Paper: Value and Momentum Within Stocks, Too

Please select the image below to download, “Value and Momentum Within Stocks, Too:” Abstract: This paper strives to advance the field of finance in four ways: 1) it extends the theory of the “The Arithmetic of Active Management” to the investor level; 2) it addresses certain data problems of factor-based methods, namely with respect to value and book-to-market ratios, while introducing price-to-fair-value ratios in a factor-based approach; 3) it may lay the foundation for academic literature regarding the Valuentum, the value-timing, and ultra-momentum factors; and 4) it walks through the potential relative outperformance that may be harvested at the intersection of relevant, unique and compensated factors within individual stocks. To download the full report, please click here (pdf). ———- Actual results … Read more

3 High Dividend Yielders for Consideration

Image: Energy Transfer, Philip Morris, and Altria have outperformed the SPDR S&P 500 Dividend ETF (SDY) since the beginning of 2024. By Brian Nelson, CFA The market remains laser-focused on inflation readings and employment trends – two of the main dynamics that influence policy at the Federal Reserve. Since the beginning of 2024, the market has ratcheted down expectations of rate cuts from as many as 5 or 6 to just 1 or 2 in 2024. With yields on risk-free instruments poised to go lower soon, a focus on high yielding equities may be appropriate for the income investor. Here are three high dividend yielders that we like for consideration. Energy Transfer (ET) Midstream pipeline operator Energy Transfer has come … Read more

High Yield Dividend Income Investing Is Not as Easy as Chasing the Highest Yield

Dear members: — The skills to successfully invest for long-term capital gains or long-term dividend growth are much different than those required for generating high yield dividend income. Income investing is a much different proposition. However, the skills do center on a similar equity evaluation process, but one that requires an acknowledgement and heightened awareness of considerably greater downside risks. Income investing, or high yield dividend income investing, should at times be considered among the riskiest forms of investing, as many high dividend-yielding securities tend to trade closer to the characteristics of junk-rated bonds than they do most net cash rich and free cash flow generating powerhouses that we like so much in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio (1) and Dividend Growth … Read more

Kinder Morgan Issues Strong Outlook; Adjusts Leverage Target

Image: Kinder Morgan’s shares have been choppy during the past couple years. By Brian Nelson, CFA On April 17, Kinder Morgan (KMI) reported first-quarter 2024 results. The company’s earnings per share came in at $0.33 per share in the quarter, while distributable cash flow [DCF] per share came in at $0.64 for the period, reflecting a 10% and 5% increase, respectively. Net income attributable to Kinder Morgan in the first quarter was $746 million, up from $679 million in the same period a year ago. DCF also moved in the right direction, coming in at $1.42 billion in the quarter, up from $1.37 billion in last year’s quarter. Kinder Morgan issued the following outlook for 2024: For 2024, including contributions … Read more

We Remain Bullish; Is This 1995 – The Beginning of a Huge Stock Market Run?

Image: Large cap growth stocks have trounced the performance of the S&P 500, REITs, and bonds since the beginning of 2023. We expect continued outperformance in this area of the market. By Brian Nelson, CFA We’re now roughly four years past the depths of the COVID-19 meltdown, where equities collapsed in February and March of 2020. As the markets began to recover through 2020, our long-term conviction in equities only grew stronger. We think the biggest risk for long-term investors remains staying out of the market on the basis of what could be considered stretched valuation multiples. As we outlined heavily in the book Value Trap, valuation multiples hardly tell the complete story about a company and often omit key … Read more

Kinder Morgan’s ~6.4% Dividend Yield Is Much Stronger These Days

Image: Kinder Morgan is back on track. Image Source: Kinder Morgan. By Brian Nelson, CFA Early in December, Kinder Morgan (KMI) released financial expectations for 2024 that showed the midstream energy giant is back on track. Excluding its recent purchase of NextEra Energy Partners’ (NEP) STX Midstream assets, Kinder Morgan expects 5% expansion in adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow [DCF] in 2024 thanks to growth in its Natural Gas Pipelines and Energy Transition Ventures segments coupled with rate escalations across its operations. For 2024, management is targeting its 7th consecutive year of dividend increases with a projected annualized dividend of $1.15 in 2024. Net debt-to-Adjusted EBITDA is targeted at 3.8x at the end of 2024, a level that is materially … Read more

12 Reasons to Stay Aggressive in 2024

By Brian Nelson, CFA 1. The Fed has signaled that rate cuts could start with inflation at a 2 handle (2 point something) and not at exactly 2.0%. That means that the Fed may become anticipatory to prevent overshooting to the downside with inflation. We see this as positive for long-duration equities, particularly those whose free cash flow generation is robust in the out-years, inclusive of big cap tech and the stylistic area of large cap growth. 2. Unemployment is at structural lows of 3.7%. Employers are working hard to keep talent on board, and with each paycheck, employees are pumping more and more money into the stock market via retirement accounts. This tailwind remains a stiff one and will … Read more

Latest Report Updates

Select the company’s link below to access their stock webpage where their 16-page stock report (pdf) can be downloaded. The stock webpage also houses the company’s dividend report (pdf), where applicable, as well as the latest company/industry commentary and news. For companies updated this week, their stock webpages will reflect the new data this weekend. American Tower (AMT) AutoZone (AZO) Best Buy (BBY) BHP Billiton (BHP) Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) ConocoPhillips (COP) Crocs (CROX) Cisco (CSCO) Cintas Corp (CTAS) CubeSmart (CUBE) Dollar Tree (DLTR) DocuSign (DOCU) Estee Lauder (EL) Ford (F) FedEx (FDX) Fiserv (FI) First Solar (FSLR) General Electric (GE) General Motors (GM) Global Payments (GPN) Leggett & Platt (LEG) Eli Lilly (LLY) Lululemon (LULU) McDonald’s (MCD) MercadoLibre (MELI) 3M … Read more

Kinder Morgan Now Covers Cash Dividends with Traditional Free Cash Flow

By Brian Nelson, CFA On October 18, Kinder Morgan (KMI) reported third-quarter results that came in lower than expectations, but we’ve taken note of the company’s improved free cash flow generation that now runs in excess of its cash dividends paid, a huge change from a decade ago, where capital spending and cash dividends paid far outweighed its operating cash flow capacity. The company’s dividend stands at $1.13 per share on an annualized basis, and Kinder Morgan now has a forward estimated dividend yield of ~6.7%, which is quite attractive. Shares are trading meaningfully below our estimate of their intrinsic value, too, and we’re warming up to the company’s financials. Its net debt position likely precludes it from being added … Read more

We Like NextEra Energy’s ESG Focus But Capital Market Conditions Now Showing Cracks

Image Source: NextEra Energy By Brian Nelson, CFA We’ve written in the past about NextEra Energy (NEE), and our latest note can be found here. The company remains one of our favorite utilities, but mostly because of its renewables energy exposure as it relates to ESG considerations. When it comes to utilities, more generally, however, we tend to take a pass on almost all of them given the capital intensity involved in their operations and their interest-rate sensitivity, especially now in an environment where interest rates are returning to “normal” levels in the mid-single-digits. The forward estimated dividend yield on the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) stands at ~3.8% at the time of this writing, and if investors are … Read more