Member Articles

Structural Changes in the Airline and Aerospace Business

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Image Source: Valuentum A version of this article appeared on our website April 28, 2021. By Brian Nelson, CFA The coronavirus pandemic (“COVID-19”) has fundamentally changed how companies do business. Zoom Video (ZM) has made in-person meetings largely redundant while innovative digital-agreement firms such as DocuSign (DOCU) have only contributed to the “anywhere economy.” Though there may be pent-up demand for in-person meetings and handshake agreements as the number of vaccinations for COVID-19 increase across the globe, many businesses may grow to permanently embrace the “anywhere economy” for its efficiencies and cost savings. This will impact the long-term trajectory of business air travel demand, in our opinion, with implications on the normalized intrinsic values of airlines (JETS), jet makers, and … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week May 21

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending May 21. 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 Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS): now $0.11 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.09. Ashland (ASH): now $0.30 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.275. Benchmark Electronics (BHE): now $0.165 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.16. C&F Financial (CFFI): now $0.40 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.38. Canadian Banc Corp (CNDCF): now CAD 0.0942 per share monthly dividend, was CAD 0.0918. Camping World (CWH): now $0.10 per share quarterly … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week July 30

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending July 30. 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 Alexander & Baldwin (ALEX): now $0.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.16. American States Water (AWR): now $0.365 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.335. Arbor Realty Trust (ABR): now $0.35 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.34. Arc Resources (AETUF): now CAD 0.066 per share annual dividend, was CAD 0.060. Ares Capital (ARCC): now $0.41 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.40. Apartment Income REIT (AIRC): now $0.44 … Read more

ICYMI: Time to Consider Buying Chinese Equities? Not Exactly.

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This article was originally published August 26, 2021. Image Shown: Shares of Alibaba Group have plummeted over the past year in the wake of Beijing’s crackdown on China’s domestic tech and fintech titans. By Callum Turcan Many would argue that the key event that kicked off Beijing’s ongoing crackdown on its domestic tech giants started back in October 2020 when the once domestically revered entrepreneur Jack Ma, the founder of e-commerce, fintech, payment solutions, and cloud computing giant Alibaba Group (BABA), gave a speech critical of Chinese regulators. A WSJ article published August 20, Jack Ma’s Costliest Business Lesson: China Has Only One Leader, covered the situation in great detail. Mr. Ma noted at the time that he viewed Beijing’s … Read more

Nelson: The 16 Most Important Steps To Understand The Stock Market

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A previous version of this article appeared on our website July 21, 2013. Refreshed and updated throughout, as of July 2018. By Brian Nelson, CFA After earning my MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and training stock and credit analysts from large organizations over the past decade or so, I have heard just about every question (though I admit I am still surprised by many things and remain a very humble student of the markets). I’ve also spent years perfecting the discounted cash flow process for large research organizations such as Morningstar and studied under one of the most famed aggressive growth investors of all time, Richard Driehaus. My knowledge runs the gamut from value through … Read more

The Market Doesn’t Go Straight Up

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Key Takeaways: ·     Though we fall short of prognosticating on the immediate moves of the stock market, we think the near-term risk-reward of the broader market is growing more and more negative. Why? o    Market volatility is back due to Fed speak and poor data and pricing action from Asia. Typically, market hiccups signal that a change in price direction is near (we’re no longer going straight up). o    The significant out-numbering of poor scores on our stock-selection methodology, the Valuentum Buying Index, relative to good scores suggests to us that a higher degree of caution may be in order. o    According to Factset, the forward price-to-earnings ratio on S&P 500 constituents registers a 14.4x reading (as of last Thursday), above … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of April 19

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending April 19. 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                          Absa Group Limited (AGRPY): now $0.57 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.55. Airbus SE (EADSY): now $0.363 per share annual dividend, was $0.357. Alm. Brand A/S (ABDBY): now $0.1024 per share annual dividend, was $0.0552. Bae Systems plc (BAESY): now $0.902 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.553. Banca Mediolanum S.p.A. (BNCDY): now $0.617 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.393. Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB): now … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of May 10

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending May 10. 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                          ADENTRA (HDIUF): now CAD 0.14 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.13. Admiral Group plc (AMIGY): now $0.61 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.16. AerCap (AER): now $0.25 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.24. Allianz (ALIZY): now $1.053 per share annual dividend, was $0.873. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. PFD SER G (NLY.PR.G): now $0.6287 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.6181. ANTA Sports Products Limited … Read more

Understanding Share Buybacks

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Image Source: Mike Mozart This article is for educational purposes only and may not reflect our updated opinion on any companies mentioned. Rule of Thumb: If share buybacks are completed at a price level that is under a firm’s fair value estimate, the activity can be considered value-creating. If share buybacks are completed at a price level that is above a firm’s fair value estimate, they can be considered value-destroying. By Brian Nelson, CFA Share buybacks are not always a “good thing.” The general rule of thumb may be that share buybacks reveal that management believes its stock is underpriced and that the executive team thinks there may be no better investment opportunities out there with firm money than its very own company … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of October 25

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending October 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                          AllianceBernstein (AB): now $0.77 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.71. American Electric Power (AEP): now $0.93 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.88. AMERISAFE (AMSF): now $3.00 per share special dividend, was $0.37. Archrock (AROC): now $0.175 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.165. Armstrong World (AWI): now $0.308 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.280. Atlantic Union Bank (AUB): now $0.34 per share quarterly dividend, was … Read more