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Recent Articles
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UnitedHealth Group Still a Free-Cash-Flow Generating Machine
Jan 12, 2024
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Image: UnitedHealth Group continues to drive strong revenue and operating earnings performance. Image Source: UnitedHealth Group.
On January 12, healthcare benefits provider UnitedHealth Group reported strong fourth-quarter 2023 results that showed revenue advancing 14% on a year-over-year basis thanks to strength at its UnitedHealthcare and Optum divisions, while earnings from operations advanced 11.6%. UnitedHealth is facing some temporary cost pressures in its business due to pent-up demand for discretionary procedures following the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but its net margin held up fine in the period, coming in at 5.8%, the same level a year ago. Management reaffirmed its previously-issued 2024 guidance, and we continue to like UnitedHealth Group as a key weighting in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. Shares yield ~1.4% at the time of this writing.
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Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of January 12
Jan 12, 2024
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Let's take a look at firms raising/lowering their dividends this week.
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Dividend King Leggett & Platt’s Payout May Be Worth the Risk
Jan 11, 2024
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Image: Leggett & Platt has put together a long track record of consecutive annual dividend increases, but recent performance suggests that the dividend may be at risk in the longer run. Its 7.1% dividend yield may be worth the risk, however.
Leggett & Platt has raised its dividend for more than 50 consecutive years, putting it in the coveted category of being a Dividend King. However, the bedding, flooring and textile product maker has fallen on some difficult times. The company sports a Dividend Cushion ratio of -1.2 (negative 1.2), indicating that our future expectations of its dividend payments over the next five years coupled with its net debt position fall far below the cumulative free cash flow that we expect it to generate over the next five years. The company's 7.1% dividend yield may be worth the risk, however.
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Best Ideas Visa, Alphabet Hit 52-Week Highs
Jan 10, 2024
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Image: The top weightings in Valuentum’s Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio just hit 52-week highs.
The first week of trading in 2024 gave investors some pause, as it was filled with profit taking from a strong 2023, but we think this bull market continues to have legs. We’ve outlined 12 reasons as to why we think investors should stay aggressive during 2024, and while key inflation data looms, we continue to like how the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio is positioned heading into what could be another strong year in 2024. Visa and Alphabet remain two of our favorite ideas on the market today, and we point to the high end of their respective fair value estimate ranges as reasonable targets for optimistic, risk-seeking investors.
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