Johnson & Johnson Raises Full-Year Guidance Yet Again

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

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

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending May 24

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending May 24. 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 Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS): now $0.09 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.08. American Tower (AMT): now $0.92 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.90. Ashland (ASH): now $0.275 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. AXA Equitable Holdings (EQH): now $0.15 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.13. Canadian Banc Corp (CNDCF): now CAD 0.0948 per share monthly dividend, was CAD 0.09. Cineplex (CPXGF): now CAD 0.15 per share … Read more

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

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

Mortgage REITs Floundering, More Reports

In alphabetical order by company name: NLY, CAKE, CLX, CVS, EL, PBI, PSA, QCOM, O, SMG  — Annaly Capital (NLY): We’ve been warning about the mortgage REITs (REM) for as long as we can remember, and we just issued yet another warning recently about the sustainability of group’s dividends. These equities are high-risk, and they’ve been underperformers for years. On May 1, Annaly Capital pre-announced a dividend cut to $0.25 per share, down from $0.30 per share previously. Economic leverage at the mREIT was 7x at the end of the quarter, and mortgage market dynamics remain as difficult to predict as ever. CEO Kevin Keyes characterized the current environment as one hindered by a “flattening yield curve and compressed spreads.” Buyer … Read more

ATTN: Advisors and Planners — Disruption Is Looming

“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?

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

Valuentum’s Stock and Data Screens and Screeners

Let’s go over where to find Valuentum’s stock and data screens and screeners. We believe our stock screeners are among the most robust when it comes to providing forward-looking data, and our data comes straight from our enterprise discounted cash flow models that we use to derive a company’s fair value estimate. By The Valuentum Team In late 2017, we made the decision to transition to providing an updated Excel download each week to members in order to allow them to facilitate any combination of screening criteria they want with respect to our vast amounts of data, whether it be the Valuentum Buying Index, the Dividend Cushion ratio or other. What we’ve found out the past 15 months or so … Read more

Kraft-Heinz Blows Up, More Updates!

Image shown: The rating history of Kraft-Heinz (KHC). Valuentum members were warned in advance of this pricey equity in 2016/2017, and the VBI rating never advanced past 5 since then after registering a 1, the worst rating, on two separate occasions. Dear members, I wanted to first of all welcome our new members. There have been a lot of new ones during the past few weeks. Thank you. The buzz might be coming from the new book launch, Value Trap. If you haven’t read the book yet, please do so here. Members can get the pdf digital download today at 25% off. For new members, reading this book is simply par for the course to get a feel for how we look at … Read more

In The News: M&A Activity, Clorox Offsets Cost Headwinds, Sony Cuts Expectations

Let’s take a look at some of the top stories around the markets February 4. By Kris Rosemann Shares of Ultimate Software Group (ULTI) jumped on the announcement of its agreement to be taken private by a consortium of investors led by Hellman & Friedman for $331.50 per share, or roughly $11 billion. We like the deal for Ultimate Software shareholders as it represents a material premium to both our fair value estimate for shares and its recent share price levels. Microcap developer and manufacturer of energy solutions Maxell Technologies (MXWL) has agreed to be acquired by Tesla (TSLA) for $4.75 per share in stock. Shares of Maxwell will be exchanged for a fraction of Tesla stock that will be … Read more