RIO

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending August 11

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending August 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 Badger Meter (BMI): now $0.13 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.115. Black Stone Minerals (BSM): now $0.3125 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.2875. Buckeye Partners (BPL): now $1.2625 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.25. CAE (CAE): now CAD 0.09 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.08. Carlisle (CSL): now $0.37 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.35. Carlyle (CG): now $0.42 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.10. … Read more

Valuentum’s 3 Breakthroughs in the Field of Finance and More

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Valuentum’s President Brian Nelson pauses for a picture before speaking at the CFA Society of Houston in March 2017. By Valuentum Editorial Staff Let’s cover Valuentum’s 3 major breakthroughs in the field of finance. The first one is big and may challenge you to rethink everything you think you know about investing. 1. On a logical framework, Valuentum has debunked John C. Bogle’s landmark syllogism that has paved the way for the concept of index investing. Index investing has been built on a logical shortcoming, whether supported by evidence or not. We think it is important that the investment community know of this. Read (pdf): The “Luck” and “Randomness” of Index Funds (2018), Brian Nelson, CFA See video documentation: /FALLACY_of_Index_Funds To … Read more

Fair Value Estimate Changes: Facebook, Twitter, Caterpillar and More…

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  By Kris Rosemann and Brian Nelson, CFA Let’s begin this edition of Recent Material Fair Value Estimate Changes’ with a discussion of some of the highest-profile names that made the list. If you require background reading on why we make changes to our valuation models, please see: What causes fair value estimates to change? Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio holding Facebook (FB) continues to separate itself from other social media companies, and we continue to be impressed by its free cash flow generating prowess and net cash-rich balance sheet. Our most recent fair value estimate increase comes largely as a result of greater optimism regarding the sustainability of the company’s pace of revenue growth, reflected by a hike in our mid-cycle … Read more

Little Progress Seen in Iron Ore Market Balancing

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Image Source: Peter Craven By Kris Rosemann Recent reports from the likes of BHP Billiton (BHP) have echoed our previous concerns with the iron ore market, “Iron Ore Market Stability Still A Ways Off.” A number of factors on both the supply and demand sides of things are expected to provide pressure to the price of iron as we move further into the back half of 2016. BHP, for one, anticipates economic uncertainty, political instability and well supplied markets to continue weighing on iron ore prices, among other commodities.  Seasonal factors will weigh on Chinese (FXI) demand–the nation is the world’s largest purchaser of seaborne iron–in the winter months when construction typically slows as a result of more inclement weather. … Read more

Brexit: Secession Bells Are Ringing!

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First Baptist Church in Columbia, S.C., where the first secession convention in the United States opened on Dec. 17, 1860. Source: Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Photo. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Web. 24 Jun. 2016. Global markets are plunging, and the implosion may still be in the early innings. Market valuations remain stretched among stagnant global economic growth, and “Brexit” may be the catalyst for a correction. In the paraphrased words of the well-known The Day of the Jackal author, Frederick Forsyth: the peasants have spoken. On June 23, the UK (EWU) held a referendum, in which anyone of voting age could take part, to decide whether the country should leave the European Union. The turnout was incredible at nearly 72%, and … Read more

Iron Ore Market Stability Still A Ways Off

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Image Source: Peter Craven After an increase in iron ore prices in early 2016, some iron ore producers have warned that the rally may not be sustained, while others believe the beginning of a prolonged rebound may be in place. The Chinese economy (FXI), the largest consumer of iron ore in the world, remains in a transition phase while iron ore producers continue to increase production, with some producing at record levels. Many major suppliers are currently undertaking large investment projects that will create material production capacity growth in the future as well. Though we cannot deny the slight bounce in iron ore prices, we aren’t sure supply and demand rebalancing is right around the corner. Recent headlines may cause … Read more

Recent Add Cracker Barrel Surges Ahead; BHP Cuts

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February 23 was met with intense selling as investors digested news that the crude oil (USO) markets won’t become rational anytime soon. As we had outlined in our opening piece to the Best Ideas Newsletter a few days ago, “,” Saudi Arabia is not going to back down, and the Oil Minister of the member nation of OPEC even went so far as to say he “welcomes new additional supplies,” suggesting that the global glut of crude oil will continue for the foreseeable future. Commodity-oriented equities led the selling pressure. For those that have been reading our work for the past several months, none of this is new “news.” We’ve been warning about the risk for some time, and we … Read more

More Market Weakness: We Haven’t Hit Bottom Yet

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Global equity markets are falling yet again February 11, in part due to cautious comments from US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen about the health of the global economy and the legality/efficaciousness of negative interest rates, “Dividend Growth ‘Bubble’ To Continue But For How Long? (Feb 2016).” Market onlookers continue to fear that the Fed has nothing left to give, “out of ammunition,” with the tank of accommodative policy empty, and it might just be. To us, however, the news flow is more of the same. The world continues to be awash in crude oil (USO), and many are now starting to think that what was once mostly an oversupply problem is now being compounded by a demand problem as … Read more

Google…Ahem…Alphabet!

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“A falling stock price doesn’t mean the stock is cheaper; it doesn’t mean that the stock will go back up; and it certainly doesn’t mean that the stock can’t fall further. In some cases, a falling stock can become more expensive as it drops, if its value falls by a greater amount.” – Brian Nelson, CFA The company formerly known as Google, Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), is surging in after-hours trading February 1. As a result of Google’s stock split in 2014, we include both share classes (non-voting Class C, GOOG, and Class A, GOOGL) in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, collectively one of its largest holdings (5%+). Alphabet, then known as Google, first registered a 10 on the Valuentum Buying … Read more

The Bounce in Energy and Potash’s “Surprising” Dividend Cut

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Nothing like Valuentum’s optimistic article last week, January 21, in Barron’s to get the energy markets popping, “Is Kinder Morgan on Road to Recovery,” would you say? Of course, we say that in jest. The equity markets January 28 were defined by optimism that two of the globe’s major energy resource producers, the cartel OPEC and Russia (RSX), would finally come together to alleviate the pain that has been exerted on the price of the black liquid the past 12-24 months with a “meeting.” What we found to be peculiar, however, is that instead of OPEC letting what turned into a “rumor” run, helping to further drive crude oil prices higher, OPEC delegates quickly denied the talk of a potential … Read more