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Valuentum Exclusive Success Rates Trump Even the Best Quant Hedge Funds

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Image: President of Investment Research Brian Nelson, CFA By Brian Nelson, CFA A new book, “The Man Who Solved the Market,” hit bookshelves last year, and thus far it has been a hit. The text goes into the story of quant hedge fund Renaissance Technologies and its hedge fund, the Medallion Fund, which has put up mammoth returns since inception. Though the book focuses more on the life and times of founder Jim Simons and dedicated only a page or two to the fall of Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM), another quant fund that went belly-up during the late 1990s, it was nonetheless a thoroughly interesting and enjoyable read. But why I am bringing up one of the most successful quant … Read more

Procter & Gamble Appears Overvalued

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Image Shown: Shares of Procter & Gamble have been on an epic run since mid-2018, and we think shares have gotten ahead of themselves here. By Callum Turcan Consumer staples giant Procter & Gamble (PG) is a solid company that generates sizable and consistent free cash flows. However, in our view, shares of PG have gotten way ahead of themselves due to a “flight to quality” that has seen the market bid up P&G’s share price from the low $70s in April 2018 to almost $120 as of this writing. Shares of PG now yield 2.5% as of this writing and trade well above the top end of our fair value estimate range of $101 per share. Please note P&G … Read more

Johnson & Johnson’s Talc Problems Hit Another Bump

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Image Shown: Johnson & Johnson’s embattled ‘Baby Care’ segment performed poorly during the third quarter of 2019. Image Source: Johnson & Johnson – IR Presentation. By Callum Turcan Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) was back in the news Friday October 18 when the company announced it was voluntarily recalling “a single lot” of its embattled Johnson’s Baby Powder product in the US due to alleged asbestos contamination risks. The US Food and Drug Administration tested a single bottle from this lot, according to Johnson & Johnson, with the federal regulator noting that sub-trace levels (no greater than 0.00002%) of chrysotile asbestos had been detected in the bottle. Johnson & Johnson plans to vigorously contest these allegations and maintains that its talc … Read more

Johnson & Johnson Raises Full-Year Guidance Yet Again

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Image Shown: Shares of Johnson & Johnson climbed higher on October 15 after reporting a nice third quarter earnings report and raising guidance for the full year. By Callum Turcan On October 15, Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter holding Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported third-quarter 2019 earnings that were positively received by the market. The healthcare giant once again boosted full-year non-GAAP sales and EPS guidance, which we appreciate, on the back of solid performance at its ‘Pharmaceuticals’ and ‘Medical Devices’ segments. Please note that Johnson & Johnson had already raised its guidance for 2019 twice before this latest increase, which we covered in this July 2019 piece here and this April 2019 piece here. During the third … Read more

ICYMI: Interview with Valuentum’s President Brian M. Nelson, CFA

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Catch up with Valuentum’s President Brian M. Nelson, CFA in a recent interview with dividend growth investor Arne Magnus Lorentzen Ulland of the blog stockles. By Brian Nelson, CFA Recently, I was interviewed by Arne Magnus Lorentzen Ulland of the blog stockles. Arne is a dividend growth investor like many of you, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the interview he put together. I’m very grateful for his interest. His questions were fantastic. We discuss why and how I incorporate independence and integrity into the service at Valuentum. We go into detail regarding why Valuentum views stocks the way it does, and how Valuentum combines enterprise valuation and the information contained in prices in its stock-selection process. I discuss the pitfalls … Read more

Markets Swooning, Expect Extreme Volatility, Finger on Put-Option Trigger

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Image shown: We notified members December 26 that we had  moved  the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to a “fully invested” position, from a 30% and 20% cash “weighting” at the high end of the range, respectively.  — No change to simulated newsletter portfolios…at this time.  — Hi everyone, — Hope you’re navigating these tumultuous markets well.   — If you recall, during the holiday season last year, we had moved the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to “fully invested.” See image above (point of the arrow). Because many members were traveling and out of the office, not all were able to read the notification until a week or two after. They were … Read more

Facebook Was Textbook, Intel Still About Fairly Valued After Weakness

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Image: Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio holding Facebook’s (FB) stock has advanced 56% since it bottomed in December. This is yet another textbook execution of the Valuentum Buying Index, a strong breakout of the downtrend on a significantly undervalued stock. See also the example with Apple (AAPL) on page 241 in Value Trap: Theory of Universal Valuation. — In alphabetical order by ticker symbol: ABBV, AMZN, AAL, BMY, CHDN, CL, DHR, DLR, F, HON, INTC, SBUX — AbbVie (ABBV): The branded pharmaceutical business that was spun off from Abbott (ABT) continues to tread water, with shares in a steady downtrend since peaking at the beginning of 2018. We’re not interested in this company given the concentration risk of blockbuster drug Humira, and we generally … Read more

ATTN: Advisors and Planners — Disruption Is Looming

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“With the commoditization of investment advice and intense competition from robos and other more cost-efficient solutions, growth-minded advisors want to create bespoke experiences for clients.” — WealthManagement.com By Brian Nelson, CFA Hi Valuentum members, colleagues and friends, Valuentum has a large subscriber base and is one of the most successful paid subscription financial information websites launched this decade. Over the past eight years or so, individuals, financial advisors and money managers from all over the world have subscribed to our services. We pride ourselves on independence and transparency, and we’re a champion of the investor. Today, I’d like to talk directly to our financial advisor, financial planner, and professional money-manager members. You probably already heard the news yesterday: Charles Schwab, which handles … Read more

DG Newsletter Alert, Markets on a Roll! New Highs Coming?

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Image shown: We notified members December 26 that we had moved the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to a “fully invested” position, from a 30% and 20% cash “weighting” at the high end of the range, respectively. It doesn’t look like the timing could have been much better.  Changes to Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio Removing Novartis (NVS) -3.5%-5.5% Adding Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) +3.5%-5.5% By Brian Nelson, CFA The back half of 2018 was among the most exciting in Valuentum’s history. For one, we might have made one of our best “market-direction” calls since inception in practically calling the near-term bottom December 26. In hindsight, it’s clear the market had overreacted, but at the time, going to “fully … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending March 15

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending March 15. 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 Acushnet Holdings (GOLF): now $0.14 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.13. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Inc Cum Red Perp Pfd Shs Series C (ARI.PC): now $0.50 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.46. Badger Daylighting (BADFF): now CAD 0.0475 per share monthly dividend, was CAD 0.045. Center State Banks (CSFL): now $0.11 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.10. Citizens Financial Services (CZFS): now $0.445 per share … Read more