Reiterating Our $229 Fair Value Estimate for Berkshire Hathaway

Image Shown: Shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B are moving on upwards. Berkshire Hathaway Inc reported third quarter 2020 earnings this past Saturday, November 7. The insurance and industrial conglomerate reported that its GAAP income almost doubled year-over-year as its investment portfolio reported large gains. However, that masked pressures at some of Berkshire Hathaway’s myriad businesses as the company navigated the storm created by the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. Berkshire Hathaway continued to generate significant free cash flows during the first nine months of 2020, and we are reiterating our fair value estimate of $229 per share of Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares. By Callum Turcan On November 7, Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.A) (BRK.B) reported third quarter earnings for … Read more

Public Storage Continues to Shine

Image Shown: Shares of Public Storage have recovered from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic and have been on an upward climb over the past few months.   By Callum Turcan On November 4, Public Storage (PSA) reported earnings for the third quarter of 2020. As expected, headwinds created by the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic weighed on its financial performance during this period; however, that did not stop the self-storage real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) from being very free cash flow positive. The long-term outlook for the self-storage industry in metropolitan areas in the US and elsewhere remains quite promising given the desire for households to maximize living space within their housing unit at a given budget. We include shares of … Read more

Update on Johnson & Johnson

Image Shown: An overview of Johnson & Johnson’s expectations for fiscal 2021 provided during its second quarter of fiscal 2020 earnings report. We continue to like shares of Johnson & Johnson as a top-weighted holding in our Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. Image Source: Johnson & Johnson – Second Quarter of Fiscal 2020 Earnings IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is a top-weighted holding in our Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, and we continue to be big fans of the healthcare and consumer staples giant. The company recently published some key updates that we wanted to draw our members’ attention towards. Before we begin, please note that Johnson & Johnson is near the front of the pack when it … Read more

HCA’s Latest Results Indicate Healthcare Providers Are Holding Up Better Than Expected

Image Source: HCA Healthcare Inc – Second Quarter of 2020 Earnings Press Release By Callum Turcan The ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic has had a devastating impact on the financial performance of healthcare providers (operators of hospitals and other medical facilities) due to the decline in the number of elective surgeries performed. Please note elective surgeries tend to be more lucrative for healthcare providers than the other services they provide, generally speaking. Elective surgeries in many US states were indefinitely postponed when the pandemic first hit. In late March, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (‘CARES Act’) which included $100 billion in emergency funding for hospitals and healthcare providers to mitigate the financial blow from the pandemic … Read more

Johnson & Johnson Beats Estimates and Raises Guidance

Image Source: Johnson & Johnson – Second Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan On July 16, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported second quarter 2020 earnings that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Most importantly, Johnson & Johnson increased its full-year guidance for 2020 as the firm is well-prepared to ride out the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, in our view. We continue to like shares of JNJ in both the Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios. As of this writing, shares of JNJ yield ~2.7%. Guidance Boost In the upcoming graphic down below, Johnson & Johnson provides a side-by-side comparison of the firm’s previous full-year guidance for 2020 as of April 2020 versus its current … Read more

Recent Events Concerning Johnson & Johnson

Image Source: Johnson & Johnson – First Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan We include Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) as a top-weighted holding in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio and as a medium-weighted holding in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. The firm’s Dividend Cushion ratio sits at a solid 2.1, and please note that this forward-looking dividend coverage ratio factors in our expectations that Johnson & Johnson will grow its per share dividend by mid-single-digits annually over the coming years. Johnson & Johnson earns a “GOOD” Dividend Safety rating and an “EXCELLENT” Dividend Growth rating, with shares of JNJ yielding ~2.8% as of this writing. In our view, Johnson & Johnson’s strong balance sheet and high quality … Read more

ICYMI: Never Been More Bullish Even as Buffett Dumps Airlines

Image Source: IATA. Data Source: McKinsey & Company (IATA). Airlines haven’t been able to earn their estimated cost of capital for as long as we can remember. There have been hundreds of airline bankruptcies since deregulation in 1978. By Brian Nelson, CFA On Saturday, May 2, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) reported expectedly weak first-quarter results. We won’t be ditching Berkshire Hathaway’s stock in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio so long as Uncle Warren is at the helm, but there were a couple takeaways from the report that we want you to be aware of (we’ll have another more extensive note focusing more exclusively on Berkshire coming out soon). The first big piece of news, something that should not be surprising … Read more

Johnson & Johnson Beats Estimates, Adjusts Guidance in Light of COVID-19

Image Source: Johnson & Johnson – First Quarter 2020 Earnings IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On April 14, Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio holding Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) increased its quarterly dividend by over 6% sequentially to $1.01 per share which represents the firm’s 58th consecutive annual increase. We view this payout boost in the face of the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic as a sign of management’s confidence in Johnson & Johnson’s future free cash flows, which we appreciate. Shares of JNJ now yield ~2.8% as of this writing at the new annualized payout rate. Additionally, Johnson & Johnson also posted its first-quarter 2020 earnings report on April 14 which beat both consensus top- and bottom-line expectations … Read more

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) — Sky News

“The crisis gripping the town at the centre of the global COVID-19 crisis in Italy has been witnessed by Sky News’ Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay.” — Sky News Related: MRNA, INO, NVAX, BNTX, APDN, VXRT, TNXP, EBS, PFE, JNJ, DVAX, IMV, IBIO, REGN, SNY, GSK, ABBV, TAK, HTBX, SRNE

Excited By COVID-19 Vaccine Candidates

Image Shown: The race is on to find a cure, or better yet a vaccine, for COVID-19. Image Source: Pfizer Inc – First Quarter 2020 Earnings IR Presentation Key Takeaways The race for a COVID-19 cure and vaccine is rapidly evolving with a lot of exciting press releases being put forth. Gilead has taken the lead with a viable treatment, Sorrento is working toward a cure, and it seems most all of big pharma and biotech is racing to find a vaccine, from Johnson & Johnson to Sanofi/GSK and beyond. Though the evaluation of the full data set from a Phase 2 clinical trial means a lot more than the evaluation of a limited set of data from a Phase … Read more