BPL

Linn Energy: SEC Sees Smoke…Is There Fire?

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Controversial independent oil and gas company Linn Energy (click ticker for report: ) announced Tuesday morning that the SEC has launched an informal inquiry into Linn and LinnCo (LNCO). As we previously outlined June 3, we have no interest in adding the company to the portfolio of our Dividend Growth Newsletter given the cloud of questions, poor internally-generated cash flow, and numerous downside risks. We’re retaining the firm on the watch list of our Dividend Growth Newsletter, however, as we continue to monitor developments closely. As always, our best dividend growth ideas are included in our Dividend Growth portfolio. We give credit to Linn’s management team for revealing the explicit details of the inquiry, stating in the press release: “The SEC … Read more

The Valuentum Dividend100 Publication; A Must-Have For Any Income Investor

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Dividend investors literally have thousands of income stocks to choose from. So what are they to do, and where can they go for the most trusted forward-looking opinions on dividend growth and safety? That’s the question we seek to answer with our ValuentumDividend100 publication. In this document, we showcase the top 100 high-quality, dividend growth gems within our coverage universe. Whether you’re looking to build a portfolio consisting of high-yielding, dividend-growers or simply seeking to augment it with a few income gems, the Valuentum Dividend100 is an essential resource for any income investor. We outline some of the key components of our Dividend100 publication below, and explain how you can get the most from each of one Sign Up for … Read more

MLPs Breaking Out But More Questions

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As we stated when we added exposure to the energy sector October 6 (see here), we’d be fools not to acknowledge the technical breakout in units of master limited partnerships the past few weeks. The group still has a long way to go to get back to “even,” but for the sake of retirees who are “DRIPping” into these equities, we sincerely hope some losses can be recuperated. Our experience tells us, however, that the road won’t be an easy one, but we are hoping chartists will be piling into units in the coming days. Fundamental investors may not be aware of this “technical” catalyst to come, but the breakout could be a big one. MLP investors have lost so … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending November 11

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending November 11. 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 AAON (AAON): now $0.13 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.11. Acadia Realty Trust (AKR): now $0.26 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. AmerisourceBergen (ABC): now $0.365 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.34. Atmos Energy (ATO): now $0.45 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.42. Automatic Data Processing (ADP): now $0.57 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.53. BOK Financial (BOKF): now $0.44 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.43. … Read more

How to Think About Corporate Tax Reform

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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

There Is Milk At The Store

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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

Valuentum’s Comprehensive Outlook for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Prices

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Let’s take a deep dive into the energy sector. The best dividend growth ideas, the most likely takeout candidates and more…

Midstreams Going C-Corp, Should SEC Disallow the Measure Distributable Cash Flow?

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Key Takeaways It’s important to differentiate the concept of enterprise free cash flow valuation and the idea of capital-market dependence. The uncertainty of the MLP business model remains, as it is clear operators are shunning the MLP business model preferring C-Corps instead. According to work from Global X Funds, now 40% of the energy infrastructure market cap consists of C-Corps, up considerably from just 15% at the end of 2014. Though many simplifications have come with implied distribution cuts, the primary reason for the rise in C-Corps across the midstream space has been the rationalizing of excess MLP valuations to enterprise free cash flow assessments. We encourage the SEC to consider disallowing the use of distributable cash flow, as it … Read more

Creditor Risk Aversion Rises Considerably in Energy, Metals & Mining Sectors

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Not all is well with commodity producers. Moody’s (MCO) has been very quick to point out that “the latest plunge by base metals prices and the renewed slide (in) crude oil prices are more ominous for corporate credit than was the earlier plummet by crude oil prices amid relatively steady industrial metals prices.” The credit rating agency’s industrial metals price index has dropped more than 10% in the past 20 days ending July 9, reaching levels not seen since the depths of the Financial Crisis in 2009. Moody’s industrial metals price index has fallen an incredible 25% since the same time stamp last year, something we’ve been witnessing anecdotally. The International Energy Agency recently warned that the bottom in crude oil … Read more