LAZ

Primer on the Banking Sector: Where Are We in the Cycle?

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Image Source: GotCredit Three of our favorite banks are JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and US Bancorp. These are three very high-quality institutions which are also very well managed. They all benefit from cultures that encourage the right kind of risk/reward thinking. If these equities start to trade at a meaningful discount to our fair value estimates, they may be are worth considering as long-term investments, in our view. Summary We’ll talk about how banks make money, and the three most important costs of running a bank. The Great Financial Crisis revealed the tremendous risks of banking equities, and we’ll walk through these in depth. We’ll discuss how to conceptualize where we are in the banking cycle, and how that … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending January 31

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending January 31. 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 Constitution Bancorp (FCCY): now $0.09 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.075. Alaska Air (ALK): now $0.375 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.350. ALLETE (ALE): now $0.6175 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.5875. AmerisourceBergen (ABC): now $0.42 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.40. Anthem (ANTM): now $0.95 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.80. Apartment Investment (AIV): now $0.41 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.39. Apollo Global … Read more

ICYMI — Video: Will Hasty Policy Facilitate the Next Leg Down, or Do We Have It Coming Anyway?

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President of Investment Research and award-winning author of Value Trap: Theory of Universal Valuation Brian Nelson explains how US policymakers are stuck between a rock and a hard place, and how the market may be factoring in too high of a probability of a return to normalcy before 2021. This and more in the latest video report. Summary Make sure you review Value Trap on Amazon. Do so here. We think those that bought equities near the bottom of this swoon may be looking to take profits at present levels. The market is currently reflecting an 80%-85% probability of a return to normalcy before 2021, which we believe is too high at this time. Our main concern is that government … Read more

Stock Market Outlook for 2021

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By Valuentum Analysts February 8, 2021 2020 was one for the history books. We covered our thoughts and reflections on the past year in our “2020 Won’t Soon Be Forgotten” article (link here), and now we are looking towards the future. Global health authorities should be able to bring an end to the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic sooner than many had expected as several vaccines have already been improved for emergency use and several others appear increasingly likely to get approved. Global vaccine distribution activities are currently underway, and this should allow the world to slowly return to pre-pandemic activities. Before then, immense stimulus measures launched primarily in developed nations should support global economic activities until the public health crisis … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending April 27

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending April 27. 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 abaxis (ABAX): now $0.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.16. Alliance Holdings (AHGP): now $0.7475 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.7425. Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP): now $0.515 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.51. Ames National Corporation (ATLO): now $0.23 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.22. Amphenol (APH): now $0.23 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.19. Ameriprise Financial (AMP): now $0.90 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.83. … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of July 29

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending July 29. 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                Alexander & Baldwin (ALEX): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.20. Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP): now $0.40 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.35. Amalgamated Bank (AMAL): now $0.10 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.08. American States Water (AWR): now $0.3975 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.3650. Arbor Realty Trust (ABR): now $0.39 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.38. Armada Hoffler Properties (AHH): now $0.19 … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending Apr 28

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending April 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 AmeriGas Partners (APU): now $0.95 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.94. Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. (AMP): now $0.83 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.75. Ames National Corporation (ATLO): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.21. Apollo Global Management (APO): now $0.49 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.45. Aspen Insurance Holdings (AHL): now $0.24 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.22. Altra Holdings (AIMC): now $0.17 per … Read more

There Is Milk At The Store

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This article first appeared in the September edition of the High Yield Dividend Newsletter. For more information about this publication, please see here. “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” — Winston Churchill By Brian Nelson, CFA Very few of us could have imagined that we’d witness the bull market that began on that fateful day in March 2009 that might very well mark a generational low. In 2009, major investment banks around the globe were struggling to survive, and the fallout in the mortgage markets left the banks holding paper that nobody wanted to own, let alone buy. The global financial system … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending April 24

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending April 24. 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 ASML Holding N.V. (ASML): final EUR 1.35 semi-annual dividend, was EUR 1.05. Canadian Banc Corp (CNDCF): now CAD 0.0517 per share monthly dividend, was CAD 0.0367. Centamin plc (CELTF): interim $0.0600 dividend, was $0.0400. Delek Logistics Partners (DKL): now $0.89 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.885. Dime Community Bancshares 5.50% Fixed Rate Non-Cum Pptl Prfd Stk, Series A (DCOMP): now $0.38 per share quarterly dividend. Dividend … Read more

4 Very Good Reasons Why We Don’t Like Dividends of Banking Stocks

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Untermyer: Is not commercial credit based primarily upon money or property?Morgan: No, sir. The first thing is character.Untermyer: Before money or property?Morgan: Before money or anything else. Money cannot buy it … a man I do not trust could not get money from me on all the bonds in Christendom. –Mr. JP Morgan’s testimony before the Pujo Committee (questioning from Samuel Untermyer), 1912-1913   Image: Bank Run in Michigan, USA, February 1933. Source: Public Domain. By Brian Nelson, CFA It’s sometimes easy to lose sight of the fragility of a banking firm’s business model. Let’s examine the reasons why we don’t like banking firms’ dividends. Reason #1: A Bank Run Is Always Possible. Reason #2: Others Have Tried to Invest in Bank Dividends and Have Failed. Reason #3: … Read more