MORN

New York Times Experiences Advertising Weakness in Third Quarter

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On Thursday, the New York Times (click ticker for report: ) reported terrible third-quarter results that showed weakness in both print and digital advertising revenue. New York Times’ total revenue fell 0.6% as advertising revenue dropped nearly 9% during the period. The lower revenue was compounded by a 2.3% increase in operating costs during the period, as operating profit tumbled nearly 60% to $8.5 million from $21 million in the year-ago quarter. Print and digital advertising sales fell 10.9% and 2.2%, respectively, during the quarter and overwhelmed the 7.4% increase in circulation revenue. We’ve seen advertising weakness from other online-based consumer subscription firms such as Morningstar (click ticker for report: ), and we credit this trend to the growing digital … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week December 3

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending December 3. 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 Absecon Bancorp (ASCN): now $2.10 per share annual dividend, was $2.00. AES (AES): now $0.158 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.150. Amgen (AMGN): now $1.94 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.76. Axis Capital Holdings (AXS): now $0.43 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.42. Bank of Montreal (BMO): now CAD 1.33 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 1.06. Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS): now CAD 1.00 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

Nelson: The 16 Most Important Steps To Understand The Stock Market

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A previous version of this article appeared on our website July 21, 2013. Refreshed and updated throughout, as of July 2018. By Brian Nelson, CFA After earning my MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and training stock and credit analysts from large organizations over the past decade or so, I have heard just about every question (though I admit I am still surprised by many things and remain a very humble student of the markets). I’ve also spent years perfecting the discounted cash flow process for large research organizations such as Morningstar and studied under one of the most famed aggressive growth investors of all time, Richard Driehaus. My knowledge runs the gamut from value through … Read more

Dropping Coverage of the Securities Research Industry

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Image Source: Andreas Poike Valuentum is dropping coverage of the securities research industry to allocate resources elsewhere. Structure of the Securities Research Industry The securities research industry has become increasingly competitive, with a large number of rivals in the individual, advisor, and institutional markets. However, barriers to success for new entrants in the individual market are incredibly high, if not impossible, while the advisor market continues to be dominated by entrenched providers with deep ties. The institutional market is shielded to new rivals thanks to talent and capital costs, offering established players an attractive position. Licensed research and data can be a high-return means of generating sustainable, recurring business. We like the group’s structure. Dun & Bradstreet (DNB) Dun & Bradstreet … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of December 9

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending December 9. 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                Abbott Laboratories (ABT): now $0.51 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.47. ABM Industries (ABM): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.195. AGNC Investment Series C Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (AGNCN): now $0.5743 per share quarterly dividend was $0.4375. Albany (AIN): now $0.25 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.21. Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE): now $1.21 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.18. AltaGas … Read more

Economic Roundtable: Quant Quake, Quac-cidental Correlation

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Image Source: Anders Sandberg.  Last week, the markets may have revealed that internals aren’t all that healthy. Major equity markets experienced a “rotation” that reminded many investors of the “quant quake” from August 2007. As Valuentum’s Brian Nelson wrote in Value Trap, “just a few bad days in the market caused a rapid unwinding of many quant long-short strategies (back then). Goldman’s chief financial officer said at the time that the firm was witnessing ‘25-standard deviation moves, several days in a row.’” On the surface, markets last week seemed relatively calm, but as the episode in 2007 revealed the activity last week may just be the calm before the storm. Many are pointing to overcrowded trades in betting against certain … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending December 9

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending December 9. 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 Abbot Laboratories (ABT): now $0.265 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.26. Agree Realty Corporation (ADC): now $0.495 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.48. Air Lease (AL): now $0.075 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.05. Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE): now $0.83 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.80. Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (APYRE): now C$0.1275 per share monthly dividend, was C$0.125. American Assets Trust (AAT): … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending December 6

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending December 6. 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 Agree Realty (ADC): now $0.585 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.57. Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE): now $1.03 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.00. Bank of Montreal (BMO): now CAD 1.06 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 1.03. Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY): now $0.45 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.41. Buckle (BKE): now $0.30 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW): now $0.51 per … Read more

The Real Reason Why Moats Matter

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  Image Source: Ray in Manila Valuentum: We’re here today with Valuentum’s President of Investment Research Brian Nelson to talk about the concept of an economic moat. You think the concept of an economic moat is one of the most misunderstood topics in finance. Can you elaborate? Nelson: Sure, of course. An economic moat was first coined by the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, to describe significant and sustainable competitive advantages. Now, if you ask any business, they’re going to tell you that they have an economic moat of some sort, whether it’s some low-cost position or intangible asset or an impenetrable network effect. Investors today are at a disadvantage of misinformation given just how widespread the term moat or … Read more