CVX

The Dividend Dilemma

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One of the core tenets of the Valuentum process not only rests in the all-important price vs. value consideration (see Valuentum’s Brian Nelson talk about that here), but also in “letting winners run.” At first read, these two items appear to be at odds with each other. For example, we preach about getting stocks at a bargain, but yet, we don’t sell holdings when they start to move beyond our estimate of their fair value. What gives? At the Valuentum core, we prefer an entry point that corresponds to the time when shares have substantial valuation and pricing support (i.e. they have high Valuentum Buying Index ratings), and we prefer an exit point when shares have little valuation and pricing … Read more

Big Oil Round Up: Earnings Portal

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Our take on the major oil and gas space remains little changed as a result of second-quarter results from the majors. We continue to expect rising energy prices over the long haul, and we highly encourage new readers to take a look at our comprehensive outlook for oil and gas prices. Please access it at the following link: ‘Our Comprehensive Outlook for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Prices.’ We have a very unique thesis on the group, and for holders of exploration and production entities, we expect a long-term tailwind in investors’ favor. Generally,it’s difficult not to like many entities in the large oil and gas space. ConocoPhillips continues to execute nicely, while Exxon remains a consistently strong economic-value generator … 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

Why We’re Keeping Chevron As Our Favorite Dividend Growth Idea in Big Oil

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Our dividend growth thesis on Chevron (CVX) has been rather simple at the core: For investors seeking dividend growth exposure to Big Oil, Chevron hands-down has the most financial flexibility of all the majors – irrespective of what happens to energy prices – and therefore, we think the firm is extremely well-positioned among its peer group to have the best dividend growth prospects through the course of the multi-year (and inevitably volatile) energy price cycle. A look at a breakdown among the net cash positions across the energy majors in the third quarter of last year, for example, shows Chevron with a net-neutral net cash position, while its peers BP (BP), Exxon (XOM), ConocoPhillips (COP) and Shell (RDS) all revealed … Read more

Dividend Increases for the Week Ending May 2

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending May 2. 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 Airgas (ARG): now $0.55 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.48. American Campus Communities (ACC): now $0.38 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.36. Ameriprise Financial (AMP): now $0.58 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.52. BB&T Corporation (BBT): now $0.24 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.23. Chevron (CVX): now $1.07 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.00. CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust (CORR): now $0.129 per share quarterly distribution, was $0.125 … Read more

Thank you…

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By Brian Nelson, CFA Earlier this week, I received an email from a colleague and valued member of our services. I wanted to share it here for others to read. I haven’t included his name, but if he wants me to, I can add it in. It is filled with wisdom, experience and kindness. And it really made my year to read his words. The Valuentum community, I believe, is the best community of investors out there. Sir, if you do happen to read your own email on our site, we very much have appreciated your feedback, and we hope to continue to live up to your praises. We are dedicated, and our team has been rejuvenated by your words. … Read more

Deciphering Valuentum’s Dividend Lingo

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On January 25, Barron’s published an article called “Get Lucky: IQT’s Lucky 13 Portfolio.” In it, the publisher talked about the reasoning behind why 13 dividend-paying stocks were highlighted in the article. Let’s walk through the reasoning behind these 13 stocks and how the assessment of some of these dividend picks applies the Valuentum Dividend Cushion framework (click here), in part or in whole. Valuentum’s Brian Nelson also gives his quick thoughts on the comments of each company as if he were training a new analyst on how to interpret the article from an analytical standpoint. Abbott Labs (ABT): “a solid anchor position for any portfolio…Free operating cash flow is three times its dividend.” Nelson’s thoughts: Abbott is clearly a … Read more

Chevron’s Balance Sheet Slowly Losing Luster

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Energy giant Chevron (CVX) posted lackluster fourth-quarter results Friday. Though we were largely expecting the results (given the preannouncement earlier this month), we were quite disappointed with the performance of the company’s balance sheet, as the firm has now swung from a net cash position to a net debt position. Part of the reason we hold Chevron in the portfolio of the Dividend Growth Newsletter originates from its pristine balance sheet, which we view as a necessity for us to hold onto a commodity-producing entity through the course of the economic cycle (especially for dividend growth). However, we can’t really say Chevron’s balance sheet is pristine anymore, as its $16.2 billion in cash at the end of 2013 now falls … Read more