Newmont Surges Higher, Posts Solid Earnings Report

Image Shown: Newmont Corporation’s operational and financial performance has held up well in the face of the pandemic, relatively speaking. Image Source: Newmont Corporation – Second Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan Back on January 13, 2020, we added gold miner Newmont Corporation (NEM) to the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio at a modest weighting. Since then, shares of NEM are up ~64% as of this writing on August 6. Please note we significantly increased our fair value estimate for Newmont in July, and the firm’s updated 16-page Stock Report can be viewed here. Part of the reason for the positive revision came from Newmont expecting that it will generate greater synergies than first envisioned when it acquired Goldcorp … Read more

Our Reports on Stocks in the Diversified Mining Industry

Image Source: Peter Craven Structure of the Diversified Mining and Gold Mining Industries The diversified mining industry is highly cyclical and almost entirely commoditized, with little differentiation from one firm to the next. Rising input costs can only be passed on to consumers if industry-wide prices increase. Exploration and development require large capital investments, which could pressure cash flows during weak economic times. A miner’s position on the cost curve for each respective resource is a critical investment consideration, given the volatility of commodity prices. Though emerging market growth will be a key source of demand for years to come, we don’t like the structure of the group. Gold miners are tied to the world price of gold, which depends … Read more

Freeport-McMoRan’s Outlook Improves Considerably

Image Source: Freeport-McMoRan Inc – February 2020 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Global copper, gold, and molybdenum miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) suspended its quarterly common dividend in March 2020 and provided a revised outlook for the full-year in April 2020 due to the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic hampering both commodity prices and its operational performance. One of those hurdles involved the Peruvian government imposing restrictions on its Cerro Verde mine in March 2020 (as part of COVID-19 containment efforts), a copper mine that Freeport-McMoRan owns a ~54% stake in. Another hurdle involved the collapse in commodity prices earlier this year (though gold prices have held up quite well in 2020). First, let us provide some background before highlighting why Freeport-McMoRan’s outlook … Read more

Covering One of Newmont’s Lowest Cost Gold Mining Operations

We covered Newmont’s first quarter 2020 earnings back in early-May and continue to like the gold miner in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. Newmont’s Dividend Cushion ratio stands at 2.2 which provides for a “GOOD” Dividend Safety rating and we like the firm’s payout growth trajectory which earns the firm a “GOOD” Dividend Growth rating as well. Please note our Dividend Cushion ratio and Dividend Safety rating incorporates our expectations that Newmont will push through modest dividend increases over the coming years. By Callum Turcan Newmont Corporation (NEM) is our favorite gold miner and we added shares of NEM to our Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio back on January 13, 2020 (link here). Shares of NEM are trading in the upper … Read more

Reiterating Our Bullish Long-Term View on Stocks

Reiterating Our Bullish Long-Term View on Stocks Image: The NASDAQ 100 Index remains resilient, bouncing off support, after breaking out to new highs recently. Some of our best ideas are included in the NASDAQ 100, and our favorite concentrations include exposure to big cap tech and large cap growth. We continue to be bullish on equities for the long run. — By Brian Nelson, CFA — Hi everyone, — Hope you are doing great! First, I wanted to let you know that we’re still working to get the second release of the survey out to you. Your participation in the survey will determine whether we launch a new business, so please do fill it out and keep a watchful eye out for … Read more

ICYMI: Survey Coming Later Today, More Market Volatility Expected

ICYMI: Survey Coming Later Today, More Market Volatility Expected Image: The market’s levels of volatility so far in 2020 have been among the greatest in history. Expectations for increased volatility in the marketplace as a result of the proliferation of price-agnostic trading (indexing and quantitative trading) is a key theme of Valuentum’s text, Value Trap: Theory of Universal Valuation. We continue to emphasize the importance of due diligence, enterprise valuation, behavioral thinking, the information contained in prices, and stock selection across equity portfolios. Page 256. — Hi everyone, — Hope you all are doing great!  — Many of you have already filled out the survey, and I can’t thank you enough for that. For those that may have missed the email housing … Read more

*ALERT* Scribbles and More Newsletter Portfolio Changes

*ALERT* Scribbles and More Newsletter Portfolio Changes Image: Why are stock prices increasing while the near-term economy and near-term earnings outlook isn’t as bright as before…How unlimited quantitative easing, runaway government spending, increased inflation expectations impact equity values…Why this year’s earnings expectations or next year’s earnings expectations don’t matter much…Why Valuentum thinks equity values are rising today, even as the near-term outlook remains unclear. Scribbles on page 76 of Value Trap. — “I know it sounds crazy to say so during a global pandemic and during a recession, but the right multiple and the right earnings to use to value this market is an 18-20x multiple on $196 earnings, putting a fair value range on the S&P 500 today of 3,530-3,920. The … Read more

Valuentum Research Update

— Valuentum Research Update — Hi everyone! — Hope you all are doing great! I must say I couldn’t be more pleased with the research we’ve been putting out, and thank you very much for your continued interest. In this piece, I wanted to get some of our latest work to you.  — First, please note that we’ve done a great job holding the line on many of our fair value estimates (ranges) on our website. Many stocks have been bouncing back, and we’re glad we didn’t rush through any updates. Updating fair value estimates (ranges) too frequently doesn’t make much sense to us. We’re after the right answer, not any answer.  — Second, our team has been busy writing up some very … Read more

ICYMI — Stay Optimistic. Stay Bullish. I Am.

  Image: My great-grandfather (second from left) and his buddies in the 88th Division of the United States Army during World War I, at the time of the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1919. He would serve under Major General William Weigel, become proficient in the 37mm gun, and take part in the largest offensive in U.S. military history, the Meuse-Argonne Campaign. As a corporal, he would survive the Great War and the Spanish flu pandemic, returning to the U.S. in May 1919 from the port of Saint-Nazaire, France on his way to Omaha, Nebraska.  This article was published May 15, 2020. — New (updated June 4): We continue to encourage members to study the ‘Duration of (Stock) Value Composition’ in Value Trap: Theory of … Read more

Dow Jones Surges Past 27,000; Bull Market Continues!

Dow Jones Surges Past 27,000; Bull Market Continues! — By Brian Nelson, CFA — Hi everyone! — What a bull market off the lows we are having. I don’t think we’re finished, as I have pounded the table time and time and time again about how bullish I am. In the words of Frank Sinatra, “The Best Is Yet to Come,” and I truly believe that. Yesterday, I explained to readers why we’re seeing this huge rally, “Stay Optimistic. Stay Bullish. I Am.”  — If you understand the duration and composition of equity value (page 74-83 in Value Trap), you can start focusing on what drives share prices and returns. How else could a market rally this much with 13% unemployment, right? How wonderful it … Read more