CPLA

Our Reports on Stocks in the For-Profit Education Industry

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Image Source: GotCredit  Structure of the Education Services Industry The higher education industry is fragmented with no single private or public institution garnering significant market share. The for-profit education space competes primarily with traditional four and two-year degree-granting accredited colleges and universities. Industry participants are exposed to significant regulation on both the federal and state level and must maintain institutional accreditation to participate in Title IV programs. Risks to federal student funding aid programs and “gainful employment” challenges pose addition threats to the business. We don’t like the significant regulatory risks of the industry. Please click on a company name below to view the corresponding equity report: Adtalem Global Education (ATGE) << Our Dividend Reports

Valuentum’s 3 Breakthroughs in the Field of Finance and More

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Valuentum’s President Brian Nelson pauses for a picture before speaking at the CFA Society of Houston in March 2017. By Valuentum Editorial Staff Let’s cover Valuentum’s 3 major breakthroughs in the field of finance. The first one is big and may challenge you to rethink everything you think you know about investing. 1. On a logical framework, Valuentum has debunked John C. Bogle’s landmark syllogism that has paved the way for the concept of index investing. Index investing has been built on a logical shortcoming, whether supported by evidence or not. We think it is important that the investment community know of this. Read (pdf): The “Luck” and “Randomness” of Index Funds (2018), Brian Nelson, CFA See video documentation: /FALLACY_of_Index_Funds To … Read more

New Taxes? Trump’s Misstep and Seeming About-Face

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Image Source: FactSet and Valuentum estimates (2019, 2020) News that Trump was considering new taxes, his failure to repeal Obamacare, and the seeming about-face on for-profit education regulations have put the probability of corporate tax reform in jeopardy, from where we stand. If we’re right, the implications on the market could be considerable… and not in a good way. Let’s talk about this in the context of current market valuations. By Brian Nelson, CFA The shot across the bow has been fired. The news came and went, and many seemed to ignore its potential massive implications. What am I talking about? As you have read by now, Donald Trump’s first major move as President has resulted in failure–a divided Republican … Read more

For-Profit Education Stocks Don’t Make the Grade

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The Valuentum analyst team discusses the challenges many for-profit institutions face, the growing student loan problem, and hopes for a less-stringent regulatory environment during the Trump administration. The team’s favorite idea in the space is also revealed. ~8 mins. If you cannot view the podcast below, please select the link or view the transcript below. Brian Nelson, CFA: According to a recent article by the Wall Street Journal, “more than 40% of Americans who borrowed from the government’s main student-loan program aren’t making payments or are behind on more than $200 billion owed.” How much is $200 billion? To put that number in perspective, it equates to wiping the entire equity value of a global bank like JP Morgan (JPM) completely … Read more

The 20 Something’s Stock Portfolio

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A version of this article appeared on our website March 31, 2015. <Our best ideas at any time are included in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio.> The “20 Something’s Stock Portfolio” is the first in a series of articles where we get to the core of what many brand new investors want to do when they are first introduced to the stock market: find exciting companies that they are familiar with that will help compound their wealth over time. Other portfolios that we will share in this series include “The Ultra High Income Portfolio,” “The Economic Castle Portfolio,” “The Dividend Cushion Portfolio,” and “The Intelligent ETF Investor’s Portfolio,” among others. The series of portfolios will … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending December 11

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending December 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 Abbot Labs (ABT): now $0.26 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.24. Avago Technologies (AVGO): now $0.44 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.42. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY): now $0.38 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.37. Buckle (BKE): now $0.25 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.23. Capella Education (CPLA): now $0.39 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.37. Croghan Bancshares, Inc. (CHBH): now $0.35 per share quarterly dividend, was … Read more

5 US-Centric Undervalued Stocks with Fantastic Economics

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“In business, I look for economic castles protected by unbreachable moats.” – Warren Buffett << Read more about Economic Castles Image Source: Rob Faulkner The see-sawing action in the US markets has not let up, with the latest wave of the upward variety. The S&P 500 (SPY), however, remains nearly 8% off its all-time highs, as global markets continue to ebb and flow with news of negative economic data followed by the prospects of an ever-easing monetary environment and so on. Several major economies across continents are in technical recession (Brazil, Canada, etc), while others continue to face a slowing pace of economic expansion, not the least of which are Australia (EWA) and China (FXI). The global economic outlook is … Read more

Dividend Increases for the Week Ending December 12

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending December 12. 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 Abbott (ABT): now $0.24 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.22. Avago Technologies (AVGO): now $0.35 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.32. Banco Latinoamericano De Comercio (BLX): now $0.385 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.35. BioMed Realty (BMR): now $0.26 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY): now $0.37 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.36. Buckle (BKE): now $0.23 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.22. Capella … Read more

Valuentum Economic Castleâ„¢ Rating Update

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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

Apollo’s 1Q 2014 Results Show Continued Enrollment Declines, Weakening Cash Flow

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Industry proxy for the ‘Education (For-Profit)’ group, Apollo (APOL) reported weak fiscal first-quarter 2014 results Wednesday. Net revenue declined to $856 million to $1.1 billion in the first fiscal quarter of last year. University of Phoenix Degreed Enrollment fell nearly 18% from the same period a year ago, while New Degreed Enrollment tumbled nearly 23%.   Image Source: Apollo Operating income dropped significantly ($169 million, was $231 million), and income from continuing operations, excluding special items, came in at $1.04 per share compared to $1.22 per share in last year’s quarter. The for-profit education provider’s cash balance shrunk to $917 million from $1.52 billion as it paid down debt. Net cash from operations fell to $129 million in the three … Read more