KR

Kroger Posts Solid Quarter, Issues Weak Guidance

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Image Shown: Kroger Company – IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On September 12, food retailer Kroger Company (KR) reported second-quarter earnings for its fiscal 2019 that ended August 17. The company posted 2.2% year-over-year same-store sales growth, when excluding fuel sales (due to the volatile nature of petroleum product prices), and that was assisted by 31% year-over-year digital sales growth. Its FIFO gross margin contracted by almost 30 basis points according to management due to pressures at its pharmacy and specialty pharmacy business. However, corporate initiative Restock Kroger allowed for the retailer’s GAAP operating margin to climb marginally year-over-year as operating expenses were kept relatively contained. Shares of KR, after a volatile trading session, ended flat September 12. Restock Kroger … Read more

Target Stuns, Shares Jump Higher

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Image Shown: Shares of Target Corporation (TGT) leapt higher on August 21 on the back of its strong performance during the second quarter of FY2019. In particular, the retailer’s comparable same store sales growth was quite impressive given the hard comparison period, with e-commerce and same-day fulfillment leading the way. By Callum Turcan On August 21, Target Corp (TGT) reported very strong second quarter FY2019 earnings (three months ended August 3) that sent shares up ~20% on the trading session. For starters, comparable store sales growth clocked in at 3.4% year-over-year and was up 9.9% on a two-year basis (adding comp growth from the second quarter of 2018 and 2019 together). That indicates this was much more than just a … Read more

Macy’s Cuts Guidance, Dividend Cut Could Be on the Horizon

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Image Source: Macy’s Inc – IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Retailers (XRT, RTH) have been struggling as the e-commerce shift has stressed margins and hurt foot traffic at stores and malls all across America. Macy’s Inc (M) had fared better than most, but that’s beginning to change. The company reported second quarter FY2019 earnings on August 14 which came with a guidance cut that saw shares of Macy’s plummet below their late-2017 lows. While Macy’s recovered throughout the trading day, the market is clearly signaling that investors are expecting more pain is ahead. As of this writing, shares of Macy’s yield ~9.0%, a major red flag. Guidance Cut Management cut earnings guidance for the full fiscal year while keeping estimates … Read more

Sprouts’ Growth Spurt Followed by Weak Operating Margins and Terrible Guidance

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Image Source: Sprouts Farmers Market Inc – IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Sprouts Farmers Market Inc (SFM) is a grocery chain that focuses heavily on selling organic foods, healthy foods, and other higher priced items in nearly two dozen US states through 331 stores as of August 1. The company does not pay out a common dividend at this time, and please keep in mind Sprouts’ fiscal year and calendar are slightly different (fiscal year 2018 ended on December 30). While Sprouts has a lot of room to grow as it enters new domestic markets, we caution that the company is operating in a very competitive industry and shares of SFM already appear fully valued, if not generously valued, as … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending June 28

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending June 28. 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 Empire (EMLAF): now CAD 0.12 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.11. First Bancorp (FNLC): now $0.30 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.29. Glacier Bancorp (GBCI): now $0.27 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.26. Hingham Institution for Savings (HIFS): now $0.39 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.38. Investar (ISTR): now $0.0551 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.0525. John Wiley & Sons (JW.A): now $0.34 per share … Read more

Beyond Meat’s Market: $5 Billion or $1.5 Trillion?

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Image: The Beyond Burger accounted for about 70% of the company’s sales in 2018. The big question: how big is Beyond Meat’s opportunity? Is it $5 billion or $1.5 trillion? By Valuentum Analysts Shares of Beyond Meat Inc (BYND), one of the fastest-growing plant-based meat companies, have exploded higher since the meatless-meat producer went public in May. While this isn’t a stock we normally would like given the short operating history and lofty market expectations, we wanted to draw attention to the enormous potential Beyond Meat is targeting. As of the market close on June 10, Beyond Meat had a market capitalization of $10.1 billion. We estimate that if Beyond Meat is able to generate an adjusted EBITDA margin in … Read more

Markets Swooning, Expect Extreme Volatility, Finger on Put-Option Trigger

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Image shown: We notified members December 26 that we had  moved  the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to a “fully invested” position, from a 30% and 20% cash “weighting” at the high end of the range, respectively.  — No change to simulated newsletter portfolios…at this time.  — Hi everyone, — Hope you’re navigating these tumultuous markets well.   — If you recall, during the holiday season last year, we had moved the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to “fully invested.” See image above (point of the arrow). Because many members were traveling and out of the office, not all were able to read the notification until a week or two after. They were … Read more

ATTN: Advisors and Planners — Disruption Is Looming

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“With the commoditization of investment advice and intense competition from robos and other more cost-efficient solutions, growth-minded advisors want to create bespoke experiences for clients.” — WealthManagement.com By Brian Nelson, CFA Hi Valuentum members, colleagues and friends, Valuentum has a large subscriber base and is one of the most successful paid subscription financial information websites launched this decade. Over the past eight years or so, individuals, financial advisors and money managers from all over the world have subscribed to our services. We pride ourselves on independence and transparency, and we’re a champion of the investor. Today, I’d like to talk directly to our financial advisor, financial planner, and professional money-manager members. You probably already heard the news yesterday: Charles Schwab, which handles … Read more

DG Newsletter Alert, Markets on a Roll! New Highs Coming?

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Image shown: We notified members December 26 that we had moved the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to a “fully invested” position, from a 30% and 20% cash “weighting” at the high end of the range, respectively. It doesn’t look like the timing could have been much better.  Changes to Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio Removing Novartis (NVS) -3.5%-5.5% Adding Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) +3.5%-5.5% By Brian Nelson, CFA The back half of 2018 was among the most exciting in Valuentum’s history. For one, we might have made one of our best “market-direction” calls since inception in practically calling the near-term bottom December 26. In hindsight, it’s clear the market had overreacted, but at the time, going to “fully … Read more

Valuentum’s Stock and Data Screens and Screeners

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Let’s go over where to find Valuentum’s stock and data screens and screeners. We believe our stock screeners are among the most robust when it comes to providing forward-looking data, and our data comes straight from our enterprise discounted cash flow models that we use to derive a company’s fair value estimate. By The Valuentum Team In late 2017, we made the decision to transition to providing an updated Excel download each week to members in order to allow them to facilitate any combination of screening criteria they want with respect to our vast amounts of data, whether it be the Valuentum Buying Index, the Dividend Cushion ratio or other. What we’ve found out the past 15 months or so … Read more