The “Luck” and “Randomness” of Index Funds

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

Toys ‘R’ Us Liquidation News Transient to Toy Makers

Image Source: Hasbro Another icon from past decades announced that it may have to liquidate. Though we expect the toy makers to experience a transient impact, we don’t expect it to be lasting. Digital entertainment licensing remains a faster-growing, higher-margin business for them than physical toy sales, and we expect the focus for many toy makers going forward will be on the former, particularly given Disney’s Frozen success. By Brian Nelson, CFA There’s nothing like the announcement of a customer’s possible liquidation to send shares of suppliers tumbling. That’s what happened when Toys ‘R’ Us announced that it may have to cease operations as nobody appears to be coming to the rescue. Hasbro (HAS), Mattel (MAT), and JAKKS Pacific (JAKK) … Read more

Hasbro, Boeing Pop as Market Bounces Back

Image Source: US Missile Defense Agency. June 22, 2014 – The Missile Defense Agency’s Flight Test 06b Ground-Based Interceptor launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. on June 22, 2014. The markets have finally been getting the volatility that we’ve all been waiting for, and we don’t like the idea that the market is now trading more like a cryptocurrency. Granted, it’s important to stay focused over a long-term time horizon, which irons out the ups and downs, but there’s just something about 1,000+ daily swings on the Dow Jones Industrial Average that really doesn’t sit well with us, regardless of what that implies with respect to the percentage change. Can you imagine — All of this over just a … Read more

Bioverativ’s Takeout, Visa’s Surge, and General Electric’s Pain

From Bioverativ’s takeout to Visa’s stock price surge to General Electric’s continued pain, there’s a lot going on in the stock market. Let’s cover some ground. By Kris Rosemann and Brian Nelson, CFA It’s hard to believe this but our best idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, Visa (V), is now a $124+ per share stock. We know how to pick ‘em, would you say? We don’t get everything correct, of course, but if you’ve read anything on our website, we can only hope that you’ve witnessed Visa’s meteoric rise. The high end of our updated fair value estimate range for Visa is north of $130 per share. What a wild ride it has been, to say the least, … Read more

Video: Quants! You’re NOT Measuring VALUE and Nelson’s Theory of Universal Value

President of Investment Research Brian Nelson defines the concept of universal value and shows how quantitative statistical methods are inextricably linked to those of fundamental, financial, business-model related analysis. Value does not exist in respective process vacuums! Value is universal. Find out why. Running time: ~10 minutes.  Tickerized for Valuentum’s stock and ETF coverage universe. Transcript Hi this is Brian Nelson from Valuentum Securities, and this is the tenth edition of a series that I call “Off the Cuff,” where I get in front of the camera and I talk for ten minutes. This is what we have to talk about today. We have to talk about this concept: The Theory of Universal Value. Value does not exist in vacuums … Read more

Shopping for Income Within Retail in a Digital World

Image Source: Mike Mozart The 2017 holiday shopping season has shown that e-commerce has never been stronger and it will only continue to grow. But there is still potential for income generation among more traditional retailers. Investors must be tremendously discerning in this area, however, as margin, and ultimately free cash flow, pressures remain prevalent. We like Walmart, Target, Costco as income ideas in retail, but TJX Companies and Best Buy may be worth a look. We’re avoiding the department stores and teen retail like the plague, regardless of their Dividend Cushion ratios. By Kris Rosemann and Brian Nelson, CFA What an incredible time we’re living in. For those that study history, the US’ pressure on other countries like China … Read more

Strategy Versus Tactics in the Dividend Growth Newsletter Portfolio

Image Source: fauxto_digit We made a few tactical tweaks to the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio during 2017. Let’s walk through them, and how we’re out to win the war, not win every battle. < Note: The introduction is the same as that of the tactical analysis of the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. If you have already read through the introduction, please proceed to the section, Dividend Growth Newsletter Portfolio below. > By Brian Nelson, CFA I’m not going to reference The Art of War written by Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu some time in the 5th century, nor am I going to use any quotes from the military treatise (I think it’s too well-traveled of a topic), but I do … Read more

In August, We Cut” Position in Hasbro in Dividend Growth Newsletter Portfolio”

We still have a small “position” in the emerging licensing giant in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, having removed 75% of the “stake” in August. By Brian Nelson, CFA On August 18, 2017, we released the following email notification alert on Hasbro (HAS) to members, “ALERT: Newsletter Notification and Website Changes:” Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio — page 3 of the September edition here (pdf) We are removing 75% of our position in Hasbro from the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, or 82 shares at $96.54. Hasbro’s cost basis in the newsletter portfolio is ~$32. The company’s performance has been absolutely phenomenal. Stock page: /search-by-symbol/?tag=has Download Dividend Growth Newsletter transaction log here (not updated for notifications in this email). In August, we thought it … Read more

Hasbro Hit by Gross Margin, Timing Issues

Shares of Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio holding Hasbro dropped after the company reported its second quarter earnings. By Kris Rosemann Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio holding Hasbro (HAS) has been knocking the proverbial cover off the ball with returns (its stock has nearly tripled since being added to the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio) and the company has rival Mattel’s (MAT) back against the wall, but the toy giant’s shares recently hit a speed bump. In its second-quarter results, released July 24, Hasbro reported revenue growth of 11%, operating profit margin expansion of 60 basis points, and net earnings-per-diluted-share growth of nearly 30%, but shares faced significant pressure following the release. On the surface, it looks to be another strong quarterly report … Read more

Random Musings: Retail, REITs, BlackBerry, and More

Image shown: Best Buy’s resiliency in the face of competition from Amazon. Let’s cover some recent news. By Brian Nelson, CFA The markets have been relatively flattish the past week or so, but that may not mean much. They could still be digesting some of the big gains thus far in 2017 before potentially staging their next move. At the close June 26, the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (SPY), a proxy for the S&P 500 stood at $243.29. For some reason, I felt it important to make note of this level, as if it were an important one. Things have been very quiet for a long time now, and I get the feeling that an inflection point may be … Read more