CSCO

Malkiel Balks, Yellen Talks

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Let’s first address how research in the financial industry is becoming more and more open to combining value and momentum considerations. We’ll also cover a few takeaways from the stress tests and some ‘strong’ talk from Fed Chair Janet Yellen. By Brian Nelson, CFA It was 1973, and a Princeton economist by the name of Burton Gordon Malkiel had just published A Random Walk Down Wall Street, a book that would turn into one of the most influential studies in support of the efficient markets hypothesis. The book would suggest that asset prices typically exhibit signs of a “random walk,” and as a result, an investor could not consistently outperform market averages in part due to powerful reversion-to-the-mean tendencies. Three … Read more

Podcast: Defense Spending and the Explosion of Cyber Crime

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The Valuentum analyst team discusses trends in US and global defense spending and the explosion of Internet crime that is fueling investment in cyber security both in the public and private sectors. ~7 mins. This podcast was originally published November 3, 2016. If you cannot view the video below, please view the transcript that follows or click the link here. Software – Security: CHKP, FEYE, FTNT, IMPV, PANW, PFPT, SYMC, VRSN Aerospace & Defense – Prime: BA, FLIR, GD, LLL, LMT, NOC, RTN Brian Nelson, CFA: This is Brian Nelson for Valuentum Securities, and today I have joining me on our podcast Mr. Kris Rosemann and Mr. Chris Araos. Today, we are going to talk about the landscape for defense spending … Read more

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

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending April 7

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending April 7. 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 Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK): now $0.175 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.17. BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust (BPT): now $1.0983 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.9943. Carnival (CCL): now $0.40 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.35. Chico’s FAS (CHS): now $0.0825 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.08. Cisco (CSCO): now $0.29 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.26. Constellation Brands (STZ): now $0.52 per share quarterly … Read more

Panera Eaten Up; SeaDrill’s End, Cisco’s Dividend Hike and Much More

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Let’s go around the horn with recent investment-related news. Let’s say goodbye to Panera, talk about SeaDrill’s infamous demise, follow up on the Coach dividend saga, address Cisco’s payout strength and attractive valuation, update readers on Medtronic’s portfolio optimization initiatives, and try to reason through Tesla’s recent price surge.   By Kris Rosemann and Brian Nelson, CFA Goodbye Panera I think most of us were surprised a bit Wednesday morning, April 5, to see Panera Bread (PNRA) taken private by JAB Holding Company for $315 per share in cash. Shares of Panera started the year just above the $200 price tag, so the buyout is a nice payoff for investors that have been holding strong in the fast-casual concept. JAB … Read more

First Quarter 2017 Comes To A Close

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“Be sure to continue to study the difference between price and value—just because a stock’s price has advanced doesn’t make it more expensive if the value of its enterprise has increased at a faster rate. If you understand this concept, you may be smarter than 99.9% of the investing population.” – Brian Nelson, CFA By Brian Nelson, CFA The first quarter of 2017 came and went. Including dividends, the S&P 500 (SPY) roared nearly 6% higher during the period thanks to solid gains from the land of technology, an area that we have liked for the longest time. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) advanced more than 10% during the period, and key technology holdings in the Dividend Growth Newsletter … Read more

Dow 21,000+; Forward P/E on S&P 500 ~18!!!

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By Brian Nelson, CFA To say that the broader equity market is “extended” is an understatement. After testing the 20,000 mark on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA), stocks have now plowed through 21,000 in such a fashion that can only be compared to the euphoric trading activity of 1999 when the index surged to 11,000 from 10,000 over roughly the same time frame. Who remembers the days of the dot-com bubble? The market is clearly off its rocker, but the market isn’t always on its rocker. Stock prices under and overshoot intrinsic value all of the time. It’s a part of the markets, as much as oxygen is necessary for human life. The markets overshot to the downside during … Read more

The Next Industrial Revolution – Internet of Things

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Image Source: Skyworks Summary: ·        The Internet of Things has been called ‘the next Industrial Revolution,’ and the revolution is already well underway. ·        Explosive growth can be expected in the number of devices connected to the Internet in coming years, and the data extracted from such devices will enable businesses to make significant value creating improvements to operations. ·        The proliferation of the Internet of Things will take a combined effort from the end user of the technology to smart device manufacturers to software providers to networks. ·        The newsletter portfolios have significant exposure to early large-cap adopters of the IoT. We love the potential we see in some of our favorite names to capitalize on ‘the next Industrial … Read more

Tough Month – My Goodness

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By Brian Nelson, CFA The market rallied hard this month and seemed to leave a lot of the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio ideas behind. I’m not going to sugarcoat the results: The Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio disappointed this month, and for that I’m sorry.  A lot of it may be “explainable” in light of what happened on Election Day 2016, however. I think a lot of investors have shifted capital from the stronger dividend payers to the more-speculative ones in hopes that a new, pro-business Trump administration will be their saving grace. We hope so, but Trump cannot be President forever, and dividend growth investors should consider a long-term perspective, in my opinion, especially when it comes to compounding payouts … Read more