RTX

ICYMI: Never Been More Bullish Even as Buffett Dumps Airlines

by

Image Source: IATA. Data Source: McKinsey & Company (IATA). Airlines haven’t been able to earn their estimated cost of capital for as long as we can remember. There have been hundreds of airline bankruptcies since deregulation in 1978. By Brian Nelson, CFA On Saturday, May 2, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) reported expectedly weak first-quarter results. We won’t be ditching Berkshire Hathaway’s stock in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio so long as Uncle Warren is at the helm, but there were a couple takeaways from the report that we want you to be aware of (we’ll have another more extensive note focusing more exclusively on Berkshire coming out soon). The first big piece of news, something that should not be surprising … Read more

Lockheed Martin Marches Forward During These Harrowing Times

by

Image Source: Lockheed Martin Corporation – First Quarter Fiscal 2020 Earnings IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On April 21, Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio holding Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) reported first-quarter earnings for fiscal 2020 (period ended March 29, 2020) that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. Even better, management largely kept Lockheed Martin’s fiscal 2020 guidance intact, save for a marginal reduction in the firm’s expected sales which is primarily due to supply chain and production issues that the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic is creating for Lockheed Martin’s ‘Aeronautics’ business. With that in mind, Lockheed Martin is still forecasting ~6% revenue growth this year, highlighting the resilience of defense contractor’s financials even during harrowing times such as these. Shares … Read more

Our Reports on Stocks in the Prime Aerospace & Defense Industry

by

Image Source: Robert Sullivan Structure of the Aerospace and Defense Industry The global commercial aerospace duopoly is being challenged by encroaching international competitors who are intent on increasing market share, but Boeing and Airbus continue to dominate the large commercial aircraft segment. Long-term demand for commercial aircraft is cyclical and depends on the health of the credit markets, airline customers, and lessors, but massive backlogs and a strong multi-decade demand outlook are reasons for confidence. The defense industry has strong competition in all market segments and remains dependent on government funding decisions and competing budget priorities. We’ve optimized our industrials coverage. Our reports can be found here.

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week April 29

by

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending April 29. 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      Adecoagro (AGRO): now $0.1571 per share semi-annual dividend. AGCO (AGCO): now $0.24 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.20. Alexander & Baldwin (ALEX): now $0.20 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.19. Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP): now $0.35 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. Altra Industrial Motion (AIMC): now $0.09 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.08. American Water Works (AWK): now $0.655 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.603. … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of April 28

by

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending April 28. 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                          Adecoagro (AGRO): now $0.1626 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.1602. AGCO (AGCO): now $0.29 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.24. American Water Works (AWK): now $0.7075 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.6550. Ameriprise Financial (AMP): now $1.35 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.25. Avery Dennison (AVY): now $0.81 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.75. Banco Santander (SAN): now EUR 0.0595 per share final dividend, … Read more

Stock Market Outlook for 2021

by

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

Industrial Bellwethers A Mixed Bag: GE, BA, CAT, DE, UNP

by

Image Source: Caterpillar Inc – May 2022 Caterpillar Investor Day Presentation By Callum Turcan In this article, we cover the industrial landscape by digging into the recent financial and operational performance of General Electric Company (GE), Boeing Co (BA), Caterpillar Inc (CAT), Deere & Company (DE), and Union Pacific Corporation (UNP). Common themes include robust demand for their offerings, healthy order backlogs, and meaningful pricing power, though headwinds include substantial inflationary pressures, supply chain hurdles, and in certain instances, geopolitical tensions. General Electric will soon separate into three different publicly traded companies, and on a consolidated basis the firm is doing much better than years past. In 2022 and on a non-GAAP basis, General Electric is guiding for a 150+ … Read more

Our Thoughts on Berkshire Hathaway’s Latest Annual Report

by

Image Shown: Shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B stock have been on an upward climb since June 2020 with room for additional capital appreciation upside. The top end of our fair value estimate range for BRK.B sits at $275 per share. By Callum Turcan We include Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.A) (BRK.B) Class B shares in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and continue to be enormous fans of Warren Buffett. Berkshire Hathaway reported fourth quarter 2020 earnings on February 27 which saw the firm’s ‘operating earnings’ (a non-GAAP metric that better reflects Berkshire’s underlying financial performance) surge higher by 14% year-over-year aided by strength at its ‘railroad, utilities and energy’ and ‘other businesses’ operating segments. However, Berkshire’s operating earnings for … Read more

The Best Years Are Ahead

by

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

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week April 30

by

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending April 30. 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 Alexander & Baldwin (ALEX): now $0.16 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.15. Altra Industrial Motion (AIMC): now $0.08 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.06. Ameriprise Financial (AMP): now $1.13 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.04. American Water Works (AWK): now $0.6025 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.5500. Ames National (ATLO): now $0.26 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. Apple (AAPL): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, … Read more