Member Articles

Stocks Up 70%+ Since COVID-19 Pandemic Bottom, Best Ideas Outperforming So Far in 2022

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Image Source: Mike Cohen By Brian Nelson, CFA Investors are building in near worst-case scenarios for future free cash flow expectations across our coverage universe in most cases, and it may not make a lot of sense, in our view, given the resilient nature of the global economy through thick and thin. Within the discounted cash flow model that we use to derive the fair value estimates for companies in our coverage, we apply a 10-year baseline (discount) Treasury rate of 4.5%, which is still meaningfully above the current 10-year Treasury rate that is now hovering around 3.5%. What that means is that there still remains an adequate margin of safety within our analytical framework before we might grow concerned … Read more

Best Idea Korn Ferry Supported by Stellar Financials

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Image Shown: Korn Ferry put up tremendous performance in the quarter ended January 2022 and provided favorable near term guidance in conjunction with its fiscal third quarter earnings update. We include Korn Ferry in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. Image Source: Korn Ferry – Third Quarter of Fiscal 2022 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan The global organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry (KFY) is included in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and we continue to be huge fans of the name. Korn Ferry is a tremendous free cash flow generator with a stellar business model. The differentiated nature of its offerings provides Korn Ferry with ample pricing power, allowing it to preserve its margins in the face of major inflationary … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of June 10

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending June 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      ACRES Commercial Reality Corp. 7.875 CUM PFD D (ACR.PD): now $0.4921 per share quarterly dividend. BRT Apartments (BRT): now $0.25 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.23. Cardinal Energy (CRLFF): now CAD 0.05 per share monthly dividend, was CAD 0.015. Caseys General Stores (CASY): now $0.38 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.35. Caterpillar (CAT): now $1.20 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.11. Citizens Financial Services (CZFS): now … Read more

Taiwan Semi Firing on All Cylinders

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Image Source: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company – First Quarter of 2022 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan Semiconductor components, or “chips,” are the bedrock of the digital economy. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) operates numerous semiconductor fabrication sites all of the world, with its major manufacturing hub located in Taiwan, that produce chips utilized in all sorts of applications. Furthermore, Taiwan Semi is one of only a handful of companies capable of producing high-end chips at scale. Taiwan Semi’s business model revolves around producing chips for third-parties as the firm does not design semiconductor components itself, and the company is the largest semiconductor foundry in the world (foundries are chip fabrication sites specifically built to meet third-party needs). We are … Read more

Albemarle Raises Guidance Twice in One Month!

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Image Shown: An overview of Albemarle Corporation’s business profile. We include Albemarle as an idea in our ESG Newsletter portfolio. Image Source: Albemarle Corporation – May 2022 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan When the specialty chemicals company Albemarle Corporation (ALB) published its first quarter 2022 earnings report on May 4, the firm boosted its full-year guidance in a big way. That guidance boost was attributed to outperformance at its lithium operations and to a lesser extent, its bromine operations, which offset major inflationary headwinds facing its refining catalysts operations. In the wake of favorable contract negotiations covering sales of lithium derivatives and related products, Albemarle further boosted its full-year guidance in late May (on May 23). Two favorable guidance increases … Read more

Best Idea Dollar General Beats Consensus Estimates and Raises Guidance in the Face of Substantial Headwinds

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Image Shown: Dollar General Corporation’s GAAP net sales rose in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 on a year-over-year basis due to growth in its net store count. Image Source: Dollar General Corporation – May 2022 8-K SEC Filing  By Callum Turcan On May 26, Dollar General Corporation (DG) reported first quarter earnings for fiscal 2022 (period ended April 29, 2022) that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Even in the face of major supply chain issues and inflationary headwinds, Dollar General modestly increased its net sales and same-store sales growth guidance for fiscal 2022 and maintained its other forecasts. We include Dollar General in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio as we are big fans of its resilient business model, strong cash flow … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of June 3

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending June 3. 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      Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE): now $1.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.15. Bridge Investment Group (BRDG): now $0.26 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.21. Capital Bancorp (CBNK): now $0.058 per share monthly dividend, was $0.050. Capitol Federal Financial (CFFN): now $0.20 per share dividend, was $0.085. Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. (AVAL): now $0.245 per share dividend, was $0.021. Laurentian Bank of Canada (LRCDF): … Read more

Shares of Top Biotech Idea Vertex Pharma Volatile But Company Fundamentals Sound

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Image Shown: Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc have surged higher over the past year. We continue to like the biotech firm in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. By Callum Turcan The biopharmaceutical space is full of attractive investment opportunities, though early-stage firms without commercialized drug portfolios are quite risky investments given their lack of meaningful revenues and sizable negative cash flows. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (VRTX), on the other hand, has a commercialized portfolio of therapeutics that treat cystic fibrosis (‘CF’) which enables the biotech firm to generate substantial revenues and cash flows. We include Vertex Pharma as an idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. Overview Due to the asset-light nature of its business model (most expenses flow through R&D … Read more

Broadcom Buying VMware as “Empire Building” Streak Continues

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Image Shown: Broadcom Inc is acquiring VMware Inc and the deal will significantly increase its enterprise software business. Image Source: Broadcom Inc and VMware Inc – May 2022 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Continuing with its acquisitive streak, the semiconductor and enterprise software giant Broadcom Inc (AVGO) announced on May 26 that it would acquire hybrid cloud services provider VMware Inc (VMW) through a cash-and-stock deal that values VMware at ~$61 billion. Additionally, Broadcom will assume ~$8 billion in net debt from VMware. This follows in the footsteps of Broadcom’s $18.9 billion deal to acquire CA Technologies in 2018 and its $10.7 billion deal to acquire the enterprise security business of then-Symantec, now NortonLifeLock Inc (NLOK), in 2019. Under the … Read more

American Tower Beats Estimates and Raises Guidance

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Image Shown: An overview of American Tower Corporation’s global asset base. Image Source: American Tower Corporation – First Quarter of 2022 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan American Tower Corporation (AMT) is a real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) with a global portfolio of ~221,000 multi-tenant communications properties. We include American Tower as an idea in the High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio as its dividend growth track record and outlook are rock-solid. Shares of AMT yield ~2.3% as of this writing. Historically, the REIT has generated substantial “excess” free cash flows (after fully covering its total distribution obligations). Looking ahead, American Tower should continue to be a cash flow cow, highlighting one of the reasons we are big fans of the REIT. … Read more