New 10s! — Stock Report Updates — Triage During Market Volatility

We have updated our 16-page equity and dividend reports for a number of high-profile companies in our coverage universe and have provided a table summarizing the new fair value estimates, Dividend Cushion ratios, and other key metrics following the updates for your convenience. By Valuentum Analysts We’ve been actively updating select reports through the course of this market swoon, and we have provided the table above for your convenience.  Guess what — Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOG, GOOGL) are now registering 10s on the Valuentum Buying Index again! These two companies are also the highest weighted equities in the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. There’s a lot of “hair” on both names, given political and regulatory risks, and both may experience … Read more

The Intricacies of the Valuentum Process

Let’s take a quick overview of the Valuentum processes for capital appreciation and dividend growth with a discussion of how we use the Valuentum Buying Index and the Dividend Cushion ratio. By Brian Nelson, CFA There is a lot behind the Valuentum processes for capital appreciation and dividend growth, respectively, and both the criteria for inclusion to either the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio are different. Our best ideas at any time, however, are always included in the simulated newsletter portfolios. We use our research as a means to identify new ideas for consideration in the simulated newsletter portfolios, as well as to consider removing ideas from the simulated newsletter portfolios. As it relates to … Read more

Catching the Bottom?

Image shown: The depths of how far the S&P 500 (SPY) has fallen more recently, and the timing of the decision to move to being “fully invested” in simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio.   No Changes to Simulated Newsletter portfolios. This article was sent to members via email January 9. That email can be found at the link that follows this article. By Brian Nelson, CFA On the evening of December 26, we emailed members that we were moving to “fully invested” in both the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter and simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. First of all, please let me apologize. I wanted to stay in front of members during one of the most volatile times … Read more

Markets Up Big; Upside Volatility

Image shown: The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) since August 2017. The index has broken through support and is now bouncing back to resistance. By Brian Nelson, CFA Good morning everyone, Are you watching these markets? This is incredible. The Dow finished down 660 points yesterday (briefly dropping 700 points), and today, the Dow is currently trading up 600 points at the time of this writing. Granted, there was Apple’s (AAPL) poor first-quarter 2019 guidance yesterday and the strong jobs report today, but this volatility is not “normal,” no matter what others are saying. A couple announcements up front. For those that already ordered our book Value Trap, I will send you the pdf download to your email address just to make sure … Read more

Valuentum Stock Screeners

This article was sent to members via email December 29. That email can be accessed at the link that follows this article. By Brian Nelson, CFA Hi everyone, I wanted to provide an update with respect to Valuentum’s stock screeners. We believe our stock screeners are among the most robust when it comes to providing forward-looking data, or data that is important with respect to the investment decision-making process. We publish screens in each of the monthly newsletters, but we also provide a basic weekly screener for download on the left column of the website, “Download Weekly Stock Screener (xls) — login required.”   We also have other products. The more robust DataScreener, for example, is part of the quarterly Financial … Read more

Market Mayhem — Alerts for Members

During these extremely volatile times, it’s important to stay focused. On December 15, we informed all of our members to “Pay Attention.” Shortly thereafter, we notified members of the potential for a stock market technical breakdown. This morning, we offered a pre-market briefing about the importance of thinking about portfolio protection. For Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter members: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?preview=true&m=1110817109903&ca=e2406cd6-c113-4344-8731-493f33fc44a4&id=preview For High Yield Dividend Newsletter members: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?preview=true&m=1110817109903&ca=b3ba530f-38b3-489a-ac96-2961dca89c6b&id=preview For Exclusive members: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?preview=true&m=1110817109903&ca=ba6d90c0-4433-48b2-9b8a-aac4ddf9006e&id=preview We’re here for any questions. Please just let us know how we can help! Kind regards, Brian Nelson, CFA  brian@valuentum.com

Facebook to Test New Ad Feature

Image Shown: Facebook’s share price performance since late 2017. Shares may be poised to breakout of a recent downtrend. Source: TradingView.com Facebook has faced significant pressure from a number of sources in recent months, but we continue to like the stock, which may be poised for a technical breakout and appears undervalued. By Kris Rosemann It’s no secret that simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio idea Facebook (FB) has been working to right the ship while under an intense level of scrutiny from a variety of sources. The company has been caught in perhaps an unprecedented culmination of social and political pressures, but these are unprecedented times. We continue to like shares of Facebook due to the robust free cash flow … Read more

Cardinal Health Battling Bottom-Line Headwinds

Image Source: Global Panorama Healthcare product distributor and Dividend Aristocrat Cardinal Health has had its share price performance in 2018 dampened by a number of factors, including generic drug price deflation weighing on its ‘Pharmaceutical’ segment, struggles in its ‘Medical’ segment, and the potential for disruption within its industry. By Kris Rosemann The drug distribution industry is attractive as a result of the group’s predictable revenue streams and the strong competitive positions of a number of participants, which result from the barriers to entry that are difficult-to-replicate distribution networks, myriad regulatory compliance issues, and industry relationships. The industry currently operates as an oligopoly with McKesson (MCK), Cardinal Health (CAH), and AmerisourceBergen (ABC) collectively controlling more than 90% of the market. … Read more

Hasbro’s Top Line Drops Amid Ongoing Challenges

Hasbro continues to face the fallout of the Toys ‘R’ Us bankruptcy earlier this year, as well as challenges from the rapidly changing retail environment and retail inventory clearing. Management remains optimistic regarding a return to profitable growth in 2019, however. By Kris Rosemann Simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio idea Hasbro (HAS) saw its shares face selling pressure following a disappointing third quarter report October 22 as its top line declined 12% as reported on a year-over-year basis due to the temporary loss of Toys ‘R’ Us revenue, a rapidly-changing retail environment, clearing through retail inventory, and currency headwinds. Management noted retail inventory was down significantly in the US and Europe, and it is working to clear excess inventory by … Read more

In the News: Sears Nears Bankruptcy, Luxury Apparel Weakens, Fastenal Reports, and Financial Tech Stocks Take Hit

In what was a long-time coming, Sears looks to finally be succumbing to the pressures of the brick-and-mortar retailing business. It won’t be the last big-name retailer to fail, and it certainly wasn’t the first. Luxury stocks are reeling as a result of worries in China. Financial tech stocks gave back a fraction of their huge gains more recently, as investors size up credit risk at this stage of the economic cycle. We continue to believe financial tech is the place to be, however, with PayPal and Visa as two of our top considerations. By Brian Nelson, CFA Sears Holdings (SHLD) is now nothing more than a penny stock, trading at about $0.40 per share, as CNBC reported that the … Read more