Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Aug 31, 2022

Valuentum: Outlook for Europe, China Is Bleak
Video: Valuentum's Associate Director of Research and Co-Portfolio Manager of the simulated newsletter portfolios, Callum Turcan, shares his thoughts about the global economy. Europe is facing considerable pressure from energy prices, while China may face a mortgage meltdown. Join Valuentum for this brief 6 minute video to get up to speed on the goings-on of the global economy and what troubles may be lurking ahead.

Jul 7, 2022

2022 Oil & Gas Market Update: “The Outlook for Crude Oil Prices Remains Quite Bullish”
In our view, the outlook for crude oil prices remains quite bullish which in turn should enable Chevron and Exxon Mobil, two of our favorite newsletter portfolio ideas, to churn out “gobs” of free cash flow over the coming quarters. Additionally, both Chevron and Exxon Mobil have substantial exposure to natural gas prices, in part through their enormous LNG export facilities in Australia, which should further support their cash flow generating abilities. We will caution here that a key downside risk the global energy complex faces is potential demand destruction as consumers adjust their lifestyles accordingly to reduce their energy and fuel bills. With that in mind, we have yet to see energy demand falter in a meaningful way, though we are keeping a close eye on the state of the global economy.

Jun 28, 2022

Nike’s Gross Margin Falls, Inventory Leaps in Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2022
Image Source: Valuentum. Nike CEO John Donahoe may have said it best in its fourth-quarter fiscal 2022 press release: “Nike’s results this fiscal year are a testament to the unmatched strength of our brands and our deep connection with consumers. Our competitive advantages, including our pipeline of innovative product and expanding digital leadership, prove that our strategy is working as we create value through our relentless drive to serve the future of sport.” What more can we say about this great company. We like its financials quite a bit, fourth-quarter fiscal 2022 earnings came in better than expected, the company is navigating supply chain issues, inflationary pressures, and weakness in Greater China quite well, and it just launched a new massive buyback program to take advantage of its underpriced stock. Nike boasts an impressive Dividend Cushion ratio of 3.8, and we’re reiterating our $139 per share fair value estimate on shares. Shares yield ~1.1% at the time of this writing.

Apr 29, 2022

Apple Reports Record Services Revenue in Calendar First Quarter 2022, We Still Love Shares!
Image Shown: Apple Inc put up another strong earnings report for the quarter ended March 2022. We continue to like Apple as an idea in our newsletter portfolios. On April 28, Apple reported earnings for its second quarter of fiscal 2022 (period ended March 26, 2022) that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates by a wide margin. Apple also increased its dividend by 5% on a sequential basis and authorized an additional $90.0 billion in share repurchases in conjunction with its latest earnings update. We are big fans of Apple and include shares of AAPL as an idea in both our Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios. Shares of AAPL yield ~0.5% as of this writing and we see room for Apple to push through substantial payout increases going forward. Additionally, the top end of our fair value estimate range sits at $204 per share of AAPL, well above where Apple’s stock price is trading at as of this writing indicating it has ample capital appreciation upside potential as well.

Apr 14, 2022

Weekly: We're Bullish on This Self-Inflicted Market Sell-Off; Plus Meta (Facebook), PayPal, Consumer Staples, and HPQ
We have a lot to cover in this week's Valuentum Weekly, but one thing is clear: We remain bullish on stocks for the long run.

Apr 6, 2022

Lululemon Firing on All Cylinders; Shares Recovering
Image Shown: Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc are recovering in the wake of the company’s recent earnings report. On March 29, Lululemon Athletica Inc reported fourth quarter earnings for fiscal 2021 (period ended January 30, 2022) that matched consensus top-line estimates and beat consensus bottom-line estimates. Lululemon also announced it had initiated a new $1.0 billion stock buyback program after completing its previous program in the first quarter of fiscal 2022. The company issued favorable guidance for fiscal 2022 during its latest earnings update, which helped drive shares of LULU sharply higher during normal trading hours on March 30. Shares of LULU are up more than 20% during the past 52 weeks through the time of this writing, more than doubling the return of the S&P 500 during that time. We value shares north of $400 each at the time of this writing, revealing significant potential upside should price-to-fair value estimate convergence materialize.

Mar 29, 2022

Nike Holding Its Own Against Major Exogenous Shocks
Image Shown: Shares of Nike Inc are on an upward climb again after dropping significantly from November 2021 to March 2022. Nike is holding its own in the face of major exogenous headwinds. The firm’s pivot towards D2C and digital sales are having a powerful impact on its business and underlying financial performance. We appreciate that Nike is a stellar generator of shareholder value, though we caution that inflationary headwinds and supply chain hurdles loom large over its near term outlook, as does the Ukraine-Russia crisis due to rising fuel expenses and the risk that portions of the global economy (particularly developing and emerging markets) may enter a recession. We continue to be bullish on U.S. equities and the domestic economy.

Mar 14, 2022

Valuentum Weekly: Yields on New Series I Savings Bonds Have Soared!
The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and NASDAQ futures are all indicated up Sunday night (March 13), but that may not mean much when trading kicks off tomorrow. The start to 2022 has been one of the worst stretches during the past decade, but broader market indexes still aren't down much, even after factoring in several expected rate hikes by the Fed and economic sanctions on Russia due to the war in Ukraine. According to data from Seeking Alpha, the S&P 500 (SPY), Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA), and Nasdaq (QQQ) are off ~12%, ~10%, and ~19% so far this year, respectively. However, this weakness compares to (and is inclusive of) incredible 5-year price-only returns on the SPY, DIA, and QQQ of ~77%, ~58%, ~146%, respectively, so it's hard for stock investors to be disappointed in much of anything, even if all they were able to do was match the returns of the S&P 500 the past 5 years. Many, however, unfortunately, diluted those 5-year returns with hefty bond and international exposure and sometimes large AUM fees, so the weakness in 2022 is probably more painful for some than perhaps it should be. In any case, we remain bullish on stocks for the long run, with a heavy bent toward large cap growth and big cap tech with tactical overweight "positions" in big cap energy.

Nov 26, 2021

ICYMI: Time to Consider Buying Chinese Equities? Not Exactly.
Image Shown: Shares of Alibaba Group have plummeted over the past year in the wake of Beijing’s crackdown on China’s domestic tech and fintech titans. Is it finally time to start loading up on Chinese equities? We don't think so.

Jul 26, 2021

Chinese Stocks Getting Hammered
Image shown: A confluence of factors are driving Chinese stocks lower, not the least of which is heightened regulatory concerns.Investing is really simple. You don’t need to find terribly underfollowed ideas to do well, just mispriced ones. For example, Alphabet is up over 80% the past 52 weeks, and the company has been a top weighting in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio for some time. Facebook has also been an outperformer. There’s no need to make things complicated. Focus on undervalued stocks on a DCF basis that have strong market support through relative strength or a solid technical breakout--and stay away from those net-debt heavy, low valuation multiple value traps!