GM

In the News: Musk, Facebook, and GameStop

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We’re not sure that Tesla has things figured out. Social media entities, including one of our favorites Facebook, have fallen on hard times given negative sentiment. GameStop could sell itself for a significantly higher price than what the market is currently willing to exchange shares. By Brian Nelson, CFA Let’s get one thing straight: we have a tremendous amount of respect for Elon Musk. He is a tremendously successful person and entrepreneur, but some of the things he has done during the past few months have been puzzling. We think we might be able to understand some of the pressures involved in running a business and trying to satisfy a growing list of customers (and skeptics), but what makes Elon … Read more

Valuentum’s Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) Distribution

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The weighted average cost of capital is one of the most subjective measures in corporate finance, but it is also one of the most important ones. “The most important item over time in valuation is obviously interest rates…If interest rates are destined to be at low levels…It makes any stream of earnings from investments worth more money. The bogey is always what government bonds yield….Any investment is worth all the cash you’re going to get out between now and judgment day discounted back. The discounting back is affected by whether you choose interests rates like those of Japan or interest rates like those we had in 1982…When we had 15 percent short-term rates in 1982, it was silly to pay … Read more

General Motors Pops on SoftBank Deal; Dollar General Drops on Weak Customer Traffic

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We continue to believe that General Motors is one of the most attractively priced equity considerations in the market today, on the basis of its dividend yield and price-to-earnings ratio. Though Dollar General’s first-quarter results weren’t up to par, we continue to like the discount retailer. Dollar General may be more resilient than other retailers in the face of e-commerce competition and under a scenario where the economy may head south. By Brian Nelson, CFA On May 31, simulated newsletter portfolio ideas General Motors (GM) and Dollar General (DG) were in the news. General Motors is included in both the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and the simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, while Dollar General is only included in the … Read more

Study: Valuentum’s Best Ideas Newsletter Portfolio

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To read the study, please click on the image to download the pdf document (pdf).

ICYMI: Valuentum’s Improved Stock and ETF Web Pages

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Valuentum has rolled out improved stock and ETF web pages on its website valuentum.com/. Now, subscribers can access key proprietary information on the stock and ETF web pages in addition to the customary stock and ETF reports. Dear reader, We have some exciting news that we can’t wait to share with you! At valuentum.com/, we have rolled out new stock and ETF pages that conveniently include a variety of our proprietary metrics from the Dividend Cushion ratio to the Economic Castle rating and beyond! There’s even mouseover functionality so you can learn about how we define the key metrics across our stock-selection and dividend growth methodologies. You’ll still have access to the stock and dividend reports on the landing pages, … Read more

Alert: Dropping P&G; Also — Intel’s Dividend Hike; General Motors Puts Up Strong March Sales

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We were reminded of some good news from Intel and General Motors, but the time has come to part with Procter & Gamble. We may have included it in the simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio too long. By Brian Nelson, CFA Hope you all had a warm holiday weekend. It was pleasant this morning to be reminded that simulated newsletter portfolio idea Intel (INTC) increased its dividend 10% when it reported quarterly results January. The dividend will be payable on June 1 to shareholders of record on May 7. The enthusiasm behind our call on Intel and our article in the April edition of the Dividend Growth Newsletter was a bit short-lived given the recent rumors in the PC market, … Read more

Tesla’s Shares Get Hammered

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Tesla’s shares have been overpriced for some time, but the Valuentum Buying Index system didn’t raise a big red flag until mid-June of last year. Shares have been getting hammered. By Brian Nelson, CFA What more can we say about Tesla (TSLA) other that the stock, itself, may very well be made up of “castles in the air?” A tremendously debt-heavy balance sheet and considerable free-cash-flow burn shouldn’t have merited an equity market capitalization that it once had, and recent developments have moved to deflate some of its bubble. The future for Tesla is far from guaranteed, too, and it looks like autonomous driving may not be coming to a town near you anytime soon after all. A fatal crash … Read more

Trump Targets China with Tariffs

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Image: Shanghai, China (December 2016), Andrey Filippov Stock markets in the US are slowly building in the prospect of retaliation (a “trade war”) from China, as a result of President Trump’s new tariffs. We maintain our view that the stock market has been frothy for some time, and the recent volatility may just be the beginning of a reversion to normalized valuations, with or without concerns about global trade. By Brian Nelson, CFA The market may be using concerns about a “trade war” as a reason to sell overpriced stock. According to Factset, as of March 16, the forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio for the S&P 500 is still over 17 times, one turn more than the 5-year average and nearly … Read more

The “Luck” and “Randomness” of Index Funds

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Please select the image below to download the document. Image shown, page 1 of 14. Tickerized for Valuentum’s coverage universe.

Protectionists Gaining Control, Implications on Europe and China

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It looks like the US-imposed tariffs are moving forward, and we’re starting to hear chatter about retaliation from Europe. Canada and Mexico may be exempt from the tariffs, however. By Kris Rosemann Mr. Market reacted unfavorably to President Trump’s top economic advisor Gary Cohn’s resignation announcement March 7, as Cohn was seen as a voice for Wall Street in the White House. Though the reaction may be short-lived, fears of the implications of increasing control from protectionists probably shouldn’t be ignored, and the probability of a trade war, particularly with China (FXI, MCHI) and with Europe, presumably moves higher with Cohn’s exit. Canada (EWC) and Mexico (EWW) may be exempt from the tariffs, however. The European Union is already reportedly … Read more