Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Nov 4, 2022

Life Storage Operates Within An Attractive Slice of the REIT Sector
Image Source: Life Storage. Life Storage operates in one of the most attractive areas of the REIT sector, the self-storage arena. The company has raised its dividend considerably during the past five years, and its 35-year history in the self-storage business coupled with its investment-grade credit ratings speak to sustainability. We like its diversified, coast-to-coast presence in the U.S. with roughly 60% of its owned stores positioned in the fast-growing Sun Belt states. Since 2010, Life Storage has raised its dividend at a 10.4% compound annual growth rate, and we expect further hikes to come. Shares yield ~4.2% at this time.

Jun 18, 2022

The Stock Market Is Nearing Technical Support Levels
Image: This year has been a difficult one for equity investors, but the selling pressure that has been common in the markets may start to slow as broader indices such as the S&P 500 begin to approach technical support levels. On the S&P 500, we think there is substantial technical support in the 3,200-3,500 range, which to us suggests that further near-term downside may be limited. The S&P 500 closed at 3,674.84 on Friday, June 17, and we think fair value is much higher. What might be a fair value for the S&P 500 today? Well, throwing the 10-year S&P 500 average multiple of 16.9x on 2023 expected earnings numbers of 251.76 gets to a 4,255 mark on the S&P 500, which is above the last closing level of 3,674.84 for the index. Benchmark Treasury rates remain low relative to history, and balance sheets of many S&P 500 companies are overflowing with net cash, supporting such a multiple, too. All told, investors might expect the stock market to hit technical support levels on the S&P 500 of 3,200-3,500 in the near term, but from where we stand, stocks remain an attractive proposition at the moment and a very attractive consideration over the long haul.

Jan 10, 2022

Public Storage Is Simply A Monster REIT Idea!
Image Shown: We examine the traditional operating metrics of the REITs with a focus on traditional free cash flow, dividends paid, and traditional balance sheet analysis where we assess net debt positions. Most REITs fail to cover their dividends with traditional free cash flow and boast huge net debt positions. Public Storage remains one of our very favorite REITs, however. Its free cash flow coverage of the payout and manageable financial leverage are exactly what we’re looking for. There are a number of industry-specific metrics that REITs use including funds from operations (FFO) and adjusted funds from operations (AFFO), but we think more traditional analysis helps to offer incremental insights while adding considerable informational value when used in conjunction with industry-specific REIT analysis. The REIT with the best combination of dividend yield, free cash flow generation in excess of cash dividends paid, and leverage (as measured by net debt divided by annualized traditional free cash flow) is Public Storage. The company’s self-storage peers are runners up with respect to our favorites, followed by the tower stocks American Tower and SBA Communications, and then timber REIT Weyerhaeuser.

Nov 28, 2021

Bitcoin, U.S. Large Cap Growth, and Technology Continue to Dominate Returns
Image source: Seeking Alpha, retrieved November 28. Bitcoin (GBTC), Technology (XLK), U.S. Large Cap Growth (SCHG), Russell 1000 Growth (IWF), Consumer Discretionary (XLY) have dominated returns the past 5 years. U.S. MLPs (AMLP), Crude Oil (USO), Energy (XLE), Chinese Stocks (FXI), and various bond ETFs (JNK), (AGG), (MUB) have trailed.

Aug 7, 2021

Valuentum Weekly
Image: Bitcoin, technology and large cap growth have led the pack the past 5 years while pipeline MLPs, crude oil and energy stocks have fallen way behind. Large cap growth > small cap value. Bonds, non-US stocks continue to lag. The Valuentum Weekly is a brand-new weekly market commentary from Valuentum Securities, released each weekend in digital form. The Valuentum Weekly offers members a weekly synopsis of the markets and major events. It will be straight and to-the-point. Our goal is to deliver to you the latest information and insights. We welcome your feedback on how we can make the Valuentum Weekly as useful and as relevant for you as ever!

Jun 1, 2021

ICYMI -- Video: Exclusive 2020 -- Furthering the Financial Discipline
In this 40+ minute video jam-packed with must-watch content, Valuentum's President Brian Nelson talks about the Theory of Universal Valuation and how his work is furthering the financial discipline. Learn the pitfalls of factor investing and modern portfolio theory and how the efficient markets hypothesis holds little substance in the wake of COVID-19. He'll talk about what companies Valuentum likes and why, and which areas he's avoiding. This and more in Valuentum's 2020 Exclusive conference call.

Sep 1, 2020

Valuentum Website Overview
Overview of the key features of www.valuentum.com (03:55). Valuentum (val∙u∙n∙tum) [val-yoo-en-tuh-m] Securities Inc. is an independent investment research publisher, offering premium equity reports, dividend reports, and ETF reports, as well as commentary across all sectors/companies, a Best Ideas Newsletter (spanning market caps, asset classes), a Dividend Growth Newsletter, modeling tools/products, and more. Independence and integrity remain our core, and we strive to be a champion of the investor. Valuentum is based in the Chicagoland area. Valuentum is not a money manager, broker, or financial advisor. Valuentum is a publisher of financial information.

Jul 30, 2020

Excerpt from ‘Value Trap’ 2nd Edition: MPT Sounds a Lot Like "Empty"
The second edition of President of Investment Research Brian Nelson's book 'Value Trap' will be released in the coming weeks. Here is a short excerpt to whet your appetite.

Jul 15, 2020

Our Reports on the Retail REIT Industry
We've optimized our coverage of REITs. 

Jun 16, 2020

Reiterating Our Bullish Long-Term View on Stocks
Image: The NASDAQ 100 Index remains resilient, bouncing off support, after breaking out to new highs recently. Some of our best ideas are included in the NASDAQ 100, and our favorite concentrations include exposure to big cap tech and large cap growth. We continue to be bullish on equities for the long run. In addition to unlimited quantitative easing and "whatever it takes, squared" Fed policy, today, June 16, the Trump administration announced that it is weighing a $1 trillion stimulus bill to help support the economy. While uncertainties remain regarding specifics of the bill (it might include state assistance, extension of unemployment benefits, etc.), the move is consistent with the outsize spending we expect to further bolster the bull case, "ICYMI -- Stay Optimistic. Stay Bullish. I Am." We continue to emphasize that, in light of unlimited QE and runaway fiscal stimulus, the longer-duration components of intrinsic values are expanding considerably, and as a result, fair values, themselves, are actually rising during this recession and pandemic [a good estimate of the value of the S&P 500 today may be between 3,530-3,920, as outlined in the following: "Scribbles and More Newsletter Portfolio Changes.]."