DUK

We Continue to Be Big Fans of Ameresco

by

Update: We first covered Ameresco in detail through an article published back in August 2020 (link here) and followed up on that work in a subsequent article published in November 2020 (link here) and provided a brief update on the firm in a piece published in January 2021 (link here). Shares of AMRC have more than doubled since we published our first article covering the name as of mid August 2021, and we think there is ample room for additional capital appreciation upside.  Image Source: Ameresco Inc – August 2021 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Ameresco Inc (AMRC) provides its customers with an expansive slate of clean energy and energy efficiency solutions ranging from upgrades to energy infrastructure (e.g., battery storage, … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of July 19

by

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending July 19. 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                          Albemarle (ALB): now $0.405 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.400. Atmus Filtration Technologies Inc. (ATMU): now $0.05 per share quarterly dividend. Bank First Corporation (BFC): now $0.40 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.30. C&C Group plc (CCGPY): now $0.0817 per share semi-annual dividend. China Automotive Systems (CAAS): now $0.80 per share special dividend, was $0.18. Citigroup (C): now $0.56 per share quarterly dividend, was … Read more

There Is Milk At The Store

by

This article first appeared in the September edition of the High Yield Dividend Newsletter. For more information about this publication, please see here. “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” — Winston Churchill By Brian Nelson, CFA Very few of us could have imagined that we’d witness the bull market that began on that fateful day in March 2009 that might very well mark a generational low. In 2009, major investment banks around the globe were struggling to survive, and the fallout in the mortgage markets left the banks holding paper that nobody wanted to own, let alone buy. The global financial system … Read more

US Congress Is Getting Ready to Pass a Massive ~$2.2 Trillion Fiscal Stimulus Bill

by

Image Shown: US equities have started to recover some of their lost ground as the likelihood that the US Congress will pass a massive ~$2.2 trillion fiscal stimulus and emergency spending package, dubbed the CARES Act, has increased significantly over the past week as seen through the bounce in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). President Trump has clearly indicated that he intends to sign such a bill into law as soon as possible, with the US House of Representatives expected to take up the legislation this upcoming Friday morning on March 27. By Callum Turcan On March 25, the US Senate worked late into the night to secure a bipartisan compromise on a massive ~$2.2 trillion fiscal stimulus … Read more

NextEra Energy’s Promising Earnings Growth Outlook Underpins Dividend Growth Trajectory

by

Image Source: NextEra Energy Inc – Third Quarter of 2021 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan On October 20, the electric utility firm NextEra Energy Inc (NEE) reported third quarter 2021 earnings that missed consensus top-line estimates but beat consensus bottom-line estimates. The company reaffirmed its medium-term guidance in conjunction with its earnings report. We include shares of NEE in the ESG Newsletter portfolio and continue to be huge fans of the name. NextEra Energy’s capital appreciation and dividend growth upside potential is quite substantial. Our fair value estimate for shares of NEE stands at $102 per share with room for upside, as the top end of our fair value estimate range sits at $124 per share of NextEra Energy. … Read more

Top Research and Ideas You May Have Missed

by

Is Quant Value Giving Intrinsic Value Investors a Bad Name? Surely, you don’t believe Warren Buffett’s “style” is out of favor? By Brian Nelson, CFA I need to make sure that you’re aware of something very important. The media and perhaps many investment professionals define the concept of “value” as companies with low price-to-book (P/B) ratios, and the concept of “growth” as companies with high price-to-book ratios. This definition of “value” and “growth” and their corresponding returns have been magnified in writings throughout the media and across quantitative research, even in prestigious journals. Warren Buffett has been rallying against most quantitative applications and how “growth” and “value” are defined in popular media and quantitative research for decades.  Here’s one of the Oracle’s most … Read more

VBI Ratings Not as Impressive As We Would Have Liked in 2022

by

Image: How the VBI rating system has ranked equities so far this year. By Brian Nelson, CFA At Valuentum, we use the Valuentum Buying Index (VBI) to source ideas into diversified simulated newsletter portfolios, and the VBI may be most applicable to the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, where we generally like to include ideas when they register a high VBI rating and remove them when they register a low VBI rating. We always use the VBI in a portfolio setting and never by itself. But what about the Valuentum Buying Index ratings, themselves? How did they “perform” during 2022 in one of the worst years for stock market investors in history? Well, not as spectacular as we would have … Read more

VIDEO/TRANSCRIPT: 2021 Valuentum Exclusive Call: Inflation Is Good

by

Valuentum’s President Brian Michael Nelson, CFA, explains why investors should not fear inflation, why government agencies such as the Fed and Treasury are prioritizing something other than price discovery, why the 10-year Treasury rate is a must-watch metric, and why Valuentum prefers the moaty constituents in large cap growth due to their net cash rich balance sheets, tremendous free cash flow generating potential, and secular growth tailwinds. Transcript: << Valuentum’s Best Ideas On behalf of the Valuentum team, I’d like to present to you our prepared remarks for the Valuentum Exclusive conference call for 2021. It is both an honor and a privilege to share our team’s work with you, and I personally am very grateful for your continued interest … Read more

ICYMI — Shocking?!?! Utility Dividends Aren’t Always Safe

by

There is plenty to like about the business models of utilities. Regulated utilities, for one, are monopolies in their operating regions, providing an essential service to businesses and customers. This, coupled with the fact that the returns of regulated utilities are set by a regulatory body within a defined ratemaking process, causes the sector to be full of operators that boast steadily-growing earnings that appear to be materially dependable. As we note in this article, however, a surprisingly large number of utilities in our coverage universe have cut their dividends in the past. Are the dividends of utilities as safe as many make them out to be? Let’s dig in. By Valuentum Analysts We frequently receive questions as to why … Read more

ICYMI — Video: Will Hasty Policy Facilitate the Next Leg Down, or Do We Have It Coming Anyway?

by

President of Investment Research and award-winning author of Value Trap: Theory of Universal Valuation Brian Nelson explains how US policymakers are stuck between a rock and a hard place, and how the market may be factoring in too high of a probability of a return to normalcy before 2021. This and more in the latest video report. Summary Make sure you review Value Trap on Amazon. Do so here. We think those that bought equities near the bottom of this swoon may be looking to take profits at present levels. The market is currently reflecting an 80%-85% probability of a return to normalcy before 2021, which we believe is too high at this time. Our main concern is that government … Read more