Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Aug 19, 2022

Nelson: The 16 Most Important Steps To Understand The Stock Market
Image Source: Tim Green. We outline the '16 Most Important Steps to Understand the Stock Market.' We think it's important to take a read of these key stock market tenets when things are going great -- and perhaps even more important when things aren't going your way. This continues to be a working document.

Aug 11, 2022

Albemarle Raises Guidance Yet Again, Expects to Be FCF Positive in 2022
Image Shown: Albemarle Corporation’s lithium operations have posted stellar financial performance in recent quarters and underpin the firm’s bright long-term growth outlook. Image Source: Albemarle Corporation – Second Quarter of 2022 IR Earnings Presentation. We liked what we saw in Albemarle’s latest earnings report. Albemarle is betting the farm that the supply-demand dynamics will remain favorable for lithium producers. Volume growth and favorable pricing for lithium derivatives is a powerful combination that Albemarle has effectively capitalized on so far. Lithium is a major component in lithium-ion batteries which are used to power electric vehicles (‘EVs’), battery storage facilities, consumer electronics, and much more. Should EV sales continue to grow while utilities are increasingly turning to battery storage solutions to supplement their backup power options, demand for lithium should continue to grow at a robust pace as well. Albemarle is well-positioned to capitalize on this upside, aided by its stellar operational execution. Shares of ALB yield ~0.7% as of this writing and the top end of our fair value estimate range for Albemarle sits at $309 per share.

Jul 11, 2022

Valuentum's Unmatched Product Suite
We continue to be huge believers in the concept of enterprise valuation, which emphasizes the key cash-based sources of intrinsic value--net cash on the balance sheet and strong and growing future expected free cash flows. Meta Platforms, Inc. and Alphabet Inc. remain two of the most underpriced ideas on the market today, and we remain huge fans of their tremendous long-term investment prospects.

Jul 4, 2022

Nelson: I Have Been Wrong About the Prospect of Near-Term Inflationary-Driven Earnings Tailwinds
"Though I have been clearly wrong on my near-term thesis for inflation-driven earnings expansion, we still did great sorting through investment idea considerations. Through late June, for example, the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio has generated 4-5 percentage points of alpha relative to the S&P 500, as measured by the SPY. The simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio is down only modestly this year, also performing better than traditional benchmarks. The simulated High Yield Dividend Newsletter is generating “alpha” against comparable benchmarks, and the Exclusive publication continues to deliver, with both capital appreciation ideas and short idea considerations generating fantastic success rates. ESG and options-idea generation have also been great. With all this being said, in the long run, I believe nominal earnings will expand rapidly from 2021 levels, which is why I remain bullish on stocks. I believe markets tend to overestimate earnings in the near term and underestimate them in the long run. The intelligent investor knows, too, that the most money is made during recessions and bear markets, where steady reinvestment and dollar cost averaging help to better position portfolios for higher returns over the longer run. The newsletter portfolios are well-positioned for continued “outperformance,” in our view, and while we may make a few tweaks to them, we’re not making any material changes at this time."

Jun 9, 2022

Albemarle Raises Guidance Twice in One Month!
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. When the specialty chemicals company Albemarle Corp published its first quarter 2022 earnings report 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.

May 23, 2022

PRESENTATION: AAII Greensboro May Program -- The Ultimate Dividend Growth Investing Tool
PRESENTATION: AAII Greensboro May Program -- The Ultimate Dividend Growth Investing Tool.

May 9, 2022

ESG Newsletter Portfolio Idea Albemarle Beats Consensus Estimates and Raises Guidance
Image Shown: Albemarle Corporation’s lithium operations are benefiting from the favorable supply-demand dynamic and strong pricing of late, which is supporting its company-wide financial performance and outlook in a big way. Image Source: Albemarle Corporation – First Quarter of 2022 IR Earnings Presentation. On May 4, Albemarle Corp reported first quarter 2022 earnings that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Due primarily to the outperformance of its ‘Lithium’ business reporting segment, Albemarle boosted its full-year guidance for 2022 in a big way during its latest earnings update. Shares of ALB skyrocketed after the news broke, and we continue to be big fans of the company. We include Albemarle as an idea in the ESG Newsletter portfolio.

May 9, 2022

Interview with SDM Investments' Kevin Truitt -- ESG in a Few Words: "Good Ethics, Honesty, Respect, and Dignity"
Image: SDM Investments' Kevin Truitt (left) and Valuentum's Brian Nelson (right) pause for a picture at the Chicago Chapter of the American Association of Individual Investors (December 2016).We talked with SDM Investments' Kevin Truitt recently, and we’d like to share our conversation with you! Learn about the critical nature of value investing and thinking about stocks as businesses, how investors should approach macro indicators, the importance of using a margin of safety, how to think about ESG investing, and why cash-based investing helps to safeguard against downside risk. Kevin also shares five of his favorite ideas!

Feb 25, 2022

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week February 25
Let's take a look at companies that raised/lowered their dividend this week.

Feb 8, 2022

Nutrien Benefiting from the Strong Global Farm Economy, Shares Yield ~2.5%
Image Source: Nutrien Limited – 2020 Annual Report. Nutrien Limited is benefiting from the strong global farm economy. The company sells tens of millions of metric tons of potash, nitrogen, and phosphate products every year, which are key ingredients used in the production of fertilizer. With geopolitical tensions building in Eastern Europe, Nutrien is preparing to bring idle potash production capacity in Canada back online while steadily expanding its nitrogen production capabilities. Nutrien is a great free cash flow generator with a promising growth outlook, though its net debt load is rather large. The firm is focusing on deleveraging activities in the near term, which we appreciate. Shares of NTR yield ~2.5% as of this writing, and we think it is one for your radar.