Member Articles

What So-Called Statistical “Value Premium?”

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Image: The iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF has outperformed the iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF by nearly 250 percentage points over the past two decades. Image Source: TradingView By Brian Nelson, CFA Quantitative analysts are trained to believe that the quantitative stylistic area of “value” outperforms (and generally should outperform) the quantitative stylistic area of “growth” over long periods of time. After all, this was one of the findings of University of Chicago Eugene Fama’s three-factor model, published in the early 1990s–that on a historical basis through the time of the publishing of the influential backtest, that stocks with high book-to-market (low price-to-book) ratios–so-called “value” stocks–outperformed those with low book-to-market (high price-to-book) ratios–so-called “growth” stocks–with emphasis placed on the work … Read more

Energy Pipelines: What a Difference A Few Years Have Made!

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Image: Midstream energy companies have significantly improved their free cash coverage of their payouts in recent years. We’ve taken note. Source: Relevant 10-Q filings. By Brian Nelson, CFA As of our last check, no longer are the vast majority of energy pipeline players not covering their dividends/distributions with traditional free cash flow, as measured by cash flow from operations less all capital spending. Said another way, free cash flow after dividends, distributions is positive for a great many energy pipeline players these days. We’re pleased by the developments across midstream, and we expect to make some moves in the simulated newsletter portfolios to potentially add the Alerian MLP (AMLP) ETF to the simulated newsletter portfolios as a result. This is … Read more

Why Are the Dividends of REITs So Risky?

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By Brian Nelson, CFA Not all REIT dividends are safe. Many REITs remain capital-market dependent, and some office REITs, retail REITs, and healthcare REITs may be difficult places to generate dependable long-term income in the coming decades, in our view. Office REIT SL Green (SLG) recently cut its payout 13% on December 5, 2022, while another office REIT Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) cut its dividend 29% on January 18, 2023. These are just two of the latest high-profile REIT dividend cuts, and there may be more to come. Contrary to popular opinion, the REIT sector has not been a great source of dependable, reliable income, particularly during the COVID-19 crisis. Five REITs cut their dividends in 2019: Medalist Diversified REIT … Read more

Consumers Feeling the Pinch; S&P 500 Bounces Off Technical Resistance; Elasticities Breaking Down for Staples Stocks

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By Brian Nelson, CFA Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is the latest big tech company to announce big job cuts. The company that is still working to close its deal with Activision (ATVI) announced that it would slash 10,000 jobs, or about 4.5% of its workforce. The unemployment rate in the U.S. stands at just 3.5%, as recorded in December 2022, so even though we’re witnessing quite a number of layoffs in Silicon Valley, the labor markets are still very, very healthy. Those being laid off are finding jobs rather quickly, too. According to the WSJ, “about 79% of workers recently hired after a tech-company layoff or termination landed their new job within three months of starting their search.” Businesses have been … Read more

Goldman Sachs Drops, Morgan Stanley Pops in Bull Market for Advice””

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Image: Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management division has provided the company with stability, while Goldman Sachs continues to feel weakness across several of its business segments. Image Source: TradingView By Brian Nelson, CFA Banking entities have kicked off fourth-quarter 2022 earnings season. The quarterly results across those that have reported have been mixed thus far, among the largest entities, but perhaps the dichotomy among players was no more pronounced than the market’s reaction to Goldman Sachs’ (GS) and Morgan Stanley’s (MS) respective fourth-quarter 2022 results. Goldman Sachs’ shares fell to the lower end of our fair value estimate range, while Morgan Stanley’s shares surged toward our fair value estimate. We think Morgan Stanley’s shares could run to the high end of … Read more

Is It Time To Turn Bullish? Inflation Tamed?

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To download the January 2023 edition of the Best Ideas Newsletter, please click here (pdf). ——————————————— About Our Name But how, you will ask, does one decide what [stocks are] “attractive”? Most analysts feel they must choose between two approaches customarily thought to be in opposition: “value” and “growth,”…We view that as fuzzy thinking…Growth is always a component of value [and] the very term “value investing” is redundant.                          — Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway annual report, 1992   At Valuentum, we take Buffett’s thoughts one step further. We think the best opportunities arise from an understanding of a variety of investing disciplines in order to identify the most attractive stocks at any given time. Valuentum therefore analyzes each stock across a wide spectrum of philosophies, … Read more

Our Reports on Stocks in the Discretionary Spending Industry

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Dividend Yield: Estimated on a forward-looking annualized basis. VBI: The Valuentum Buying Index, a timeliness indicator that overlays a price-to-fair-value estimate consideration. Fair Value Estimate: Derived by Valuentum’s enterprise valuation process. Dividend Cushion ratio: A ratio assessing the health of the dividend (the higher, the better). Data as of the date of this article. Individual company reports may have been updated subsequent to the publishing of this article, so please download a company’s stock and dividend report for its latest information and data. Note: The data in the tables of each of the below companies’ respective stock pages is updated the weekend after the publishing of this update. Please click on a company name below to view the corresponding equity … Read more

Our Reports on Stocks in the Telecom Services Industry

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Image Source: Mike Mozart Structure of the Telecommunications Industry The telecom industry is characterized by rapid technological change, intense competition and pricing pressures. The mature wireline segment remains under attack from cable/wireless products. Mobile technology enhancements such as the iPhone continue to attract new wireless subscribers in less saturated markets, but this has not lessened the intensity of competition. Industry constituents continue to pursue acquisitions in order to reduce bloated cost structures and achieve synergies. Average revenue per subscriber and churn rates should be monitored closely. We’re neutral on the structure of the group. Dividend Yield: Estimated on a forward-looking annualized basis. VBI: The Valuentum Buying Index, a timeliness indicator that overlays a price-to-fair-value estimate consideration. Fair Value Estimate: Derived by … Read more

UnitedHealth Is A Free Cash Flow Powerhouse; Shares Yield ~1.3%

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Image Source: UnitedHealth Group By Brian Nelson, CFA UnitedHealth Group (UNH) is a holding in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, and it completed a fantastic 2022 when it reported its fourth-quarter results, released January 13. UnitedHealth Group is a free cash flow generating powerhouse. During 2022, the company hauled in $26.2 billion in cash flow from operations and spent just $2.8 billion on property, equipment, and capitalized software, good enough for $23.4 billion in free cash flow, materially higher than the $5.99 billion it paid in cash dividends over the same time. The Dividend Cushion ratio of UnitedHealth Group is a very healthy 3.5, and our valuation puts the high end of a fair value estimate range for shares of … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of January 13

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending January 13. 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                Algoma Central Corporation (TSX.ALC:CA) now CAD 0.18 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.17. Alpine Banks of Colorado (ALPIB): now $0.20 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.18. Apogee (APOG): now $0.24 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.22. ATCO Ltd. (ACO.X:CA): now CAD 0.4756 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.4617. Codorus Valley (CVLY): now $0.16 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.15. Gladstone Land (LAND): now … Read more