US Beer Sales Reportedly Surge During the Pandemic, Dollar General Well-Positioned to Meet Rising Demand

Image Source: Valuentum By Callum Turcan According to some reports, US beer and alcohol sales are surging during the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. As of early Wednesday April 1, Johns Hopkins University reported there are now over 850,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world and that includes over 42,000 fatalities. We are still months away from human trials commencing on a potential vaccine, and it likely won’t be until 2021 at the very earliest that a vaccine could enter commercial production. As we wait out this pandemic, we hope everyone and their loved ones stay safe. Booze Sales Surge The global market research firm Nielsen reported that US alcohol sales jumped 55% year-over-year in the week that ended March … Read more

Altria Benefits from Major Beer Deal Talks

Altria (MO) may be finally cashing in on its “hidden” assets that we have been highlighting for some time. The company owns a 27% stake in SABMiller (SBMRY), and its shares are receiving a nice bump as a result of increased merger talks surrounding the brewer after speculation began early September 15. Rumors have been swirling for some time around beer giants AB-InBev (BUD) and SABMiller, but this time the news is coming from the two companies themselves. The acquisition, which has been intimated to be in the works, would be the largest in the industry’s history and would create a company that produces approximately one third of the world’s beer. No proposal has been received, but AB-InBev reportedly plans … Read more

Best Ideas Newsletter Excerpt: A+ for Altria and Apple

By Brian Nelson, CFA Just as I’m writing the intro to this edition of the September edition of the Best Ideas portfolio, the good news keeps coming. If you’ve read anything about our top holdings, you’d be hard-pressed to miss a discussion on Altria (MO) and our thesis that goes into the tobacco firm’s 27% economic stake in fast-growing global brewer SABMiller (SBMRY) as support for not only its dividend growth but also its valuation. The news wires are buzzing that SABMiller approached Heineken (HEINY) for a tie-up, and that Heineken rejected its offer. However, there are now talks that Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) is looking to put together a bid for SABMiller, and shares of the latter are soaring on … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of August 11

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending August 11. 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                          AdvanSix (ASIX): now $0.16 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.14. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. PFD SER G (NLY.PG): now $0.6136 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.4062. Annaly Capital Management 6.95% PFD SER F (NLY.PF): now $0.6582 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.6345. Ashtead Group plc (ASHTY): now $0.85 per share interim dividend, was $0.55. AstraZeneca (AZN): now $0.93 per share interim dividend, was $0.465. … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of April 26

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending April 26. 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                          ABN AMRO Bank N.V. (AAVMY): now $0.7645 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.5310. ACNB (ACNB): now $0.32 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.30. Akzo Nobel N.V. (AKZOY): now $0.4497 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.1125. Alfa Laval Corporate AB (ALFVY): now $0.7097 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.5735. Alphabet (GOOG): now $0.20 per share quarterly dividend. Amalgamated Bank (AMAL): now $0.15 per share quarterly … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of August 9

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending August 9. 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                          American States Water (AWR): now $0.4655 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.4300. AngloGold Ashanti (AU): now $0.22 per share interim dividend, was $0.19. Annaly Capital Management, Inc. PFD STK I 6.75% (NLY.PR.I): now $0.6761 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.4219. Ashtead Group plc (ASHTY): now $3.52 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.58. Atlas Energy Solution (AESI): now $0.23 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.22. … Read more