Member Articles

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of October 6

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending October 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                          AGNC Investment Series C Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (AGNCN): now $0.6825 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.6676. American Financial (AFG): now $0.71 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.63. Bank OZK (OZK): now $0.37 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.36. Bezeq The Israel Telecommunication Corp. Ltd (BZQIY): now $0.1226 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.0802. EVI (EVI): now $0.28 per share special dividend, … Read more

We Like NextEra Energy’s ESG Focus But Capital Market Conditions Now Showing Cracks

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Image Source: NextEra Energy By Brian Nelson, CFA We’ve written in the past about NextEra Energy (NEE), and our latest note can be found here. The company remains one of our favorite utilities, but mostly because of its renewables energy exposure as it relates to ESG considerations. When it comes to utilities, more generally, however, we tend to take a pass on almost all of them given the capital intensity involved in their operations and their interest-rate sensitivity, especially now in an environment where interest rates are returning to “normal” levels in the mid-single-digits. The forward estimated dividend yield on the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) stands at ~3.8% at the time of this writing, and if investors are … Read more

Big Cap Tech and Large Cap Growth Remain Safe Havens

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Image: The stylistic area of large cap growth, which is heavily represented in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, is doing fantastic so far in 2023. Hi everyone: Brian here. I wanted to check in to see how everyone is doing. As expected, many of the interest-rate sensitive names are getting hammered. This should not be surprising by any stretch. The utilities sector (XLU) is down more than 20% this year. We’ve emphasized why we’re not fans of utilities in this article. The consumer staples (XLP) sector is down nearly 8% so far in 2023. We’ve emphasized why we’re not expecting much from consumer staples in this article. Equity REITs (VNQ) are down more than 8% year-to-date, and we’ve emphasized why … Read more

Latest Report Refreshes

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Select the company’s link below to access their stock webpage where their 16-page stock report (pdf) can be downloaded. The stock webpage also houses the company’s dividend report (pdf), where applicable, as well as the latest company/industry commentary and news.    Comcast (CMCSA) Coterra Energy (CTRA) Dish Network (DISH) Kinder Morgan (KMI) Medtronic (MDT) Merck (MRK) Zoetis (ZTS) Schlumberger (SLB) Baker Hughes (BKR) Alcoa (AA) BHP Billiton (BHP) EOG Resources (EOG) ———- It’s Here!  The Second Edition of Value Trap! Order today!   —– Brian Nelson owns shares in SPY, SCHG, QQQ, DIA, VOT, BITO, RSP, and IWM. Valuentum owns SPY, SCHG, QQQ, VOO, and DIA. Brian Nelson’s household owns shares in HON, DIS, HAS, NKE, DIA, and RSP. Some of the … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of September 29

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending September 29. 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                          Accenture (ACN): now $1.29 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.12. Bancolombia S.A. (CIB): now $0.892 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.852. Bankinter, S.A. (BKNIY): now $0.1105 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.0818. Barratt Development plc (BTDPY): now $0.5893 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.2535. Bid Corporation Limited (BDDDY): now $0.266 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.240. CenterPoint (CNP): now $0.20 per share quarterly dividend, … Read more

In the News: McDonald’s, Costco, Target

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By Brian Nelson, CFA The market is once again worried about a potential government shutdown in the U.S., beginning on Sunday, as Congress works on a budget for fiscal 2024 through the rest of September. This recurring news has been a seasonal part of the market’s jitters every few years or so, however, and we’re not worried about what we would describe as an overhyped risk. A potential government shutdown in the U.S., if it happens, will inevitably be resolved, and while it tends to make for scary media headlines, it just doesn’t factor into the thesis of long-term investors. We don’t think readers should overreact. That said, it’s hard to know how the markets may continue to perform with … Read more

Report Updates: Amazon Registers the Lowest Rating on Our Scale

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Select the company’s link below to access their stock webpage where their 16-page stock report (pdf) can be downloaded. The stock webpage also houses the company’s dividend report (pdf), where applicable, as well as the latest company/industry commentary and news.    Albemarle (ALB) Amazon.com (AMZN) Applied Materials (AMAT) Cisco (CSCO) Halliburton (HAL) Lam Research (LRCX) Phillips 66 (PSX) Visa (V) CVS Health (CVS) Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) AbbVie (ABBV) Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) Gilead Sciences (GILD) Pfizer (PFE) Abbott (ABT) Oracle (ORCL) Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) Fresh Del Monte (FDP) Kraft Heinz (KHC) Lancaster Colony (LANC) McCormick (MKC) Molson Coors (TAP) Smucker (SJM) Sysco (SYY) ———- It’s Here!  The Second Edition of Value Trap! Order today!   —– Brian Nelson owns shares in SPY, SCHG, QQQ, … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of September 22

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending September 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                          American Tower (AMT): now $1.62 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.57. Argan (AGX): now $0.30 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. Axfood (AXFOY): now SEK 4.00 per share dividend. Costain Group (CTNGY): now GBP 0.004 per share semi-annual dividend. E Split Corp. PFD (ENS.PR.A:CA): now CA 0.175 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.1312. Equity Bancshares (EQBK): now $0.12 per share quarterly dividend, was … Read more

Cisco Buys Splunk

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Image Source: Brandon Leon By Valuentum Analysts Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio holding Cisco (CSCO) is all about growing its recurring revenue base these days, and its announcement that it will buy Splunk (SPLK) on September 21 will not only help in a big way towards that goal, but the deal will also position Cisco for tremendous opportunities in the booming market that has become artificial intelligence [AI]. That said, some investors were not fans of the purchase price – some $28 billion in cash – but we think the price is fair and strategically, there’s nothing wrong with adding to the fold an asset-light, recurring-revenue business that has the foundation to be a key long-term player in AI. We’ll be … Read more

Details Regarding Visa’s Exchange Offer

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By Brian Nelson, CFA Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio holding Visa Inc. (V) has a number of different common stock and preferred share classes. Investors in Visa generally hold its class A common stock that is traded on the NYSE, but the credit card giant also has class B and class C common stock as well as series A, series B, and series C preferred stock that are tied to the value of its class A common shares. Due to prior litigation corresponding to its initial public offering and 2007 capital restructuring, Visa has both a U.S. retrospective responsibility plan and a European retrospective responsibility plan, and pursuant to the terms of these plans, the company’s class B and class C … Read more