DNKN

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

Restaurant Industry Update

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The fast-food (quick-service) breakfast wars have intensified. It has become a high-stakes game for all participants, and most have gone all-in to capture market share, to use poker parlance. The NPD Group, a leading global information firm, noted that the pace of expansion for fast-food breakfast across the restaurant industry has been a key bright spot, and executives across the industry are taking note: Quick service, which accounts for about 80 percent of total restaurant morning meals, showed the strongest increase in breakfast visits of all restaurant segments with a 4 percent increase in the year ending December 2013 period compared to year ago, reports NPD CREST, which every day tracks how consumers use restaurants and other foodservice outlets. Morning … Read more

I’d rather lose half of my clients than lose half of my clients’ money.

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“I’d rather lose half of my clients than lose half of my clients’ money.” – Jean-Marie Eveillard (First Eagle Global) Josh Brown, who runs the blog The Reformed Broker, wrote an excellent piece today on how irrational clients and customers can bring down even the best of money managers. We think it’s a very informative read. Pasted below is an excerpt from the intro, accompanied by the list of the top 25 most overvalued stocks on the market today on the basis of our research. There is a link to continue reading the piece from Josh at the bottom of the table, too.  Something tells me there are some serious blow-ups on the horizon for professional managers. I feel this … Read more

Starbucks’ Investors Are Forgetting That Coffee Costs Can Go Back Up; Shares Lack Valuation Support

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Starbucks (SBUX) has one of the strongest and most-recognized brands in the world. We think its brand name is largely responsible for it being able to charge lofty prices on its coffees and drinks, despite significant competition in each of its markets. Starbucks’ fiscal first-quarter results (ending December 29, 2013) reminded us of this solid position, which appears to be nearing impregnability given the strong pace of traffic trends and profit improvements. The coffee giant announced Thursday that it experienced 12% revenue growth during its fiscal first quarter thanks to strong holiday sales and solid store traffic, which drove quarterly revenue to a record $4.2 billion. Even though prices for its beverages are set at premium levels, the firm is … Read more

Will Chipotle Serve Breakfast?

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Amid news about the lack of Fed tapering and the launch of Apple’s iPhone 5S (click ticker for report: ), news broke that fast food chain Chipotle (click ticker for report: ) was testing coffee products at one of its Washington, D.C. locations. Naturally, the question arises: is Chipotle going to serve breakfast? Why We Think It’s a Great Idea There’s little doubt that the consistent comparable same-store sales growth from the likes of Panera (click ticker for report: ), Chipotle, and Noodles & Co. (NDLS) suggests that meals eaten outside of the house continue to rise. At the moment, we’re comfortable saying that McDonald’s (click ticker for report: ) possesses the strongest breakfast offering with a mix of inexpensive … Read more

Starbucks Posts Fantastic Fiscal Fourth Quarter; 2012 and 2013 are Looking Even Better

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Starbucks (SBUX) reported strong fiscal fourth-quarter results after the close Thursday that showed excellent same-store sales expansion and an improved business outlook, despite higher coffee costs. We’re sticking with our $32 per share fair value estimate, as we had expected the strong results. Total revenues, on a comparable 13-week basis, jumped about 15%, while earnings per share increased 16% to a record $0.37, excluding non-recurring items (above expectations). Global comps jumped 9% on a comparable 13-week basis thanks to a 6% jump in traffic and a 3% increase in ticket prices (US comps increased 10%, while international comps advanced 6%). Such growth accelerated from previous periods, as for the full fiscal year 2011, global comps increased 8% and came in … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending February 5

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending February 5. 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 3M (MMM): now $1.11 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.025. A-Mark (AMRK): now $0.07 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.05. Allegion (ALLE): now $0.12 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.10. Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM): now $0.30 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.28. Armada Hoffler Properties (AHH): now $0.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.17. AvalonBay Communities (AVB): now $1.35 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.25. … Read more

Nelson: The 16 Most Important Steps To Understand The Stock Market

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A previous version of this article appeared on our website July 21, 2013. Refreshed and updated throughout, as of July 2018. By Brian Nelson, CFA After earning my MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and training stock and credit analysts from large organizations over the past decade or so, I have heard just about every question (though I admit I am still surprised by many things and remain a very humble student of the markets). I’ve also spent years perfecting the discounted cash flow process for large research organizations such as Morningstar and studied under one of the most famed aggressive growth investors of all time, Richard Driehaus. My knowledge runs the gamut from value through … Read more