MSFT

Market Mayhem — Alerts for Members

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During these extremely volatile times, it’s important to stay focused. On December 15, we informed all of our members to “Pay Attention.” Shortly thereafter, we notified members of the potential for a stock market technical breakdown. This morning, we offered a pre-market briefing about the importance of thinking about portfolio protection. For Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter members: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?preview=true&m=1110817109903&ca=e2406cd6-c113-4344-8731-493f33fc44a4&id=preview For High Yield Dividend Newsletter members: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?preview=true&m=1110817109903&ca=b3ba530f-38b3-489a-ac96-2961dca89c6b&id=preview For Exclusive members: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?preview=true&m=1110817109903&ca=ba6d90c0-4433-48b2-9b8a-aac4ddf9006e&id=preview We’re here for any questions. Please just let us know how we can help! Kind regards, Brian Nelson, CFA  brian@valuentum.com

Adding Xilinx to the Dividend Growth Newsletter Portfolio

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We’re adding Xilinx to the simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. The company generates a hefty Dividend Cushion ratio of 3.3! By Brian Nelson, CFA Xilinx (XLNX) rewrites the book when it comes to free cash flow efficiency! The company makes programmable logic devices (PLDs), including programable System on Chips (SoCs) and three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs), and its intellectual property is a key component of its value proposition. During the three fiscal years ending 2018, for example, Xilinx’s operating cash flow averaged over $830 million, while its entire cash bill for capital spending, including growth and maintenance, averaged just over $50 million, meaning all capital spending represented, on average, approximately 6% of operating cash flow. This is simply incredible. During … Read more

Microsoft Reports Strong Start to Fiscal Year

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Image Source: Mike Mozart Simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio idea Microsoft reported impressive results in its fiscal first quarter, and its robust free cash flow generation continues to pave the way for future dividend increases. By Kris Rosemann Shares of simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio idea Microsoft (MSFT) received a nice boost after its fiscal 2019 first quarter report, released October 24. Revenue in the quarter advanced 19% on a year-over-year basis to $29.1 billion, led by 24% revenue growth in its ‘Intelligent Cloud’ from the year ago period as strength in Azure continues to drive server products and cloud services revenue higher. The company’s ‘Business Processes’ segment turned in 19% year-over-year revenue growth in the quarter thanks to continued … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending September 21

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending September 21. 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 ALPS Emerging Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (EDOG): now $0.3586 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.2628. ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF (EQL): now $0.38179 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.35945. ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (SDOG): now $0.3924 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.3836. Canadian Banc Corp (CNDCF): now CAD 0.1069 per share monthly dividend, was CAD 0.1057. Citizens Financial Services (CZFS): now $0.44 per share quarterly … Read more

In The News: 10-Year Treasury Yield, Wage Pressure in Restaurants, Cannabis Volatility

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Let’s take a look at some of the hottest topics around the markets. By Kris Rosemann Financial stocks (XLF) rallied during the trading session September 19 as the 10-year US Treasury yield crossed the 3% threshold for the first time since late May 2018 and investors anticipated rising net interest margins for banks. Strong levels of consumer confidence are likely helping the banking sector as well, but we’re watching closely as the Fed continues on its hawkish path with two more rate hikes expected in 2018 after completing seven hikes since December 2015. The potential for an inverted yield curve cannot be ruled out, but some observers are expecting a continued rise in the 10-year Treasury yield through the end … Read more

On Diversification

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Diversification is one of the most important components of equity investing. By Brian Nelson, CFA I wanted to touch base briefly today to see how everyone is doing, and how we can continue to make our website better. We’ve been getting a lot of great feedback on the ability to download our data in Excel and create your customized screens. Instead of having to click on a number of the web pages on the website to access the screens, all you have to do is download the Excel file, and use the standard sorting functionality in it. Let us know if you think we need to host a walk through of how to use the Excel screener. We think it … Read more

Valuentum’s Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) Distribution

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The weighted average cost of capital is one of the most subjective measures in corporate finance, but it is also one of the most important ones. “The most important item over time in valuation is obviously interest rates…If interest rates are destined to be at low levels…It makes any stream of earnings from investments worth more money. The bogey is always what government bonds yield….Any investment is worth all the cash you’re going to get out between now and judgment day discounted back. The discounting back is affected by whether you choose interests rates like those of Japan or interest rates like those we had in 1982…When we had 15 percent short-term rates in 1982, it was silly to pay … Read more

Strong Finish to Fiscal 2018 for Cash-Rich Microsoft

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Simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio idea Microsoft turned in a solid fiscal 2018 fourth quarter report. The company continues to throw off tremendous amounts of cash even as it continues to invest materially in future growth opportunities. By Kris Rosemann Software giant and simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio idea Microsoft (MSFT) continues to throw off significant amounts of free cash flow. Fiscal 2018 fourth quarter results were released July 19 and revealed 3% growth in free cash flow generation for the full year period, even after a 43% increase in capital spending. Its Dividend Cushion ratio sits at an impressive 3.5, and cash dividends paid in fiscal 2018 of $12.7 billion were well-covered by the $32.3 billion in free cash … Read more

What Are the Qualities of Highly-Rated Stocks on the Valuentum Buying Index?

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If you were a CEO, what are the 7 most important metrics to focus on to get a rating of 10 on the Valuentum Buying Index? This is a great question because it hits at the absolute heart of the most important concept of investing. Investing may be about buying a great company with a solid and growing dividend, but it most certainly is about buying a great company at a discount to intrinsic value. The difference between what someone can pay for something and what something is worth is the most important concept of investing: price versus value. The price-versus-value component is an integral part of the Valuentum Buying Index. In fact, it is the first component. After all, … Read more

Oracle’s Dividend Still Very Healthy

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Image Source: May Wong Oracle issued what is likely conservative fiscal first-quarter 2019 guidance, but the company continues to generate record amounts of operating cash flow and has a solid net cash position on the books. We’re not worried about the dividend. By Brian Nelson, CFA Oracle’s (ORCL) Dividend Cushion ratio is 4.5 at the time of this writing, meaning that, on the basis of expectations of future free cash flows relative to expected cash dividends paid, assuming a nice 12-18% annual growth rate in dividends per share over the next 5 years (as shown in its dividend report), and factoring in its net cash position on the balance sheet, we expect Oracle to cover future expected cash dividends paid … Read more