Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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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 1, 2019

Our Reports on Stocks in the Retail--Apparel (Teen-30yrs, Off-Price, Outdoor) Industry
We've dropped coverage of stocks in the Retail--Apparel (Teen-30yrs, Off-Price, Outdoor) industry.

Aug 15, 2019

Macy’s Cuts Guidance, Dividend Cut Could Be on the Horizon
Image Shown: Macy’s cut adjusted EPS guidance for FY2019, which implies a material drop from its FY2018 performance. Flat revenue guidance, gross margin pressure, and rising SG&A expenses all signal there’s likely more pain yet to come. Image Source: Macy’s – IR Presentation. We are staying far away from Macy’s and most retailers in general, but continue to like Dollar General Corporation as the nimble retailer has posted stellar performance since joining the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio in April 2017.

Jun 7, 2019

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending June 7
Let's take a look at companies that raised/lowered their dividend this week.

May 31, 2019

Mall Retail Armageddon?
We think investors should be extremely cautious if they are interested in any mall retailers. Mall REITs are starting to feel some of the pain, too.

May 15, 2019

Vodafone's Dividend Cut, Alibaba's Resilience, More Reports
In alphabetical order by company name: A, BABA, PLCE, GES, M, NSANY, RL, TLRY, VOD.

Apr 16, 2019

Latest Channel Checks at Malls…Scary
We know malls come and go, and location is everything, but our latest visit to a few malls in the Chicagoland area leave us scratching our heads in a big way. One was eerily empty.

Apr 3, 2019

Facebook’s Huge New Opportunity in Instagram Checkout, Reiterating Fair Value Estimate ~$230
Image Source: Facebook's InstagramWe continue to like Facebook, and we’re huge fans of Instagram Checkout. Many may not know it yet, but Instagram Checkout may mark the beginning of retailers’ websites becoming obsolete. The sell-off last summer in Facebook was a big gift for those that stuck with our thesis.

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.