Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week December 10

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending December 10. 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 Abbott Laboratories (ABT): now $0.47 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.45. Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE): now $1.15 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.12.  AMCON Distributing Company (DIT): now $5.00 per share special dividend, was $0.18.        Amerant Bancorp (AMTB): now $0.06 per share dividend. ARC Document Solutions (ARC): now $0.05 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.02. Aris Water Solutions (ARIS): now $0.07 per share quarterly dividend. … Read more

Raising Our Fair Value Estimate on Berkshire Hathaway, Our Thoughts on the Insurance Industry

Image Source: AIG Competitive Structure of the Insurance Industry Constituents in the insurance industry earn revenues primarily from insurance premiums, policy fees from life insurance/investment products, and income from investments. Operating expenses consist of policyholder benefits and claims incurred, interest credited to policyholders, commissions and other costs of servicing products, as well as general business expenses. An insurer’s profitability is dependent on its ability to price and manage risk on insurance and annuity products, to manage its portfolio of investments effectively, and to control costs through expense discipline. The insurance industry is highly competitive, with rivals numbering in the thousands–including stock companies, specialty insurance organizations, life insurers, mutual companies, other underwriting firms, and banks. Though risk-acceptance criteria, product pricing, and … Read more

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

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

There Is Milk At The Store

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

2,350-2,750 on the S&P? Could the Coronavirus Catalyze a Financial Crisis?

Image: We think a rather modest sell-off in the market to the target range of 2,350-2,750 on the S&P 500 is rather reasonable in the wake of one of the biggest economic shocks since the Global Financial Crisis. The chart above shows how far markets have advanced since 2011, and an adjustment lower to the target range of 2,350-2,750 is rather modest in such a context and would only bring markets to late 2018 levels (note red box as the target range). The range reflects ~16x S&P 500 12-month forward earnings estimates, as of February 14, adjusted down 10% due to COVID-19. When companies like Visa talk about a couple percentage points taken off of growth rates, one knows that … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of December 9

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending December 9. 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                Abbott Laboratories (ABT): now $0.51 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.47. ABM Industries (ABM): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.195. AGNC Investment Series C Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (AGNCN): now $0.5743 per share quarterly dividend was $0.4375. Albany (AIN): now $0.25 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.21. Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE): now $1.21 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.18. AltaGas … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of December 8

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending December 8. 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                          Albany (AIN): now $0.26 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE): now $1.27 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.24. AltaGas Ltd. (ATGFF): now CAD 0.2975 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.28. Avis Budget (CAR): now $10.00 per share special dividend. Balchem (BCPC): now $0.79 per share annual dividend, was $0.71. Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY): now $0.60 per share quarterly dividend, … Read more

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

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

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of December 13

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending December 13. 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                          Abbott Laboratories (ABT): now $0.59 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.55. AGNC Investment Corp. 6.5% DP SH PFD E (AGNCO): now $0.6326 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.4062. Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE): now $1.32 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.30. Amgen (AMGN): now $2.38 per share quarterly dividend, was $2.25. Andersons (ANDE): now $0.195 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.190. Andover Bancorp, Inc. … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending December 9

Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending December 9. 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 Abbot Laboratories (ABT): now $0.265 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.26. Agree Realty Corporation (ADC): now $0.495 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.48. Air Lease (AL): now $0.075 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.05. Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE): now $0.83 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.80. Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (APYRE): now C$0.1275 per share monthly dividend, was C$0.125. American Assets Trust (AAT): … Read more