How Some Members Use Valuentum’s Investment Services

By Brian Nelson, CFA Thank you for your membership to Valuentum. We serve a wide variety of investors, including dividend growth investors, value investors, and pure Valuentum investors, among others. Many different types of investors and professionals use our research and financial analysis in a whole host of applications from individual stock-selection to the evaluation of closed-end funds to an overlay in a money-management setting and beyond. We wanted to make sure that you know that, if you’re a dividend growth or income investor, that there are others that use our website to utilize the Valuentum process, fair value estimates and other metrics. Similarly, if you’re a practitioner of the Valuentum system, I wanted to make sure that you are … Read more

Public Storage’s Traditional Free Cash Flow Coverage of the Dividend Is Unique for a REIT

Image Source: Mike Mozart By Brian Nelson, CFA Public Storage (PSA) reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2020 results February 24. For the period ending December 31, 2020, net income came in at $1.67 per common share, down from last year’s level but mainly because of a non-operating negative impact related to forex on Euro denominated debt ($35.1 million). On an operating basis, Public Storage’s self-storage net operating income advanced $16.5 million year-over-year in the quarter, which was only modestly offset by higher general and administrative expenses ($12.3 million). Underlying business performance at Public Storage remains very healthy, in our view. Core funds from operations (FFO) per share came in at $2.93 in the quarter, up 3.2% in the year-ago period (above the … Read more

Public Storage Receives Interest from Activist Investor

Image Shown: A look at Public Storage’s geographical footprint at the end of 2019, keeping in mind some of these properties are owned by its strategic partners. Image Source: Public Storage – 2019 Annual Report By Callum Turcan We are big fans of the self-storage industry and include Public Storage (PSA) in our High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio. One of the greatest things about Public Storage is the ability for this self-storage real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) to generate sizable positive free cash flows, a rarity in the REIT world. We have covered this dynamic in detail in the past (link here). Shares of PSA yield ~3.6% as of this writing and we see room for significant payout growth over … Read more

Public Storage Continues to Shine

Image Shown: Shares of Public Storage have recovered from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic and have been on an upward climb over the past few months.   By Callum Turcan On November 4, Public Storage (PSA) reported earnings for the third quarter of 2020. As expected, headwinds created by the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic weighed on its financial performance during this period; however, that did not stop the self-storage real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) from being very free cash flow positive. The long-term outlook for the self-storage industry in metropolitan areas in the US and elsewhere remains quite promising given the desire for households to maximize living space within their housing unit at a given budget. We include shares of … Read more

CubeSmart Is One of Our Favorite REITs

Image Source: CubeSmart – October 2020 Deluxe Storage Transaction IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On November 5, the self-storage real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) CubeSmart (CUBE) reported third quarter earnings for 2020 that missed consensus top-line estimates but beat consensus funds from operations (‘FFO’) estimates. The REIT’s financial performance has taken a hit from the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, though CubeSmart adjusted by launching its contactless online rental program SmartRental back in April. Furthermore, after suspending its normal schedule for rental rate increases earlier this year, CubeSmart resumed those increases in June and July. CubeSmart has also since resumed its normal delinquency process, on a jurisdiction by jurisdiction basis. We include shares of CubeSmart as a holding in our High … Read more

Public Storage Rebounds and Its Financials Remain Strong

Image Shown: Shares of Public Storage have recovered a considerable amount of lost ground since the pandemic-induced drop in March 2020. We continue to like Public Storage as a holding in our High Yield Dividend Newsletter and are big fans of self-storage companies with significant exposure to the US. By Callum Turcan The self-storage real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) Public Storage (PSA) is included as a holding in our High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio. We strongly appreciate its free cash flows, which are relatively rare in the REIT industry given that the growth-related capital expenditures of most REIT’s tend to be enormous. Shares of PSA have rebounded strongly off their March 2020 lows and yield ~3.6% as of this writing. … Read more

CubeSmart Remains Rock-Solid

Image Shown: An overview of CubeSmart’s core geographical focus. We continue to like CubeSmart as a holding in our High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio. Image Source: CubeSmart – September 2020 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan One of our favorite industries as it relates to locating high-quality high-yielding companies with promising dividend growth runways is the self-storage real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) space, particularly companies with operations primarily (if not entirely) in the US. Within this industry, CubeSmart (CUBE) is one of our favorites and remains a holding in our High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio. Shares of CUBE yield ~4.0% as of this writing. The self-storage REIT continued to make good on its dividend obligations during the initial stages of the … Read more

CubeSmart’s Financial Flexibility Will Come In Handy

Image Source: CubeSmart – March 2020 Investor Presentation By Callum Turcan On May 7, High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio holding CubeSmart (CUBE)–5.0% yield–reported first-quarter 2020 earnings. The company pulled its full-year guidance for 2020 given the uncertainties caused by the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. We appreciate that the self-storage real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) remained comfortably free cash flow positive last quarter, which is one of the reasons why we like CubeSmart as a high yielding play in the REIT world. Quarterly Update As you can see in the upcoming graphic down below, one of the biggest operating expenses CubeSmart (and the self-storage REIT space at-large) faces is property taxes. Rising property values in major metropolitan areas in particular pushes … Read more

Public Storage Currently Has the Financial Strength to Support Its Payout

Image Source: Public Storage – 2019 Annual Report By Callum Turcan High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio holding Public Storage (PSA) reported its first quarter results for 2020 on May 1. The self-storage real estate investment trust’s (‘REIT’) core funds from operations (‘FFO’) per share grew by 2% year-over-year last quarter, hitting $2.58 per share, while its occupancy rate (as measured by its rentable square feet) grew by ~60 basis points year-over-year, reaching 93.1%. Public Storage was also able to push through marginal same-store rent increases, though rising operating costs (particularly property taxes, payroll expenses, and marketing expenses) chipped away at its margins last quarter. As of this writing, shares of PSA yield ~4.4%. Public Storage owns and operates self-storage facilities … Read more

Jernigan Capital Fundamentally Transforms Its Business Model

Image Source: Jernigan Capital Inc – March 2020 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Jernigan Capital Inc (JCAP) is now an internally managed real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) that invests in self-storage properties, either directly or by providing funding for developers that build such properties. Shares of JCAP currently yield ~7.8% (as of this writing) in the wake of Jernigan Capital’s stock price selling off aggressively this year, as investor concerns mounted due to the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. Jernigan Capital is in the midst of a major shift in its business model and overall corporate strategy, and we like the changes management is in the process of making. While these are still early days, plenty is already known about this … Read more