AXP

Does Visa Ever Disappoint?

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Image Source: Visa The credit card network hit all-time highs today. We continue to be huge fans of the company’s fundamentals. By Brian Nelson, CFA Another day, another new high for top-weighted idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, Visa (V). Briefing Investor said it succinctly: Visa…is trading at a new all-time high after the company reported better than expected fourth quarter results and gave encouraging guidance for fiscal 2018… Visa owns a global payment network. Unlike American Express (AXP) and Discover (DFS), which own payment networks and issue credit, Visa doesn’t take any credit risk — Capital One (COF) is a bank that issues a lot of credit cards. Visa is a technology company in the financial sector, just … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending October 6

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending October 6. 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 American Express (AXP): now $0.35 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.32. Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK): now $0.185 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.18. Calavo Growers (CVGW): now $0.95 per share annual dividend, was $0.90. FNB Bancorp (FNBG): now $0.13 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.12. Frederick County (FCBI): now $0.08 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.07. Intuit (INTU): now $0.39 per share quarterly dividend, was … Read more

Dividend Increases for the Week Ending September 29

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending September 29. 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 American Express Company (AXP): now $0.35 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.32. BancFirst (BANF): now $0.21 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.19. Bank of South Carolina (BKSC): now $0.15 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.14. CSB Bancorp (CSBB): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.20. Emera (EMRAF): now CAD 0.565 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.5225. The First of Long Island (FLIC): now $0.15 per … Read more

Amazon Casts a Large Shadow Over the Pharmacy Industry

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Image Source: Mike Mozart It is our belief the food retailing industry is in the midst of widespread disruption with Amazon’s attempt to break into the supermarket game with its audacious purchase of Whole Foods. The Whole Foods acquisition is not likely to be an isolated one-off event; instead, it may be a harbinger of Amazon’s ambition to break into new markets, thus expanding its overall percentage of retail sales. We update our views on Amazon and how the company may eventually impact newsletter portfolio holding CVS Health. By Alexander J. Poulos Emulating the Costco Model Amazon’s (AMZN) purchase of Whole Foods (WFM) may be the initial step towards emulating the uber-successful Costco (COST) model where the bulk of profits … Read more

ETF Analysis: Banks and Financials

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Please select the image below to download the report. Tickerized for ETFs under coverage and stocks included in the XLF.

Video: Explaining the Valuentum Buying Index

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The Valuentum Buying Index (VBI) stands on the shoulders of giants in finance in uncovering investment ideas.  Brian Nelson, CFA: This is Brian Nelson from Valuentum Securities. Today, I would like to talk about our Valuentum Buying Index, the stock selection methodology that we use and apply across our entire coverage universe. But before I get into some of the specifics, I’d like to provide more or less a summary. Essentially what the Valuentum Buying Index does is it highlights undervalued stocks that are going up in price. Undervalued stocks with good momentum…Value-ntum stocks. So, at the core, the Valuentum Buying Index tries to find stocks that we think have a very strong likelihood of equity price appreciation. It breaks … Read more

Malkiel Balks, Yellen Talks

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Let’s first address how research in the financial industry is becoming more and more open to combining value and momentum considerations. We’ll also cover a few takeaways from the stress tests and some ‘strong’ talk from Fed Chair Janet Yellen. By Brian Nelson, CFA It was 1973, and a Princeton economist by the name of Burton Gordon Malkiel had just published A Random Walk Down Wall Street, a book that would turn into one of the most influential studies in support of the efficient markets hypothesis. The book would suggest that asset prices typically exhibit signs of a “random walk,” and as a result, an investor could not consistently outperform market averages in part due to powerful reversion-to-the-mean tendencies. Three … Read more

Opinion: Is Amazon Prepared to Tackle the Pharmacy Market?

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The meteoric rise of Amazon, both with respect to the breadth of its business operations and stock price, continues. On news of the rumor of its potential entry into the pharmacy market, entities speculated that may feel an impact immediately sold off. Though it’s much too early to estimate the extent of any impact Amazon’s entrance into the pharmacy market may bring, let’s take look at potential implications, courtesy of healthcare and biotech contributor Alexander J. Poulos. By Alexander J. Poulos Recent Amazon Hire Ignites Speculation Amazon (AMZN) has quietly added a leader to build an in-house Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) for its employees. Mark Lyons, formerly of Premera Blue Cross, has joined the e-commerce and web services giant, and … Read more

Valuentum’s 3 Breakthroughs in the Field of Finance and More

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Valuentum’s President Brian Nelson pauses for a picture before speaking at the CFA Society of Houston in March 2017. By Valuentum Editorial Staff Let’s cover Valuentum’s 3 major breakthroughs in the field of finance. The first one is big and may challenge you to rethink everything you think you know about investing. 1. On a logical framework, Valuentum has debunked John C. Bogle’s landmark syllogism that has paved the way for the concept of index investing. Index investing has been built on a logical shortcoming, whether supported by evidence or not. We think it is important that the investment community know of this. Read (pdf): The “Luck” and “Randomness” of Index Funds (2018), Brian Nelson, CFA See video documentation: /FALLACY_of_Index_Funds To … Read more

Dow 21,000+; Forward P/E on S&P 500 ~18!!!

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By Brian Nelson, CFA To say that the broader equity market is “extended” is an understatement. After testing the 20,000 mark on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA), stocks have now plowed through 21,000 in such a fashion that can only be compared to the euphoric trading activity of 1999 when the index surged to 11,000 from 10,000 over roughly the same time frame. Who remembers the days of the dot-com bubble? The market is clearly off its rocker, but the market isn’t always on its rocker. Stock prices under and overshoot intrinsic value all of the time. It’s a part of the markets, as much as oxygen is necessary for human life. The markets overshot to the downside during … Read more