Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Jun 23, 2021

Best Idea Korn Ferry Posts Record Results, Shares Surge
Image Shown: Korn Ferry posted record fee revenue and diluted EPS performance in the final quarter of fiscal 2021 as its business continued to recover. We include Korn Ferry as an idea in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and continue to be huge fans of the name. Image Source: Korn Ferry – Fourth Quarter of Fiscal 2021 IR Earnings Presentation. We continue to be enormous fans of Korn Ferry and its capital appreciation upside potential. Part of the firm’s strength comes from its industrial clients representing approximately 25%-30% of Korn Ferry’s business (according to recent management commentary), keeping in mind industrial activity has rebounded strongly from the depths of the pandemic-induced downturn last calendar year. As the services side of the global economy starts to recover in earnest, Korn Ferry’s financials should continue to improve going forward, while management also sees room for additional upside from its industrial clients as well.

Jun 22, 2021

Kroger Raises Guidance After Solid Earnings Report
Image Source: Kroger Co – First Quarter of Fiscal 2021 IR Earnings Presentation. Grocers are facing tough year-over-year comparisons due to the pantry stockpiling dynamic seen in 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, though demand for consumer staples products remains healthy. On June 17, Kroger Co reported first quarter earnings for fiscal 2021 (period ended May 22, 2021) that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Kroger’s management team also noted how the grocer views the current inflationary landscape, which we will cover in this note.

Jun 21, 2021

Best Idea Korn Ferry Getting Ready to Post Earnings
Image Shown: Korn Ferry’s revenue generation mix across business operating segments, geographies, and industries as of the third quarter of fiscal 2021. Image Source: Korn Ferry – Third Quarter of Fiscal 2021 Earnings IR Presentation. The management consulting firm Korn Ferry was added to the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio on January 12, 2021 after the firm registered a 9 on the Valuentum Buying Index (‘VBI’). Shares of KFY have increased by 31% since then versus an 11% gain for the S&P 500 as of the end of normal trading hours on June 18. The top end of our fair value estimate range sits $79 per share of KFY, well above where shares of Korn Ferry are trading as of this writing, and we see room for additional capital appreciation upside going forward. Though Korn Ferry’s business faced tremendous headwinds due to the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, ongoing vaccine distribution efforts are beginning to pick up steam worldwide and demand for the firm’s services is on the rebound.

Jun 18, 2021

Best Ideas PayPal and Visa Have Ample Capital Appreciation Upside Potential
Image Shown: PayPal Holdings Inc’s digital wallet offers the firm multiple sources of upside. Image Source: PayPal Holdings Inc – February 2021 Investor Day Presentation. The payment processing and fintech industries are incredibly lucrative and supported by powerful secular growth tailwinds such as the proliferation of e-commerce and the global shift away from cash (towards card, tap to pay, QR code, online, and other payment methods). PayPal Holdings and Visa are two of our favorites in the space, and we include both firms as ideas in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio.

Jun 16, 2021

Best Idea Alphabet on the Move!
Image Shown: Shares of Alphabet Inc Class C have been on a nice upward climb over the past several months with ample room for additional capital appreciation upside, in our view. We include shares of GOOG as a top-weighted idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. Companies with real pricing power are well-positioned to navigate headwinds arising from inflation pressures as cost increases can be passed along to the consumer and then some (i.e. price increases above inflation). Many large cap tech firms fit this bill including one of our favorite ideas Alphabet Inc, with an eye towards the pricing strength seen at its enormous digital advertising business. We include shares of Alphabet Class C (ticker: GOOG) as a top-weighted idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. In this article, we will highlight why we view Alphabet’s growth outlook and capital appreciation potential quite favorably in the face of major hurdles.

Jun 16, 2021

Dividend Growth Idea Oracle Stepping Up Cloud Investments to Build on Recent Momentum
Image Shown: Oracle Corporation’s pivot towards cloud computing offerings continues. We include Oracle as an idea in our Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio and continue to view its payout growth trajectory quite favorably. Image Source: Oracle Corporation – September 2019 IR Presentation. On June 15, Oracle Corp reported fourth quarter fiscal 2021 earnings (period ended May 31, 2021) that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. The company’s GAAP revenues climbed higher 8% year-over-year and its GAAP operating income grew 5% year-over-year in the fiscal fourth quarter. Oracle cited growth at its Fusion and NetSuite cloud applications businesses along with growth at its Gen2 Cloud Infrastructure business as driving its financial performance in the fiscal fourth quarter. We continue to like Oracle as an idea in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio; shares of ORCL yield ~1.6% as of this writing.

Jun 16, 2021

Dividend Growth Idea Republic Services’ Solid Long Term Outlook
Image Shown: An overview of Republic Services Inc’s expansive waste management operations across the US. We include shares of Republic Services as an idea in our Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. Image Source: Republic Services Inc – May 2021 IR Presentation. The waste management business is highly appealing when it comes to finding potential dividend growth opportunities. Our favorite idea in the space, Republic Services, is included in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. Shares of RSG yield ~1.5% as of this writing and have been on a nice upward trend during the past few months. The top end of our fair value estimate range sits at $125 per share (RSG trades at ~$110 per share at the time of this writing).

Jun 15, 2021

Risk Management: Diversified Stock Selection or Modern Portfolio Theory?
Image Shown: If one had concentrated in large cap growth the past 10 years, or basically in undervalued stocks that had strong momentum, one would have outperformed the category of small cap value (IWN) and the 60/40 stock/bond portfolio (VBINX) by an incredible 200+ percentage points. Image Source: Morningstar. Volatility has always been a terrible measure of risk. It’s an imperfection of quant analysis that has left a path of financial devastation across investor portfolios. What’s worse is the investors, themselves, don’t know just how much they are trailing diversified stock selection strategies, a far better risk management tool, in our view.

Jun 15, 2021

Dividend Growth Idea Qualcomm Proactively Managing Fallout from Global Chip Shortage
Image Shown: Qualcomm Inc, one of our favorite semiconductor firms, noted in March 2021 that the rollout of 5G wireless networks is accelerating which in turn supports its outlook. We include shares of QCOM as an idea in our Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. Image Source: Qualcomm Inc – 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders IR Presentation. One of our favorite ways to gain exposure to the semiconductor industry is Qualcomm Inc, and we include shares of QCOM as an idea in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. Qualcomm’s IP portfolio and the “chips” that it designs play an essential role in enabling 5G connectivity in smartphones, powering the digital capabilities of modern automobiles, and supporting wireless network operations (including 5G networks). Qualcomm’s business model remained resilient in the face of headwinds caused by the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. The company’s asset-light business model (relatively modest capital expenditure requirements to maintain a certain level of revenues) enables Qualcomm is generate sizable free cash flows in almost any environment, and its promising growth outlook is underpinned by secular tailwinds.

Jun 11, 2021

CubeSmart Outperforms and Boosts Its Full-Year Guidance
Image Source: CubeSmart – June 2021 IR Presentation. We continue to be huge fans of CubeSmart and like the self-storage REIT as an idea in the High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio. A greater percentage of US households have been turning to self-storage offerings over the past several decades in order to maximize their living space in an economical manner according to data cited by Public Storage (another idea included in the High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio) and Extra Space Storage. Secular tailwinds support CubeSmart’s promising growth outlook. Shares of CUBE are up 38% year-to-date as of the end of normal trading hours on June 10, easily outpacing the 12% gain seen in the S&P 500 during this period before taking dividend considerations into account. As of this writing, shares of CUBE yield ~2.9%.