MCK

Johnson & Johnson’s Talc Problems Hit Another Bump

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Image Shown: Johnson & Johnson’s embattled ‘Baby Care’ segment performed poorly during the third quarter of 2019. Image Source: Johnson & Johnson – IR Presentation. By Callum Turcan Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) was back in the news Friday October 18 when the company announced it was voluntarily recalling “a single lot” of its embattled Johnson’s Baby Powder product in the US due to alleged asbestos contamination risks. The US Food and Drug Administration tested a single bottle from this lot, according to Johnson & Johnson, with the federal regulator noting that sub-trace levels (no greater than 0.00002%) of chrysotile asbestos had been detected in the bottle. Johnson & Johnson plans to vigorously contest these allegations and maintains that its talc … Read more

Johnson & Johnson Raises Full-Year Guidance Yet Again

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Image Shown: Shares of Johnson & Johnson climbed higher on October 15 after reporting a nice third quarter earnings report and raising guidance for the full year. By Callum Turcan On October 15, Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter holding Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported third-quarter 2019 earnings that were positively received by the market. The healthcare giant once again boosted full-year non-GAAP sales and EPS guidance, which we appreciate, on the back of solid performance at its ‘Pharmaceuticals’ and ‘Medical Devices’ segments. Please note that Johnson & Johnson had already raised its guidance for 2019 twice before this latest increase, which we covered in this July 2019 piece here and this April 2019 piece here. During the third … Read more

ICYMI: Interview with Valuentum’s President Brian M. Nelson, CFA

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Catch up with Valuentum’s President Brian M. Nelson, CFA in a recent interview with dividend growth investor Arne Magnus Lorentzen Ulland of the blog stockles. By Brian Nelson, CFA Recently, I was interviewed by Arne Magnus Lorentzen Ulland of the blog stockles. Arne is a dividend growth investor like many of you, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the interview he put together. I’m very grateful for his interest. His questions were fantastic. We discuss why and how I incorporate independence and integrity into the service at Valuentum. We go into detail regarding why Valuentum views stocks the way it does, and how Valuentum combines enterprise valuation and the information contained in prices in its stock-selection process. I discuss the pitfalls … Read more

Triple-A Rated J&J’s Opioid Liabilities Likely More Than Priced In

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  Image Source: J&J Shares of J&J have settled into the high-$120s at the time of this writing, well below our ~$150 fair value estimate. We’re going to stick with J&J in both the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio and Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio at this time. By Callum Turcan and Brian Nelson, CFA On August 26, an Oklahoma judge ruled that Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) had to pay $572 million to the state over its role in the opioid crisis in America. In particular, District Judge Thad Balkman noted that “Johnson & Johnson’s misleading marketing and promotion of opioids created a nuisance” that compromised the health of thousands in Oklahoma. Johnson & Johnson and its Janssen subsidiary will contest the … Read more

VBI 9-Rated AmerisourceBergen Now On Our Radar

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Let’s take a look at VBI 9-rated stock AmerisourceBergen, a pharmaceutical sourcing and distribution company that yields 2% as of this writing. We like AmerisourceBergen’s dividend growth story, strong free cash flow generation, guidance raise, and relatively low net debt load. We’ll also cover AmerisourceBergen’s downside risks as well as its upside potential. Shares appear undervalued as things stand today, with ABC trading below the low end of our fair value estimate range. By Callum Turcan Pharmaceutical sourcing and distribution company AmerisourceBergen (ABC) just popped up on our radar; its fundamentals are rock-solid and its technical readings indicate Wall Street is starting to take notice. The company just registered a 9 on the Valuentum Buying Index. This American healthcare company has consistently generated … Read more

Our Reports on Stocks in the Healthcare Products Distributors Industry

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Images Source: Express Scripts Structure of the Healthcare Products/Distributors Industry The healthcare distributors industry is made up of wholesale medical equipment products distributors, serving the dental, medical and animal health markets, and wholesale drug providers, which distribute pharmaceuticals, medical products/services, and other healthcare technologies. Both sub-spaces are highly competitive and continue to experience growth as a result of the aging population, increased healthcare awareness, and the proliferation of medical technology and testing. Participants face pricing pressure from both customers and suppliers as a result of competition. We’re neutral on the group. We have dropped coverage of the Healthcare Products/Distributors Industry.

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

Recently Asked Questions

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Image Source: Eric A version of this article appeared on our website November 2015. Article last updated June 2017. Republished May 7, 2019. The following questions cover the following topics: 1) Can you explain what the Dividend Cushion ratio measures and what it doesn’t? 2) Can you explain the difference between the raw, unadjusted Dividend Cushion ratio and the adjusted Dividend Cushion ratio? 3) Can you talk more about the Valuentum Buying Index (VBI) ratings? Why do some of your favorite ideas in the newsletter portfolios have lower VBI ratings than ones that are not in the newsletter portfolios? 4) Can you explain why you don’t always include companies in the newsletter portfolios that have strong Economic Castles, solid Dividend … 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