CPER

Fed Rate Decision, UAW Strike Continues, Microsoft Ups Payout

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Image Source: Mike Mozart By Brian Nelson, CFA If you’re thinking like us about the ongoing Fed rate-hiking cycle, you’re probably thinking that perhaps we’ll see another rate hike or two down the road, even if the Fed pauses at today’s September 20 meeting. However, whether the Fed pauses from here on out or executes a couple more rate hikes, it really shouldn’t matter much to long-term investors. From where we stand, the conversation about interest rates should now be shifting away from worries about elevated inflation to the future positive prospects that correspond to the work that the Fed has already done. With the market-cap weighted S&P 500 (SPY) just a stone’s throw away from all-time highs, despite aggressive … Read more

Home Depot Says Customers Remain “Resilient and Engaged”

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  Image: Home Depot’s third-quarter performance wasn’t bad. Inventories expanded, but management reiterated that its core customer remains resilient and engaged. Image Source: Home Depot By Brian Nelson, CFA On November 15, home improvement retailer The Home Depot (HD) reported strong third-quarter results that beat expectations on both the top and bottom line. Revenue advanced 5.6% in the period thanks to comparable sales growth of 4.3% and 4.5% comp expansion in the U.S. Net earnings came in at $4.24 per diluted share, showcasing 8.2% growth over the $3.92 per-share mark from last year. The firm noted that its core customer is still healthy, indicating that it has yet to feel a meaningful impact from what could be a painful decline … Read more

Shares of Lithium Producer Albemarle Are Soaring So Far In 2022

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  Image: Albemarle’s shares have rocketed higher the past few years and are soaring during 2022. By Brian Nelson, CFA On November 2, Albemarle Corp. (ALB) reported mixed third-quarter results that showed a modest miss on the top line versus consensus estimates, but a strong showing on the bottom line that beat what most analysts were looking for. Through the close of November 4, Albemarle’s shares have advanced more than 20% so far this year, and we think there may be more room to run based on the high end of our fair value estimate range ($300 per share). For those just getting familiar with key ideas in the simulated ESG Newsletter portfolio, here is some background on Albemarle’s operations … Read more

Newmont Reports Challenging 3Q, But the Stock Is a Key Diversifier in the Dividend Growth Newsletter Portfolio

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Image Source: Newmont Mining By Brian Nelson, CFA Gold has not necessarily lived up to its merits as an inflation hedge recently, with the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD) falling nearly 10% so far this year, but that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t have valuable diversification qualities; the market, as measured by the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (SPY), is down over 19% through November 1. Our favorite gold miner and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio holding, Newmont Corp (NEM) has fared worse this year, but we still like it as a key diversifier in the newsletter portfolio. Newmont Corp reported third-quarter results November 1 that weren’t great, but management noted that it remains on track to “achieve full-year guidance of … Read more

South32 Continues to Improve Its Asset Base

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Image Source: South32 – October 2021 Sierra Gorda Acquisition IR Presentation By Callum Turcan South32 (SOUHY) represents one of our favorite ideas in the mining space, and we include shares of SOUHY as an idea in the new ESG Newsletter portfolio (more on that here). We view both South32’s capital appreciation and income generation upside quite favorably, keeping in mind the firm has a variable dividend policy that is subject to foreign currency movements. On a scale of 1-100 (with 100 being the best), South32 earns a nice ESG rating of 93 (based on our proprietary ESG rating matrix) as the miner continues to pivot towards commodities that will be essential to making the green energy revolution possible. Before we … Read more

Newmont’s Third Quarter Earnings Disappoints Though Management Remains Very Shareholder Friendly

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Image Shown: Though Newmont Corporation’s third quarter earnings disappointed, the gold miner remains very shareholder friendly. Image Source: Newmont Corporation – Third Quarter of 2021 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan One of our favorite mining plays is the gold miner Newmont Corporation (NEM), which has producing assets around the world including in Australia (EWA), Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Mexico (EWW), Peru, Suriname, Canada (EWC), and the US. Newmont has a robust development pipeline in those countries via new producing mines and expansion projects (roughly 88% of Newmont’s reserves are in the Americas and Australia), along with potential upside in Japan, Ethiopia, Colombia, and elsewhere. The company’s management team is incredibly shareholder friendly (its quarterly payout has grown from … Read more

Favorite Miner Newmont Shines Bright

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Image Source: Newmont Corporation – June 2021 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On January 13, 2020, we added shares of Newmont Corporation (NEM) as an idea to the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio (link here). The gold miner has a top-notch asset base located in favorable mining jurisdictions with ample reserves to maintain and potentially grow its production base over the coming years. Other than gold, Newmont also produces silver, lead, copper, and zinc. Newmont Shines Bright as Stellar Income Growth Idea When Newmont joined the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio its quarterly dividend stood at $0.14 per share, though management had communicated on January 6, 2020, that Newmont was set to increase its quarterly payout up to $0.25 per share starting … Read more

Inflation! How to Think About Value Duration

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By Brian Nelson, CFA Investors continue to focus on the prospects of rising inflation expectations, which are impacting Treasury bond yields. The 10-year Treasury note, which is used as the foundation for discount rates within most valuation constructs, now stands at ~1.61%, up meaningfully from the ~0.5% lows set in early August 2020. The Fed/Treasury continue to be highly accommodative, and the growing market capitalization of cryptocurrencies is adding even more “new money” to the system. Investors continue to discount the longer-duration free cash flow profiles of the most speculative technology companies more aggressively. For example, the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), which is full of speculative tech names, has fallen to ~$105 per share from a 52-week high of $159.70 … Read more

Newmont Doubles Down on the “Golden Triangle”

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Image Shown: Newmont Corporation has an impressive project pipeline that will help ensure the gold miner’s production levels stay healthy over the decades to come, underpinning its promising long-term cash flow trajectory. We continue to like Newmont as an idea in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. Image Source: Newmont Corporation – March 2021 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan We include gold miner Newmont Corporation (NEM) as an idea in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. It is looking quite likely that the White House will soon sign a massive emergency spending package into law after the bill recently passed the Senate and House of Representatives. This emergency spending legislation aims to tackle the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic by providing various health care … Read more

General Electric Provides Upbeat Outlook for 2021

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Image Shown: An overview of GE’s cash flow forecasts on a divisional basis for 2021. Image Source: General Electric – Fourth Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan The ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) has weighed negatively on the industrial sector for most of 2020, before the space started to recover during the latter part of the year. On January 26, industrial conglomerate General Electric Company (GE) reported fourth quarter earnings for 2020 that beat consensus top-line estimates but missed consensus bottom-line estimates. The company’s business operating segments are broken down into its various GE Industrial divisions (‘Power,’ ‘Renewable Energy,’ ‘Aviation’ and ‘Healthcare’) and GE Capital. What really impressed us was that GE Industrial’s free cash flow came in at … Read more