How to Think About Corporate Tax Reform

Sprint, Dish, Clearwire, and SoftBank: The Saga Continues

Key Takeaways: ·        The entire Sprint/Clearwire/Dish/SoftBank situation is very complicated. ·        We believe SoftBank’s offer makes more sense for Sprint’s near-term future. ·        However, we like the well-rounded package that a combined Sprint/Dish entity would be able to offer consumers over the long haul, and we tend to have faith in skilled managers like Dish’s CEO Ergen. ·        In any case, we think the saga will eventually result in a winner’s curse—whoever wins the battle for Sprint will likely have paid too much! ·        Ideas o       One industry in particular would be highly in favor of SoftBank’s deal with Sprint—the networking equipment makers. If Sprint receives a huge capital infusion from a SoftBank deal, network upgrade spending would accelerate. Cisco (CSCO) is our favorite fundamental idea … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending February 1

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending February 1. 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 AFLAC (AFL): now $0.27 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.26. ALLETE (ALE): now $0.5875 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.56. Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP): now $0.53 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.525. Anthem (ANTM): now $0.80 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.75. Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG): now $0.43 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.41. Bank of Botetourt (BORT): now $0.16 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.15. … Read more

Valuentum: Now Bearish, We’ve Been Here Every Step of the Way

Valuentum Has Been Here Every Step of the Way   From the COVID-19 top in February 2020 to the COVID-19 bottom to the massive bull run through the end of 2021, we’ve been here for you.    2022 started out to be a rough year, catching many by surprise.   But Valuentum stayed positive. When the markets headed south in June, Valuentum stood its ground. On June 14, Valuentum said that “we still believe stocks could make a “huge rebound” in the near term.   We reiterated our views a few days later and on June 19, we said that “investors shouldn’t panic during this bear market” and that “stocks remain an attractive proposition at the moment and a very attractive consideration … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending February 2

Below we provide a list of firms that raised or lowered their dividends during the week ending February 2. 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 Source (SRCE): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.20. AFLAC (AFL): now $0.52 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.45. Amtek (AME): now $0.14 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.09. Andeavor Logistics (ANDX): now $1.00 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.9852. Apartment Investment (AIV): now $0.38 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.36. AvalonBay Communities (AVB): now $1.47 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.42. … Read more

Cisco Systems’ Growth Outlook Continues to Improve

Image Source: Cisco Systems Inc – 2021 Investor Day Event Presentation By Callum Turcan Things at Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) are beginning to turn around and management made sure to highlight the company’s improving outlook during its big Investor Day event held on September 15. We include Cisco Systems as an idea in both the Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios as the firm has a fortress-like balance sheet (i.e., large net cash position), tremendous free cash flow generating abilities, and its growth outlook has improved immensely since contending with serious headwinds from the worst of the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. Shares of CSCO yield ~2.6% as of this writing. On the hardware front, Cisco Systems sells products in … Read more

LINK –> Massive Unrest In Europe, Energy Crisis Could Be the Catalyst to Topple the Global Markets

Image Shown: The SSGA ETFS Europe II PLC SPDR MSCI Europe Industrials UCITS ETF, listed in the UK, tracks large and mid-sized European industrial firms. Shares of the ETF have fallen sharply year-to-date as recessionary fears across Europe have grown substantially in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the related European energy crisis. “Surging energy prices in Europe are decimating consumer spending power and forcing industrial companies to sharply scale back production. It is estimated that six in 10 British factories could fold as a result of the crisis, according to reports from Bloomberg.” — The Valuentum Team By Callum Turcan The European energy crisis continues to unfold, and we’ve been keeping our members … Read more

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

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

8 Announcements and Top Research You May Have Missed

8 Announcements. This article was sent to members via email March 27. By Brian Nelson, CFA Hi everyone, Brian here. Trust you are doing great! Here are eight announcements I want you to be aware of: Everything we do is for our members. We’re very proud of the outperformance of the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, that we’ve never had a dividend cut in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, that our high-yield ideas are holding up very well, and the success rates of the Exclusive capital-appreciation ideas and short-idea considerations are running at approximately 80%. We’re proud to be your research partner. The odds of a Fed rate cut are going up as yield-curve inversion continues to threaten. The risks are more behavioral in … Read more

Our Thoughts on the Widespread Launch of 5G Services

Image Shown: The evolution of wireless networks and telecommunications technology over the years. Image Source: Intel Corporation – November 2019 State of 5G Presentation  By Callum Turcan The rollout of 5G telecommunication networks is upon us and we want to draw our members’ attention to some of the key companies with meaningful exposure to this space. Many are excited about what opportunities 5G technology could enable. Background On July 23, AT&T Inc (T) announced its 5G network in the US was operational nationwide and that effective August 7, both consumers and businesses with certain packages would have 5G access “at no additional cost” which included customers with AT&T Unlimited Starter, Extra, Elite, AT&T Business Unlimited Web-Only and Starter wireless plans. … Read more