DOW

Dividend Increases for the Week Ending November 14

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending November 14. 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 Automatic Data Processing (ADP): now $0.49 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.48. CBL & Associates Properties (CBL): now $0.265 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.245. Dow Chemical (DOW): now $0.42 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.37. General Growth Properties (GGP): now $0.17 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.16. Griffon (GFF): now $0.04 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.03. Group 1 Automotive (GPI): now $0.19 per share quarterly … Read more

Rio Tinto Remains One of Our Favorite Ideas for Commodities Exposure

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Firms in commodities-driven industries are notoriously difficult to value–not only is there execution risk related to their cost structures but the price they receive for the respective commodities that they produce is cyclical—and driven by external factors beyond their individual control. For example, BHP Billiton (BHP) can’t necessarily raise its prices on standard-grade iron-ore at a high-single-digit pace unless the market colludes (others follow along with its price hike). This is unlike a company such as Hershey (HSY) that can hike prices almost at will to offset rising cocoa costs. That’s why commodities firms can only carve out competitive advantages by being the low-cost provider (their prices are set by the marketplace). Though it is more difficult for a commodities-producing … 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

PPG Posts Record Third Quarter Results; Our Favorite Idea in the Chemicals Industry

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Our favorite fundamental chemical idea PPG Industries (PPG) reported record third-quarter results Thursday. Net sales jumped 17% versus the prior year (about 4% organic expansion), and the firm posted record adjusted earnings per diluted share from continuing operations of $2.44, up an impressive 30%+ from the year-ago period (shown right). We liked the operating leverage inherent in performance as well as the firm’s ability to hit the ground running with impactful transactions. The company noted that aerospace and automotive OEM coatings, both up about 10%, were the key drivers behind PPG’s top-line expansion, though other business lines did contribute as well, including the company’s architectural coatings operations. Volume trends improved in all regions of the world, and the firm’s cost-reduction … Read more

Dow Chemical and DuPont Slash Jobs

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Chemical products firms Dow Chemical (click ticker for report: ) and DuPont (click ticker for report: ) announced significant job cuts after both reported terrible third-quarter results this week. Dow plans to cut roughly 2,400 positions, or about 5% of its workforce, and shut down about 20 manufacturing plants, while DuPont’s restructuring will eliminate 1,500 jobs globally in the next 12 to 18 months. The headline performance of both firms’ quarterly reports was appalling. Dow’s net profit tumbled 35% as pricing declines overwhelmed a modest increase in volume, while DuPont’s net income tumbled to just $10 million from $452 million in the prior-year period. Though DuPont boasts a higher Valuentum Dividend Cushion score than that of Dow Chemical, we’re not anxious to … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of July 25

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending July 25. 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                          Archrock (AROC): now $0.21 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.19. Arrow Financial (AROW): now $0.29 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.28. Blackstone (BX): now $1.03 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.93. Cashmere Valley Bank (CSHX): now $0.95 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.90. CB Financial Services (CBFV): now $0.26 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. ChipMOS (IMOS): now $0.836 per share American depositary share, … Read more

The Price-to-Earnings Ratio Demystified

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By Brian Nelson, CFA The Price-to-Earnings Ratio Demystified The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio seems so easy, right? The trailing P/E is just the price per share of the stock divided by the annual net diluted earnings per share the firm generated in its last fiscal (calendar) year. The forward P/E is the price per share of the stock divided by next fiscal (calendar) year’s annual net diluted earnings per share of the firm (or the forward 12-month period). The P/E ratio is probably the most well-known measure to help investors compare how cheap or expensive a firm’s shares are, as stock prices, for lack of a better term, are arbitrary. For example, stocks such as Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), which … 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

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending January 31

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending January 31. 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 1st Constitution Bancorp (FCCY): now $0.09 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.075. Alaska Air (ALK): now $0.375 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.350. ALLETE (ALE): now $0.6175 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.5875. AmerisourceBergen (ABC): now $0.42 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.40. Anthem (ANTM): now $0.95 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.80. Apartment Investment (AIV): now $0.41 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.39. Apollo Global … Read more