GNC

Surveying 3Q Performance Across the Retail Spectrum

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Sears There’s not much to say about Sears’ (SHLD) operational performance during its third quarter (results issued Thursday), except that it was atrocious. The firm lost more money in the most recently-reported quarter ($534 million) than it did through the first nine months of last fiscal year ($441 million). CEO Eddie Lampert has his hands full with the company’s multi-year transformation, but we think investors are hanging on to shares largely on hopes the firm will be able to monetize its real-estate portfolio in the future. Image Source: Sears But it seems that (lately) too many investors have been buying into this line of thinking, and the ‘real estate’ thesis continues to proliferate among investor psyches, particularly (now) with J.C. … Read more

Vitamin Shoppe Falls…Is the New GNC Gold Card Program to Blame?

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Health supplement retailer Vitamin Shoppe (VSI) announced fourth quarter results Tuesday morning. Revenue grew only 2% on a reported basis to $218 million, but the company was lapping a 14 week quarter in the prior year. Therefore, on a comparable basis, we think sales grew closer to 10% year-over-year, though the number was still slightly below expectations. Earnings, excluding certain items including the integration costs of Super Supplements and the impact of Sandy, were $0.40 per share, in line with consensus expectations and 29% higher than the same period a year ago. Same-store sales growth was fairly solid, in our view, up 5.2% year-over-year in spite of a 1.6 percentage point drag from Hurricane Sandy. This lagged competitor GNC (GNC), which … Read more

Clash of the Titans: Team Icahn Wins This Round

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Since sparring on CNBC last month, hedge-fund legends Carl Icahn and Bill Ackman have stolen headlines, and the battle has moved on to Herbalife (HLF). With claims of a Ponzi scheme on one side of the battle countered by claims on the other side of selling the American dream and enabling entrepreneurs, the battle between Ackman and Icahn has resulted in a wild ride in shares of Herbalife. Still, with all the noise, we’re sticking to the fundamentals. On Tuesday, Herbalife reported that fourth quarter revenue rose 20% year-over-year to $1.1 billion, significantly higher than consensus estimates. Earnings jumped 22% year-over-year to $1.05 per share, easily exceeding consensus expectations. For the full year, the company grew sales 18% to $4.1 … Read more

Arena Pharmaceuticals’ Belviq Approval May Not Match The Hype

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This article was dual-published on Valuentum’s website and Seeking Alpha’s website June 29, 2012 (archive). Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) had its Belviq obesity drug approved on Wednesday. Shares rallied to close up over 28%, and Belviq is the first weight-loss drug approved by the Food & Drug Administration in 13 years. We do not cover the firm, but we think there are a few major risks investors should be aware of before establishing a position in the biotech firm. For one, Belviq is no wonder drug. With diet and exercise, it was proven to aid in weight-loss of 5% or more of body mass in one year. Perhaps the drug, which helps alleviate hunger, does aid in the process, but we … Read more

Update: Frequently Asked Questions About Valuentum Securities, Inc.

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What is Valuentum Securities? Valuentum (val∙u∙n∙tum) [val-yoo-en-tuh-m] Securities Inc. is an independent investment research publisher, offering premium equity reports and dividend reports, as well as commentary across all sectors/companies, a Best Ideas Newsletter (spanning market caps, asset classes), a Dividend Growth Newsletter, modeling tools/products, and more. Independence and integrity remain our core, and we strive to be a champion of the investor. Valuentum is based in the Chicagoland area. Valuentum is not a money manager, broker, or financial advisor. Valuentum is a publisher of financial information. How do I subscribe to Valuentum’s investment research services? 1)    Click the following link: signup-page. 2)    Select your membership plan. 3)    Enter your contact details. 4)    Click ‘Sign Up.’ 5)    Complete your purchase. 6)   Your payment profile may be recurring, so please check … 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

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

Efficacy of the Dividend Cushion Ratio

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A version of this article was originally published September 2019. The Dividend Cushion ratio is one of the most powerful financial tools an income or dividend growth investor can use in conjunction with qualitative dividend analysis. The ratio is one-of-a-kind in that it is both free-cash-flow based and forward looking. Since its creation in 2012, the Dividend Cushion ratio has forewarned readers of approximately 50 dividend cuts. We estimate its efficacy at ~90%. By Valuentum Analysts  Key Takeaways: The Dividend Cushion ratio is a helpful tool to use to cushion your dividend growth or income portfolio against potential dividend cuts. The ratio also helps to assess the growth potential of a company’s dividend, above and beyond current expectations of payout … Read more

How to Think About Corporate Tax Reform

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

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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