MSI

Apple Owns the “Sixth Source” of an Economic Moat

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Apple (AAPL) hit the ball out of the park again in its fiscal fourth-quarter results ended September 26. Apple skeptics are in some ways like Chicago Cubs fans, often saying “wait until next year,” but in both cases, we think Apple and the Cubbies are the real deal (Valuentum is based in the Chicagoland area). As the iPhone giant strings strong report after strong report together, at what point does the market finally give it full credit in the valuation context? Shares continue to trade at less than 9 times earnings, excluding net cash on the balance sheet, as we outlined in the following: “Quantifying Apple’s Tremendous Investment Case.” That is a phenomenal value in today’s still-overheated equity market. The … Read more

Quantifying Apple’s Tremendous Investment Case

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A prolonged period of low interest rates has driven income investors to dividend growth investing as a way to achieve retirement goals. Traditional dividend growth analysis has rested on evaluating a company’s dividend payout ratio and its track record of historical consecutive annual dividend increases. A supplement to these approaches, the forward-looking, cash-flow- based Dividend Cushion ratio maps a company’s future expected free cash flows to its future expected cash dividends paid (after considering balance sheet health) and has shown to be a superior indicator of both dividend growth (risk) and total return relative to other dividend growth analytical processes. The results in this paper showcase the outperformance of a select number of high-yielding equities with strong Dividend Cushion ratios … Read more

Apple and World Domination?

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Everybody wants to love Apple (AAPL), except those that don’t own it. If you don’t own it, don’t sweat it. We still very much like the company, but there are a number of other companies where we can certainly find common ground. Our cost basis on Apple is but a fraction of where it is trading, and we’re still happy with the latest transaction from the July 24, 2013, email transaction alert when the company was added to the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio and when the existing position in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio was increased. To us, Apple is not so much a technology company, as it is levered to the ongoing strength toward consumer mobilization, which is inevitable. … Read more

Dividend Increases for the Week Ending August 1

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending August 1. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access the dividend reports please use the ‘Symbol’ search box in the website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week Acme United (ACU): now $0.09 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.08. Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP): now $0.625 per share quarterly distribution, was $0.611. CBOE (CBOE): now $0.21 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.18. CorEnergy (CORR): now $0.13 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.129. Crane (CR): now $0.33 share quarterly dividend, was $0.30. Healthcare Trust of America (HTA): now $0.145 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.14375. Host … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week November 20

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending November 20. 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 AFLAC (AFL): now $0.33 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.28. Agilent Technologies (A): now $0.194 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.180. American Equity Investment Life (AEL): now $0.32 per share annual dividend, was $0.30. Brown-Forman (BF.A): now $0.1795 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.1743. Capital City Bank (CCBG): now $0.15 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.14. ChoiceOne Financial Services (COFS): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, … Read more

Stock Market Outlook for 2021

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By Valuentum Analysts February 8, 2021 2020 was one for the history books. We covered our thoughts and reflections on the past year in our “2020 Won’t Soon Be Forgotten” article (link here), and now we are looking towards the future. Global health authorities should be able to bring an end to the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic sooner than many had expected as several vaccines have already been improved for emergency use and several others appear increasingly likely to get approved. Global vaccine distribution activities are currently underway, and this should allow the world to slowly return to pre-pandemic activities. Before then, immense stimulus measures launched primarily in developed nations should support global economic activities until the public health crisis … Read more

The Best Years Are Ahead

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By Brian Nelson, CFA — The wind is at our backs. — The Federal Reserve, Treasury, and regulatory bodies of the U.S. may have no choice but to keep U.S. markets moving higher. The likelihood of the S&P 500 reaching 2,000 ever again seems remote, and I would not be surprised to see 5,000 on the S&P 500 before we see 2,500-3,000, if the latter may be in the cards. The S&P 500 is trading at ~4,100 at the time of this writing. — The high end of our fair value range on the S&P 500 remains just shy of 4,000, but I foresee a massive shift in long-term capital out of traditional bonds into equities this decade (and markets … Read more

8 Announcements and Top Research You May Have Missed

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8 Announcements. This article was sent to members via email March 27. By Brian Nelson, CFA Hi everyone, Brian here. Trust you are doing great! Here are eight announcements I want you to be aware of: Everything we do is for our members. We’re very proud of the outperformance of the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, that we’ve never had a dividend cut in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, that our high-yield ideas are holding up very well, and the success rates of the Exclusive capital-appreciation ideas and short-idea considerations are running at approximately 80%. We’re proud to be your research partner. The odds of a Fed rate cut are going up as yield-curve inversion continues to threaten. The risks are more behavioral in … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week November 19

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending November 19. 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 360 DigiTech (QFIN): now $0.14 per share quarterly dividend. AFLAC (AFL): now $0.40 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.33. Agilent Technologies (A): now $0.21 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.194. American National Bankshares (AMNB): now $0.28 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.27. Amkor Technology (AMKR): now $0.05 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.04. AMMO 8.75% PFD SER A (POWWP): now $1.0148 per share dividend, was $0.2412. … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of November 17

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending November 17. 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                          AECOM (ACM): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.18. Agilent Technologies (A): now $0.236 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.225. Alibaba (BABA): now $1.00/ADS annual dividend. Amkor Technology (AMKR): now $0.07875 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.0750. Artisan Partners Asset Management (APAM): Now $0.65 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.61. BankFirst Capital (BFCC): now $0.90 per share dividend, was $0.85. Berry Global Group … Read more