Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Sep 15, 2020

Oracle Appears to Be Front-Runner for TikTok’s US Assets, Though There Are Caveats
Image Shown: Shares of Dividend Growth Newsletter holding Oracle Corporation jumped higher on September 14 as the tech giant is reportedly getting closer to acquiring TikTok’s operations in the US and potentially elsewhere, though there are a lot of unknowns at this point. Reportedly, Oracle Corp has submitted a proposal to become the “trusted technology partner” of the popular yet controversial social media app TikTok, particularly at TikTok’s US operations (and possibility some other countries as well). TikTok is currently owned by Beijing-based ByteDance. We will likely know more about a potential deal sooner rather than later, though there are a lot of unknowns at this point as it does not appear Oracle’s proposal is a straightforward acquisition.

Sep 11, 2020

Oracle’s Transformation Continues
Image Shown: Shares of Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio holding Oracle Corporation are on an upward trajectory after the tech giant reported that its strategic transition towards cloud-based offerings was going well during its latest earnings report. On September 10, Oracle Corporation reported first quarter fiscal 2021 earnings (period ended August 31, 2020) and we liked what we saw. In constant currency terms, the company’s ‘cloud services and license support’ and ‘cloud license and on-premise license’ segments reported year-over-year sales growth of 2% and 8%, respectively. We appreciate that Oracle’s cloud-oriented businesses are finally starting to gain some real traction in this lucrative and hypercompetitive market. Additionally, Oracle’s strong performance occurred in the face of the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, highlighting the resilience of its business model and the company’s ability to rise to the occasion.

Sep 11, 2020

Our Thoughts on Newmont’s Bright Outlook
Image Shown: Newmont Corporation’s gold reserves are extensive and should support the gold miner’s ability to generate meaningful cash flows over the years and decades to come. Image Source: Newmont Corporation – August 2020 IR Presentation. As of this writing, shares of NEM yield ~1.5% on a forward-looking basis, and we view its forward-looking dividend coverage as rock-solid given Newmont has a Dividend Cushion ratio of 3.2, earning the firm an “EXCELLENT” Dividend Safety rating. In our view, Newmont offers investors a combination of income growth and capital appreciation upside, and we continue to like Newmont as a holding with a modest weighting in our Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. Our Dividend Cushion ratio and Dividend Safety rating factors in our expectations that Newmont will steadily grow its per share dividend over the coming years.

Sep 11, 2020

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week September 11
Let's take a look at companies that raised/lowered their dividend this week.

Sep 10, 2020

Good News for Microsoft
Image Source: Microsoft Corporation – Fourth Quarter of Fiscal 2020 IR PowerPoint Presentation. Microsoft offers investors a combination of income growth and capital appreciation upside. Shares of MSFT yield ~1.0% as of this writing and given its large net cash position and high quality cash flow profile, we see room for Microsoft to push through annual double-digit (per share) dividend increases over the coming years. Our fair value estimate for Microsoft sits at $216 per share (above where shares are trading at as of this writing) with room for upside as the top end of our fair value estimate ranges sit at $259 per share.

Sep 9, 2020

Our Thoughts on the Widespread Launch of 5G Services
Image Shown: The evolution of wireless networks and telecommunications technology over the years. Image Source: Intel Corporation – November 2019 State of 5G Presentation. The rollout of 5G telecommunication networks is upon us and we want to draw our members' attention to some of the key companies with meaningful exposure to this space. Many are excited about what opportunities 5G technology could enable. To ride out the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic we prefer large-cap tech companies with pristine balance sheets, quality cash flow profiles, and firms whose growth outlooks are underpinned by secular growth tailwinds. Between Broadcom and Qualcomm, we are keeping a closer eye on Qualcomm given its more manageable net debt load and the company’s aforementioned near-term catalysts.

Sep 9, 2020

This Stock Market Doesn't Scare Me
Image Source: EpicTop10.com. Markets are forward looking, and it's very likely we'll see a nice bounce back to north of $200 in S&P 500 earnings per share in 2022 or 2023 (pre-COVID-19 numbers were an achievable $196 per share for 2021), meaning that after the next few months, with political risk now behind us at that time, too, come January 2021, the markets, today, imply they are trading at 16-17x forward earnings, a very reasonable multiple given the Fed/Treasury "put" and the implicit "backing" via equity purchases coupled with the prospect for inflation. Frankly, I'm just not understanding the bears. Right now, the market is experiencing some profit taking, some hedging, some rotation, but not much more than this.

Sep 8, 2020

General Motors Makes a Deal with Nikola
Image Shown: On September 8, shares of General Motors Corporation (in orange) and Nikola Corporation (in blue) jumped higher during normal trading hours after announcing their strategic partnership. On September 8, General Motors and Nikola Corp announced a strategic partnership that saw shares of GM and NKLA leap up 8% and 41% during regular trading hours that day, respectively. General Motors will receive an 11% equity stake in Nikola (via common stock issuance) worth ~$2 billion in return for agreeing to provide Nikola in-kind services as “General Motors will engineer, homologate, validate and manufacture the Nikola Badger battery electric and fuel cell versions” which involves utilizing General Motors’ “Ultium battery system and Hydrotec fuel cell technology.” General Motors expects the agreement will close by the end of this month. There will be a lock-up provision concerning General Motors’ pro forma equity stake in Nikola that is set to run through June 2025. Nikola expects this agreement will save the firm ~$5 billion in battery, powertrain, engineering, and validation costs combined over the next decade as the company gains “access to General Motors' global safety-tested and validated parts and components” along with General Motors’ hydrogen fuel cell and electric battery technology.

Sep 8, 2020

Dividend Growth Selection in a Low Yield Environment
Image Source: EpicTop10.com. Management's willingness to pay is critical, so an understanding of how dividend growth has been the past few years is very important, but when we look for fantastic dividend growth ideas for the future, we also want to make sure that the management team has the capacity to keep raising the dividend--meaning there's so much more to dividend growth assessments than backward-looking analysis. For starters, we want our long-term dividend growth ideas to have strong competitively-advantaged business models, solid secular growth trends or recession-resistant characteristics, impressive balance sheets (sometimes and preferably with hefty net cash positions) and growing future expected free cash flows (strong Dividend Cushion ratios).

Sep 8, 2020

Macy’s Is Treading Water for Now
Image Shown: Shares of Macy’s Inc have flatlined since crashing during the first three months of calendar year 2020 as investors await signs of the embattled retailer’s turnaround strategy taking hold. On September 2, embattled retailer Macy’s reported second quarter fiscal 2020 earnings (period ended August 1, 2020) that saw the firm’s comparable sales drop 34.7% year-over-year at stores owned by Macy’s due primarily to physical store closures brought on by the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. The year-over-year decline in comparable sales deepened to 35.1% when including stores owned and licensed by Macy’s. Digital sales offered some reprieve as those were up 53% year-over-year last fiscal quarter, with digital sales as a percentage of the retailer’s total sales at its owned stores coming in at 54%.