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AIG Still Trades at a Meaningful Discount to Book Value

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On October 31, AIG (AIG) reported third-quarter net income of $2.17 billion and diluted earnings per share of $1.46, compared to $1.9 billion and $1.13 per share in the same period a year ago. Pre-tax income in the firm’s insurance operations were solid during the quarter, with ‘AIG Property Casualty’ and ‘AIG Life and Retirement’ advancing 33% and 38%, respectively, from the same period a year ago. Third-quarter after-tax operating income attributable to AIG came in at $1.42 billion, or $0.96 per share, compared to $1.62 billion, or $0.99, in last year’s quarter. Net income exceeded after-tax operating income as a result of valuation allowance releases associated with deferred tax assets (a non-core boost). Image Source: AIG Though we would … Read more

The Mortgage Refinancing Boom Could Be Ending

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Early Wednesday morning, the Mortgage Banker’s Association (MBA) announced that refinancing activity declined 20% from one week earlier. Adjusted for the Labor Day weekend, total mortgage applications dropped 13.5% from the previous week. Consistent with the dramatic upward movement in interest rates, refinancing activity is down 71% since it peaked during the week of May 3, 2013. Why Do We Monitoring Refinancing Activity? When homeowners refinance, a couple outcomes can occur that pump more dollars into the economy. First, with a refinanced mortgage, owners may choose to take equity out of the home, allowing for large purchases like vehicles or even home remodeling. CoreLogic recently reported that 2.5 million more residential properties have returned to positive equity in the second quarter … Read more

Dividends at Financial Services Firms

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After getting slammed by one of the most vicious financial crises in modern history, financial services firms sit on much more solid ground. In fact, several have taken to returning cash to shareholders via dividends. Let’s take a look at a few names in the space that recently made headlines with their dividend policies. T. Rowe Price Money manager T. Rowe Price (TROW) was hit pretty hard by contracting balance sheets and retirement accounts, as it saw revenue fall for two consecutive years. However, as accounts recovered, the company has returned to solid revenue growth, easily eclipsing its 2006-2007 numbers. The firm has raised its dividend 10% this year to $1.36 per share, and it recently announced a special dividend … Read more

Raising Our Fair Value Estimate on Berkshire Hathaway, Our Thoughts on the Insurance Industry

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Image Source: AIG Competitive Structure of the Insurance Industry Constituents in the insurance industry earn revenues primarily from insurance premiums, policy fees from life insurance/investment products, and income from investments. Operating expenses consist of policyholder benefits and claims incurred, interest credited to policyholders, commissions and other costs of servicing products, as well as general business expenses. An insurer’s profitability is dependent on its ability to price and manage risk on insurance and annuity products, to manage its portfolio of investments effectively, and to control costs through expense discipline. The insurance industry is highly competitive, with rivals numbering in the thousands–including stock companies, specialty insurance organizations, life insurers, mutual companies, other underwriting firms, and banks. Though risk-acceptance criteria, product pricing, and … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending February 2

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised or lowered their dividends during the week ending February 2. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week 1st Source (SRCE): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.20. AFLAC (AFL): now $0.52 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.45. Amtek (AME): now $0.14 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.09. Andeavor Logistics (ANDX): now $1.00 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.9852. Apartment Investment (AIV): now $0.38 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.36. AvalonBay Communities (AVB): now $1.47 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.42. … Read more

The Dividend Cushion Meets the Dividend Aristocrats

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By Brian Nelson, CFA At Valuentum, we know that forward-looking dividend analysis and opinion is all that matters for most income investors. That’s why we’ve provided the following screen of key constituents in the SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY) and their forward-looking Dividend Cushion ratio. After all, the past is just the past. The future is what counts. The SPDR S&P Dividend ETF is a fund that tracks the the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index, which is “designed to measure the performance of the highest dividend-yielding S&P Composite 1500 Index constituents that have followed a managed-dividends policy of consistently increasing dividends every year for at least 20 consecutive years.” To access either the 16-page stock report or the dividend report of each firm in the following modified ‘Aristocrats’ … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending November 1

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending November 1. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week Abbvie (ABBV): now $1.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.07. ACCO Brands (ACCO): now $0.065 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.06. Amalgamated Bank (AMAL): now $0.08 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.06. American Assets Trust (AAT): now $0.30 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.28. Arbor Realty Trust (ABR): now $0.030 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.29. Artisan Partners Asset Management (APAM): now $0.65 per share quarterly … Read more

ICYMI — Video: Will Hasty Policy Facilitate the Next Leg Down, or Do We Have It Coming Anyway?

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President of Investment Research and award-winning author of Value Trap: Theory of Universal Valuation Brian Nelson explains how US policymakers are stuck between a rock and a hard place, and how the market may be factoring in too high of a probability of a return to normalcy before 2021. This and more in the latest video report. Summary Make sure you review Value Trap on Amazon. Do so here. We think those that bought equities near the bottom of this swoon may be looking to take profits at present levels. The market is currently reflecting an 80%-85% probability of a return to normalcy before 2021, which we believe is too high at this time. Our main concern is that government … Read more

Nelson: The 16 Most Important Steps To Understand The Stock Market

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A previous version of this article appeared on our website July 21, 2013. Refreshed and updated throughout, as of July 2018. By Brian Nelson, CFA After earning my MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and training stock and credit analysts from large organizations over the past decade or so, I have heard just about every question (though I admit I am still surprised by many things and remain a very humble student of the markets). I’ve also spent years perfecting the discounted cash flow process for large research organizations such as Morningstar and studied under one of the most famed aggressive growth investors of all time, Richard Driehaus. My knowledge runs the gamut from value through … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending October 28

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending October 28. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week Abaxis (ABAX): now $0.14 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.12. AbbVie (ABBV): now $0.64 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.57. AFLAC (AFL): now $0.43 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.41. Alexander & Baldwin (ALEX): now $0.07 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.06. Alon USA Partners (ALDW): now $0.15 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.14. American Electric Power (AEP): now $0.59 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.56. … Read more