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

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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 Reason #1: A Bank Run Is Always Possible Though the history of banking dates back to as early as 2000 BC in Babylonia, the makings of the present-day banking system in the US really didn’t take hold until the beginning of the 20th century. Some financial historians may argue for a later date, but we … Read more

How to Think About Corporate Tax Reform

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US Congress Is Getting Ready to Pass a Massive ~$2.2 Trillion Fiscal Stimulus Bill

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Image Shown: US equities have started to recover some of their lost ground as the likelihood that the US Congress will pass a massive ~$2.2 trillion fiscal stimulus and emergency spending package, dubbed the CARES Act, has increased significantly over the past week as seen through the bounce in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). President Trump has clearly indicated that he intends to sign such a bill into law as soon as possible, with the US House of Representatives expected to take up the legislation this upcoming Friday morning on March 27. By Callum Turcan On March 25, the US Senate worked late into the night to secure a bipartisan compromise on a massive ~$2.2 trillion fiscal stimulus … Read more

Why Analytical Experience Matters

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Risky industrial cyclicals and recovering banks were the theme behind Bloomberg’s Dividend Tip Sheet, released June 18. We applaud the news outlet’s efforts to put together such a list, but a quick look speaks to the importance of focusing on sustained dividend growth – not just growth alone. A number of these firms will likely fall short of their dividend growth targets in coming years, and some—namely the airlines—will likely have to retract dividend payments within the next decade or so. Income investors have the dual need of income and growth, and this list is lacking in the former. Most constituents on this list yield less than 2%, and out of the four that yield greater than 2% (on a … Read more

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 April 29

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending April 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 abaxis (ABAX): now $0.12 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.11.         Allegiant Travel Company (ALGT): now $0.70 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.30. American National Insurance (ANAT): now $0.82 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.80. AmeriGas Partners (APU): now $0.94 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.92. Ameriprise Financial (AMP): now $0.75 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.67. Apple (AAPL): now $0.57 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.52. … 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

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

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

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending May 1

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending May 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 Ames National (ATLO): now $0.25 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.24. American Water Works (AWK): now $0.55 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.50. Apple (AAPL): now $0.82 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.77. Capital Power Income (CPAXF): now CAD 0.48 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.45. Cheniere Energy Partners (CQP): now $0.64 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.63. Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (KOF): now … Read more