SHLD

Sears Converges to Our $36 Fair Value Estimate; Shares Off Nearly 25% Today

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Sears announced Tuesday that it would close between 100 and 200 stores (both of the Sears and Kmart variety) in an effort to shore up its finances as it struggles to compete with big-box retailers like Lowes (LOW), Home Depot (HD), Wal-Mart (WMT), and Target (TGT). The troubled retailer also said that comparable same-store-sales continue to fall and that its earnings for the fourth-quarter would come in at less than half of last-year’s levels. Valuentum subscribers were well aware of Sears’ overvaluation as the firm now trades in-line with our $36 fair value estimate, after falling by roughly half since we initiated coverage of the retailer in early October. Please click on the link below to view our initiation equity report on Sears Holdings (SHLD): << Our 16-page Report … Read more

The Impact of the US Housing Recovery Cannot Be Underestimated

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Valuentum reveals the far-reaching implications of a strengthening US housing market.

Cisco Rallies Big Time!

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Image shown: Performance of the S&P 500 (SPY) since August 2017. As US equities continue their newly-found volatility, let’s take a look at some recent earnings reports and other developments around the markets. Cisco, the workhorse of both simulated newsletter portfolios, put up a fantastic report and upped its dividend. Berkshire continues to love Apple, and we maintain the view that the 10-year Treasury rate may be the greatest determinant of how well stocks perform in the coming decades. Airlines, garbage stocks, the “gas tax,” and more. By Kris Rosemann and Brian Nelson, CFA Do you know how happy it makes us to say that Cisco (CSCO) has been a staple of both the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and … Read more

Assessing Reactions to Trump’s Victory

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Image Source: Gage Skidmore Donald Trump will be the 45th President of the United States of America. Let’s dig into some of the reactions across the market. We’re keeping our cool. By Kris Rosemann and Brian Nelson, CFA The global markets often don’t know what to make of surprises, a characteristic that was on full display as news came rolling in that Donald Trump would soon become the 45th President of the United States, “trumping” Secretary Hillary Clinton in a decisive electoral college victory, despite the popular vote eventually going to the Democratic candidate. In the wee hours of the morning Wednesday, November 9, major markets across the globe were in shock, showing red almost across the board. At one … Read more

ICYMI — Podcast: 2nd Annual Nelson Exclusive Yearly Round Up Call

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Tune in to President of Investment Research Brian Nelson’s Exclusive Yearly Roundup Call. Ladies and gentlemen, Thank you for joining us on our second annual Nelson Exclusive roundup call. I appreciate your interest very much, and I appreciate your attention even more. Just an important reminder, Valuentum is an information provider, not a broker or financial advisor, and we do not issue recommendations of any kind. With that said, let’s get started. These are the best of times. We have now surpassed the 9-year mark since the March 2009 panic bottom that sent shudders through the global financial system, and the US economy is as strong as it has ever been. US gross domestic product is now approaching $20 trillion … Read more

Department Stores Limp Across Finish Line In 2016

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By Kris Rosemann Department stores continue to drag the broader retail space (XRT) lower in early 2017. Poor sales updates from popular general merchandise stores in the 2016 holiday season are weighing on the majority of the sector, from luxury names down to discount chains. Online retail continues to plunder traffic from traditional brick and mortar retailers as the ‘bricks-to-clicks’ movement has never been more apparent. The drop in mall foot traffic in the fourth quarter of 2016 was the largest such drop in the history of the mall as mall shoppers visited half the number of stores they did in the same period five years ago. Traditional retailers have turned to aggressive discounting, only to see their margins fade … Read more

There Is Milk At The Store

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This article first appeared in the September edition of the High Yield Dividend Newsletter. For more information about this publication, please see here. “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” — Winston Churchill By Brian Nelson, CFA Very few of us could have imagined that we’d witness the bull market that began on that fateful day in March 2009 that might very well mark a generational low. In 2009, major investment banks around the globe were struggling to survive, and the fallout in the mortgage markets left the banks holding paper that nobody wanted to own, let alone buy. The global financial system … Read more

Changing Millennial Preferences and the Death of the Blue Box?

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A video that has been making the rounds challenging the markups at some of the high-end luxury dealers.

Nelson: The 16 Most Important Steps To Understand The Stock Market

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A previous version of this article appeared on our website July 21, 2013. Refreshed and updated throughout, as of July 2018. By Brian Nelson, CFA After earning my MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and training stock and credit analysts from large organizations over the past decade or so, I have heard just about every question (though I admit I am still surprised by many things and remain a very humble student of the markets). I’ve also spent years perfecting the discounted cash flow process for large research organizations such as Morningstar and studied under one of the most famed aggressive growth investors of all time, Richard Driehaus. My knowledge runs the gamut from value through … Read more

How to Think About Corporate Tax Reform

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