previously. New content has been added.  — Note: We continue to work to optimize the signal-to-noise ratio in our work, and we are evaluating expanding our update cycle to half-year periods to better bolster the signaling aspects of the Valuentum Buying Index (VBI). In our widely-read case study (see here), the VBI showed its ability to rank equity returns over a forward 12-month period, and we think a migration to less-frequent updating may make the most sense to better capture the forward-looking dynamics of the system. We think this will help weed out false breakouts and other noise that could be harmful. You shouldn’t think of … Read more

Valuentum Exclusive Yearly Round Up

Select the following link to access the Annual Exclusive Call. Select HERE to Access the Exclusive Call Recording ———- Transcript Provided Below. President of Investment Research Brian Nelson: Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for your attendance. Today marks three years since we first launched the Exclusive publication. The Exclusive is our premiere offering for sophisticated investors and builds upon our successes of the past, not only in establishing one of the first methodologies that successfully blends enterprise valuation with behavioral valuation and technical and momentum indicators, but also in making such a process available to individuals, financial advisors and institutional investors in full transparency. The Exclusive publication is in many ways an extension of the strong performance of both the … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending February 7

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending February 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 3M (MMM): now $1.47 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.44. Activision Blizzard (ATVI): now $0.41 per share annual dividend, was $0.37. Aflac (AFL): now $0.28 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.27. Allegion (ALLE): now $0.32 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.27. Amdocs (DOX): now $0.3275 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.2850. Angel Oak Financial Strategies Income Term (FINS): now $0.1112 per share monthly dividend, was $0.1097. … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending March 20

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending March 20. 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 ALPS ETF Trust – ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (SDOG): now $0.4614 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.4196. ALPS ETF Trust – ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF (EQL): now $0.6360 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.4789. ALPS ETF Trust – Cohen & Steers Global Realty Majors ETF (RDOG): now $0.6844 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.5113. Alpine Income Property Trust, Inc. (PINE): now $0.20 per share … Read more