Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending December 2

Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending December 2. 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 Atlantica Yield (ABY): now $0.163 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.145. California First National Bancorp (CFNB): now $0.46 per share annual dividend, was $0.44. Canadian Imperial Bank (CM): now C$1.24 per share quarterly dividend, was C$1.21. Capital Southwest (CSWC): now $0.17 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.11. Cass Information Systems (CASS): now $0.23 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.22. CCB Bankshares (CZYB): now $0.09 per share … Read more

Podcast: Why ETFs and Roasting the Banks

The Valuentum analyst team talks about why we don’t like the business models of banking entities, why they are currently destroying economic value, but also why the team includes exposure in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. What gives? Find out in this ~9 minute podcast. If you cannot view the video, please view the transcript that follows. Tickerized for holdings in the exchange traded funds, XLF and KBE, and for various financials-oriented ETFs.  Kris Rosemann: Hello and welcome to the Valuentum Securities podcast. My name is Kris Rosemann Associate Investment Analyst at Valuentum. With me is Chris Araos and Brian Nelson President of Equity Research and ETF Analysis at Valuentum. Today, we are going to have a quick discussion over … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending September 2

Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending September 2. 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 Bank of America (BAC): now $0.075 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.05. Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS): now C$0.74 per share quarterly dividend, was C$0.72. Broadcom (AVGO): now $0.51 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.50. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP): now $0.59 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.57. Campbell Soup (CPB): now $0.35 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.31. Capital Southwest (CSWC): now $0.11 per share quarterly … Read more

Asset Managers: Capital Retention In the Name of Capital Preservation

In recent years, the operating theme for many asset managers has shifted to capital preservation, particularly in their efforts to serve the large and growing number of baby boomers and commercial clients managing pensions. This is a reasonably expected change when considering that many investors lost a significant amount of capital during the Financial Crisis, many of which are still recovering. The ramifications of the credit crunch have led to requirements for increased transparency and regulatory compliance, adding structural costs to the asset-management business model, but this is only one side of the coin. The volume of investable assets is set to increase to a whopping $102 trillion by 2020 from ~$64 trillion today, fueled by an increase in the … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending January 30

Let’s take a look at dividend increases/decreases for the week ending January 30.

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending July 25

Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending July 25. 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 Alliance Bancorp (ALLB): now $0.06 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.05. Altera (ALTR): now $0.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.15. BancorpSouth (BXS): now $0.075 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.05. BankFinancial (BFIN): now $0.02 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.01. Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB): now $0.23 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.223. BBCN Bancorp (BBCN): now $0.10 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.075. BorgWarner (BWA): … Read more

Valuentum Economic Castleâ„¢ Rating Update

Read: Keeping the Horse Before the Cart: Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ Rating The Economic Castle Focuses on the Magnitude of Economic Value Creation The Valuentum Economic Castle™ rating is an enhancement of the competitive advantage framework (commonly known as economic moat analysis) that has become widespread and ubiquitous within the investing world. Whereas an economic moat framework evaluates a firm on the basis of the sustainability and durability of its competitive advantages, Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ rating evaluates a firm on the basis of the firm’s future economic profit spread (return on invested capital less its weighted average cost of capital). The companies with the strongest Valuentum Economic Castle™ ratings are poised to generate the most economic value for shareholders in the … Read more

Dividend Increases for the Week Ending April 25

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending April 11. 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 1st Source Corp (SRCE): now $0.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.17. Altra Holdings (AIMC): now $0.12 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.10. Apple (AAPL): now $3.29 per share quarterly dividend, was $3.05. Aspen Insurance Holdings (AHL): now $0.20 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.18. Avery Dennison (AVY): now $0.35 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.29. BCB Bancorp (BCBP): now $0.14 per share quarterly dividend, was … Read more

Surveying Fourth Quarter Performance at the Money Center Banks

Let’s examine a number of reasons why we don’t prefer banking entities and take a look at recent performance from industry constituents. A challenging rate environment and declining mortgage originations offer key headwinds.

The Mortgage Refinancing Boom Could Be Ending

Early Wednesday morning, the Mortgage Banker’s Association (MBA) announced that refinancing activity declined 20% from one week earlier. Adjusted for the Labor Day weekend, total mortgage applications dropped 13.5% from the previous week. Consistent with the dramatic upward movement in interest rates, refinancing activity is down 71% since it peaked during the week of May 3, 2013. Why Do We Monitoring Refinancing Activity? When homeowners refinance, a couple outcomes can occur that pump more dollars into the economy. First, with a refinanced mortgage, owners may choose to take equity out of the home, allowing for large purchases like vehicles or even home remodeling. CoreLogic recently reported that 2.5 million more residential properties have returned to positive equity in the second quarter … Read more