General Mills’ Pet Segment Performs Well

Image Source: General Mills Inc – Second Quarter Fiscal 2020 Earnings IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On December 18, General Mills Inc (GIS) reported second quarter results for its fiscal 2020 (period ended November 24, 2019), which saw shares of GIS rise by almost 2% during normal trading hours that day as investors were excited over its strong performance of its pet food sales. Please note General Mills completed its $8.0 billion all-cash acquisition of Blue Buffalo Pet Products Inc in April 2018, and investors have been eagerly awaiting the revenue growth stimulus that deal was projected to generate. Shares of GIS are trading near the very top of our fair value range estimate and yield 3.7% as of this … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending November 29

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending November 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 Becton, Dickinson (BDX): now $0.79 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.77. Deswell Industries (DSWL): now $0.08 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.07. Dynacor Gold Mines (DNGDF): now CAD 0.015 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.01. Exchange Bank (EXSR): now $1.15 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.10. Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI): now $0.70 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.68. Golub Capital BDC (GBDC): now $0.33 … Read more

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

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

Smucker Cuts Guidance with Weakness Widespread

Image Source: J. M. Smucker Company – IR Presentation By Callum Turcan J. M. Smucker Company (SJM) is known for its peanut butter (sold under such brands as Jif and Adams), jams (including its namesake Smucker’s offering and Knott’s Berry Farm products), coffees (such as Folgers and Café Bustelo), pet products (including Nature’s Recipe and Meow Mix), and more. The firm posted first quarter earnings for FY2020 (quarter ended July 31) on August 27 that upset the market and sent shares down more than 8% that day. Smucker’s revenue and earnings both missed estimates while management lowered the firm’s full year guidance for fiscal 2020. Smucker now expects its FY2020 EPS to come in at $8.35-$8.55/share, down from $8.45-$8.65/share previously. … Read more

A Tale of Two Big Agricultural Industries: Protein Producers Win and Farm Equipment Manufacturers Lose After Recent USDA Report

Image Shown: The tale of two big agricultural companies in one chart, with shares of poultry producer Sanderson Farms Inc (SAFM) shooting up on Monday, August 12, as chicken feed prices fell after a recent USDA report (which sent corn prices sharply lower) while shares of agricultural equipment manufacturer AGCO Corporation (AGCO) tanked as the market priced in continued pressure on US farm incomes and the dynamic impact that has on demand for farm equipment. By Callum Turcan On August 12, the USDA released a report that stated US farmers had planted more corn than expected at 90 million acres (2.6% higher than consensus estimates) and that forecasted corn yields were also higher than expected at 169.5 bushels an acre … Read more

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

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

“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?

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

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

Kraft-Heinz Blows Up, More Updates!

Image shown: The rating history of Kraft-Heinz (KHC). Valuentum members were warned in advance of this pricey equity in 2016/2017, and the VBI rating never advanced past 5 since then after registering a 1, the worst rating, on two separate occasions. Dear members, I wanted to first of all welcome our new members. There have been a lot of new ones during the past few weeks. Thank you. The buzz might be coming from the new book launch, Value Trap. If you haven’t read the book yet, please do so here. Members can get the pdf digital download today at 25% off. For new members, reading this book is simply par for the course to get a feel for how we look at … Read more