Top ESG Idea South32 Getting Closer to Launching Major Mining Project in Arizona

Image Shown: South32 is targeting ample zinc, lead, and silver resources at the Hermosa project in Arizona that could be quite economical to extract should the Australian-based miner move forward with the endeavor. Image Source: South32 – January 2022 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Shares of South32 (SOUHY), one of our favorite miners, are up over 50% during the past year as of this writing and that is before taking dividend considerations into account. The Australian miner has a bright outlook after shedding virtually all its thermal coal assets last calendar year (completed in June 2021) and announcing in October 2021 that it would acquire a sizable economic interest in a Chilean copper mine. As a quick housekeeping item, South32’s … Read more

China Trouble: Plenty of Pain to Go Around

Global stock markets have struggled mightily over the past few weeks, mostly in conjunction with the Federal Reserve hinting at a possible change in monetary policy. There have also been signs that global economic expansion is starting to weaken (read the World Bank’s lowered global outlook for GDP growth here), particularly in China–something we had identified a number of weeks ago as cause for concern prompting us to add protection to our Best Ideas portfolio at that time. It’s clear from recent data that economic growth in China will no longer be in the 9-11% range that the market has grown accustomed to, and it is our view that expansion will never return to such a pace due simply to the size of the country (absent, of course, during a recovery in the event that a deep recession does occur). … Read more

There Is Milk At The Store

This article first appeared in the September edition of the High Yield Dividend Newsletter. For more information about this publication, please see here. “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” — Winston Churchill By Brian Nelson, CFA Very few of us could have imagined that we’d witness the bull market that began on that fateful day in March 2009 that might very well mark a generational low. In 2009, major investment banks around the globe were struggling to survive, and the fallout in the mortgage markets left the banks holding paper that nobody wanted to own, let alone buy. The global financial system … Read more

BHP Group Shakes Up Long-Term Strategy

Image Source: BHP Group Ltd – Full Fiscal Year 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan Though the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19) pandemic has stymied economic activity in about every country worldwide, the stimulus-driven rebound in China (with an eye towards its resurgent construction activity) combined with supply disruptions in key commodity producing regions has seen the price of several metals bounce higher over the past few months. For instance, copper prices on the London Metal Exchange (‘LME’) recently hit a two-year high and COMEX silver prices have been surging higher (I, II) this year. Background A lot of global copper consumption comes from construction related activities and building power grids (distribution and transmission systems), with about half of the world’s … Read more

Shares of Our Favorite Miner South32 Skyrocketed During Past Year

Image Shown: South32, an idea in our ESG Newsletter portfolio and one of our favorite miners, put up tremendous financial performance during the first half of fiscal 2022 as it capitalized on surging realized prices for its commodities sales. Image Source: South32 – First Half of Fiscal 2022 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan Shares of the American depository receipts (‘ADRs’) of one of our favorite miners, South32 (SOUHY), have put up tremendous performance during the past year. According to data provided by Yahoo! Finance, shares of SOUHY are up over 50% during the past year on a price only basis while the S&P 500 (SPY) is up ~9% on a price only basis during this period as of late … Read more

Valuentum’s Joint Outlook for the Railroad and Coal Industries

Key Takeaways: North American railroads operate as an oligopoly, benefit from substantial barriers to entry, and boast significant pricing power. Free cash flow generation trends are strong at the largest operators–Union Pacific (UNP) and Canadian National (CNI)–but industry-wide free cash flow margins (free cash flow divided by revenue) average in the mid-single-digits as elevated maintenance capital costs weigh on conversion rates. Canadian National and Union Pacific are currently the most efficient operators (as measured by their respective operating ratios), while Genessee & Wyoming (GWR) and Canadian Pacific (CP) trail the pack. Coal is the single most important commodity to the railroads, accounting for more than 20% of class I railroad freight revenue. Though US coal volumes should advance over the … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week February 25

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending February 25. 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 Aaron’s (AAN): now $0.1125 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.1000.           Agnico Eagle (AEM): now $0.40 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.35. Albemarle (ALB): now $0.395 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.390. Alexander & Baldwin (ALEX): now $0.19 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.18. Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN): now $0.21 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.19. AMERISAFE (AMSF): now $0.31 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.29. Apple … Read more

Seeking Balance: What’s Happening in the Crude Oil and Iron Ore Markets

Image Source: Sollven Melindo Commodity prices are notoriously volatile as the global markets often struggle to maintain a sustainable balance of supply-demand. Let’s take a look at some recent developments and coming events that are impacting the prices of crude oil and iron ore. By Kris Rosemann We’re not rushing to add any commodity-based exposure at the moment. We have some of course – but we’re not looking to add more to the newsletter portfolios. For starters, the iron ore pricing market appears to be setting itself up for another period of pain, and we’re preaching serious levels of caution for those considering the space as iron-ore prices have already begun to descend from the peak of the puzzling early-2017 … Read more

Update: Frequently Asked Questions About Valuentum Securities, Inc.

What is Valuentum Securities? Valuentum (val∙u∙n∙tum) [val-yoo-en-tuh-m] Securities Inc. is an independent investment research publisher, offering premium equity reports and dividend reports, as well as commentary across all sectors/companies, a Best Ideas Newsletter (spanning market caps, asset classes), a Dividend Growth Newsletter, modeling tools/products, and more. Independence and integrity remain our core, and we strive to be a champion of the investor. Valuentum is based in the Chicagoland area. Valuentum is not a money manager, broker, or financial advisor. Valuentum is a publisher of financial information. How do I subscribe to Valuentum’s investment research services? 1)    Click the following link: signup-page. 2)    Select your membership plan. 3)    Enter your contact details. 4)    Click ‘Sign Up.’ 5)    Complete your purchase. 6)   Your payment profile may be recurring, so please check … Read more