Valuentum Stock Screeners

This article was sent to members via email December 29. That email can be accessed at the link that follows this article. By Brian Nelson, CFA Hi everyone, I wanted to provide an update with respect to Valuentum’s stock screeners. We believe our stock screeners are among the most robust when it comes to providing forward-looking data, or data that is important with respect to the investment decision-making process. We publish screens in each of the monthly newsletters, but we also provide a basic weekly screener for download on the left column of the website, “Download Weekly Stock Screener (xls) — login required.”   We also have other products. The more robust DataScreener, for example, is part of the quarterly Financial … Read more

Market Mayhem — Alerts for Members

During these extremely volatile times, it’s important to stay focused. On December 15, we informed all of our members to “Pay Attention.” Shortly thereafter, we notified members of the potential for a stock market technical breakdown. This morning, we offered a pre-market briefing about the importance of thinking about portfolio protection. For Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter members: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?preview=true&m=1110817109903&ca=e2406cd6-c113-4344-8731-493f33fc44a4&id=preview For High Yield Dividend Newsletter members: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?preview=true&m=1110817109903&ca=b3ba530f-38b3-489a-ac96-2961dca89c6b&id=preview For Exclusive members: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?preview=true&m=1110817109903&ca=ba6d90c0-4433-48b2-9b8a-aac4ddf9006e&id=preview We’re here for any questions. Please just let us know how we can help! Kind regards, Brian Nelson, CFA  brian@valuentum.com

Retail Margins Weighed Down by Labor, Transportation Costs

Image Source: Mike Mozart Selling pressure across retail came after several notable operators reported earnings November 20. Let’s take a look at what is driving investor reaction within the space. By Kris Rosemann A number of high profile retailers (XRT) reported earnings before the open November 20, and selling pressure ensued due in large part to margin weakness across the space. Higher transportation and wage costs were common themes, but top-line performance held solid for the group, generally speaking. A number of retailers from a variety of segments within the sector are feeling the damage to sentiment from the flurry of reports as the implications of the margin pressures are not expected to be unique to those specific retailers that reported … Read more

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

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

Study: Valuentum’s Best Ideas Newsletter Portfolio

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

Hanesbrands Continues to Battle Tough Operating Environment

Image source: HBI investor presentation Apparel maker Hanesbrands is working to change its fortunes with its “Sell More, Spend Less and Generate Cash” strategies, but its business is facing challenges that include a difficult US brick-and-mortar environment. By Kris Rosemann Former simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio idea Hanesbrands (HBI) is battling a challenging US brick-and-mortar retail environment and higher commodity costs as it works to transform its performance, and increased marketing spending is expected to weigh on bottom-line results in the near term. Recent acquisitions have helped boost top-line growth as the company turned in reported net sales growth of 7% from the year-ago period in its first quarter of 2018, results released May 1. Organic sales growth in constant … Read more

ICYMI: Valuentum’s Improved Stock and ETF Web Pages

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

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.

Rising Risk Free Rates Threatening Market, Removing CVS and Hanesbrands

The most important variable to keep your eye on, the 10-year Treasury, is rising, and the long-term implications on equity values could be considerable. We don’t think the moves thus far have been too disruptive, but continued concerns over US tax receipts and infrastructure/defense spending could send sovereign yields roaring higher. As fourth-quarter earnings season marches on, let’s take a look at some meaningful recent quarterly reports. We’re also shedding two companies from the simulated newsletter portfolios. By Kris Rosemann and Brian Nelson, CFA The market continues to be on edge as it considers what the borrowing cost of US debt might be in the event of the next downturn, the timing the only uncertainty, now that it has significantly … Read more

Hanesbrands Leaps, IBM Falters and More

We were pleased to see the recent performance of Hanesbrands, and we continue to think IBM is not yet out of the woods, despite some life with respect to revenue trends. Let’s cover this and more. By Kris Rosemann There are a lot of things happening in the markets these days. For starters, growth in the world’s second-largest economy accelerated for the first time in seven years as China’s reported growth of 6.9% in 2017 was slightly higher than the 6.7% it achieved in 2016 and the projected growth rate for 2017 of ~6.5%. However, many observers are anticipating a return to the slowing trends of years past as the Chinese government works to reduce risky lending in areas such … Read more