Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Feb 24, 2020

ALERT: Adding Market Crash 'Protection,' Removing MSFT, BKNG
Image source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  We're adding out-of-the-money put options to both the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio and Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. We're removing Microsoft from the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, and we're removing Booking Holdings from the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. We reiterate that, had the Dow Jones Industrial Average already swooned a couple thousand points on news of the COVID-19 outbreak, we might have considered some undervalued stocks with strong momentum potential "buying opportunities." However, to this point in time, the markets have largely ignored COVID-19, with major US indices still sitting near all-time highs. We could be in for a wild ride in the coming weeks and months, and an outright market crash is not out of question. For those looking for short-idea considerations, please consider the Exclusive publication here. We remain fully-invested in the High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio given its yield and income focus.

Feb 22, 2020

Is a Stock Market Crash Coming? -- Coronavirus Update and P/E Ratios
Image Source: World Health Organization, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Situation Report -- 32. We don’t think this is the environment to put new capital to work, and we remain highly cautious of what COVID-19 means for global economic growth not just in the first quarter of 2020 but for the rest of this year (maybe longer). Right now, the US markets are not really factoring in anything related to COVID-19, and perhaps may be adjusting to China’s stimulus in artificially propping up the markets as if the outbreak is somehow a “positive thing.” With the S&P 500 trading at 19.0 forward earnings estimates--estimates that are likely too high given the evidence we are seeing with respect to a slowdown due to COVID-19--and corporate debt levels more elevated than ever before (note, a high net debt level should depress the P/E in enterprise valuation--US corporate debt has advanced 50% over the past decade, to $10 trillion), it is our contention that the current market reflects a “situation-equivalent” forward P/E (i.e. rightsizing for new net debt relative to the dot-com peak and adjusting for lower forward earnings expectations compared with current forecasts) perhaps greater than 24.4, which was recorded at the peak of the dot-com bubble. Though interest rates are lower than they were at the time of the dot-com crash, suggesting a modest reasonable bump to normalized forward P/E ratios of ~15 times to reflect “fair valuations,” we could seriously be in for fundamental-driven crash soon, as both the earnings multiple and earnings estimates contract aggressively. Hypothetically, a contraction to a 16x forward multiple on earnings estimates just 10% lower than currently forecast implies an S&P 500 of 2,566, or a swoon of about 20%-30% from current levels--and that would just get us down to 16x still-respectable forward numbers. How quantitative-driven price-agnostic trading may impact this scenario is not known either, and all of this could be setting up for a wild ride in the coming weeks and months. Fasten your seatbelts. We’ll have a few newsletter portfolio alerts coming Monday.

Jan 23, 2020

Resetting Your Mental Model
Image Source: affen ajlfe. Having the right mental model and using the right information can be the reason why you win or lose in investing.

Nov 22, 2019

Our Reports on Stocks in the Household Durables Industry
We've optimized our discretionary spending coverage.

Nov 19, 2019

Berkshire Hathaway Invests in RH, a Quality Company in Our View
Image Shown: RH now counts Berkshire Hathaway Inc as a shareholder, which saw shares of RH initially spike up on the news. Having reviewed RH’s business model, capital allocation priorities, and financial position, it’s clear why Berkshire Hathaway would like the business. Strong free cash flows, rising margins, and a management team that’s very capable of adapting to shifting macro forces makes RH a quality company. We continue to like Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway as a top holding in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, and while its investment in RH is modest compared to a company as big as Berkshire Hathaway, this investment is a sound one in our view. Members interested in reading more about Berkshire Hathaway should check out our third quarter earnings review here---->>>>

Dec 31, 2018

Valuentum Stock Screeners
Brian Nelson provides members with an update on Valuentum's stock screeners and the significant number of forward-looking data we provide. This article was sent to members via email December 29.

Dec 20, 2018

Market Mayhem -- Alerts for Members
Dear members -- we released a number of emails today. Please read and let us know if you have any questions. We're here for you.

Sep 5, 2018

There Is Milk At The Store
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." -- Winston Churchill

Aug 6, 2018

Valuentum’s Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) Distribution
The weighted average cost of capital is one of the most subjective measures in corporate finance, but it is also one of the most important ones.

May 30, 2018

Study: Valuentum's Best Ideas Newsletter Portfolio
"Though we largely achieved the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio’s goals in advancing the newsletter portfolio each publication year (ends December 15) and achieving relative outperformance and risk-adjusted superiority to the benchmark, we may have done even better had our equity allocation been full during the measurement period." -- Brian Nelson, CFA