Valuentum Economic Castleâ„¢ Rating Update

Read: Keeping the Horse Before the Cart: Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ Rating The Economic Castle Focuses on the Magnitude of Economic Value Creation The Valuentum Economic Castle™ rating is an enhancement of the competitive advantage framework (commonly known as economic moat analysis) that has become widespread and ubiquitous within the investing world. Whereas an economic moat framework evaluates a firm on the basis of the sustainability and durability of its competitive advantages, Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ rating evaluates a firm on the basis of the firm’s future economic profit spread (return on invested capital less its weighted average cost of capital). The companies with the strongest Valuentum Economic Castle™ ratings are poised to generate the most economic value for shareholders in the … Read more

Surveying Fourth Quarter Earnings at Health Care Firms

The broader equity markets have been under pressure for much of January, and while it may be tempting to consider completely exiting stock investing for a time, we’re staying the course with both of our actively-managed portfolios. We had been expecting a contraction in price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples across the broader market (see our outlook here), and the performance thus far in 2014 has not been surprising. In case you may have missed it, I sent out some very important thoughts over the weekend to keep in mind as uncertainty and volatility increase through the course of 2014: Stay focused on @Valuentum portfolio holdings (best ideas), #asset allocation (cash) in portfolios and #prudence in allocating new capital. — Brian Nelson, CFA … Read more

Dividend Increases for the Week Ending August 2 Included Illinois Tool Works and Union Pacific

Below we provide a list of firms that upped their dividends for the week ending August 2. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports, please click here. Arbor Realty Trust (ABR): $0.13 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.12. B&G Foods (BGS): now $0.32 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.29. Carlisle Companies (CSL): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.20. CBOE Holdings (CBOE): now $0.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.15. Chemed Corporation (CHE): now $0.20 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.18. Comfort Systems: (FIX): now $0.055 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.05. Energizer Holdings (ENR): now $0.50 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.40. Ethan Allen Interiors … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of August 4

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending August 4. 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 States Water (AWR): now $0.43 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.40. Artisan Partners Asset Management (APAM): now $0.61 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.50. Atlas Energy Solutions (AESI): now $0.20 per share quarterly dividend. Bank7 (BSVN): now $0.21 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.16. Berry (BRY): now $0.14 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.12. BP (BP): now $0.4362/ADS dividend, was $0.3966. BTS Group … Read more

Nelson: The 16 Most Important Steps To Understand The Stock Market

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

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of August 2

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending August 2. 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 States Water (AWR): now $0.4655 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.4300. Ardmore Shipping (ASC): now $0.38 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.31. Barret Business (BBSI): now $0.08 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.075, on a split-adjusted basis. Black Diamond Group (BDIMF): now CAD 0.03 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.02. Boise Cascade (BCC): now $0.21 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.20. BP … Read more

More Optimizing to Maximize the Value

We continue to help readers find some of our best ideas for consideration, and some of the companies in this article didn’t make the cut for our long-term perspective. We’re allocating resources elsewhere. By The Valuentum Team Altaba (AABA) Verizon has completed its acquisition of Yahoo’s operating assets, leaving behind an investment company now named Altaba. In June 2017, Yahoo sold its operating business to Verizon for ~$4.5 billion, leaving behind a publicly traded investment company that was renamed Altaba. Since the company’s assets are primarily equity investments, short-term debt investments, and cash, it was required to register as an investment company. The deal with Verizon did not include Yahoo’s stakes in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan, its primary investments, or … 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

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending August 2

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending August 2. 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 Alexander & Baldwin (ALEX): now $0.19 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.165. AllianceBernstein (AB): now $0.56 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.49. American States Water (AWR): now $0.305 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.275. Apollo Global Management (APO): now $0.50 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.46. Arbor Realty Trust (ABR): now $0.29 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.28. Artisan Partners Asset Management (APAM): now $0.60 per … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week August 7

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending August 8. 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 Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure (AY): now $0.42 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.41. AudioCodes (AUDC): now $0.14 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.13. Badger Meter (BMI): now $0.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.17. Brookfield Renewable (BEPC): now $0.434 per share quarterly dividend. Cable One (CABO): now $2.50 per share quarterly dividend, was $2.25. CAI International (CAI): now $0.25 per share quarterly dividend. Carlisle (CSL): now $0.525 … Read more