Microsoft’s Dividend Is Rock Solid But Why?

Image Shown: Valuentum’s Dividend Report on Microsoft. The Dividend Cushion Ratio Deconstruction reveals the numerator and denominator of the Dividend Cushion ratio for Microsoft. At the core, the larger the numerator, or the healthier a company’s balance sheet and future free cash flow generation, relative to the denominator, or a company’s cash dividend obligations, the more durable the dividend. In the context of the Dividend Cushion ratio, Microsoft’s numerator is larger than its denominator suggesting strong dividend coverage in the future. The Dividend Cushion Ratio Deconstruction image puts sources of free cash in the context of financial obligations next to expected cash dividend payments over the next 5 years on a side-by-side comparison. Because the Dividend Cushion ratio and many … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week June 25

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending June 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 Alico (ALCO): now $0.50 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.18. Bancolombia S.A. (CIB): now $0.072 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.064. Darden Restaurants (DRI): now $1.10 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.88. Empire (EMLAF): now CAD 0.15 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.13. Fifth Street Asset Management (FSAM): now $0.014665 per share final dividend, was $0.0145. First Bancorp (FNLC): now $0.32 per share quarterly dividend, … Read more

ICYMI — Video: Exclusive 2020 — Furthering the Financial Discipline

ICYMI — Video: Exclusive 2020 — Furthering the Financial Discipline — — In this 40+ minute video jam-packed with must-watch content, Valuentum’s President Brian Nelson talks about the Theory of Universal Valuation and how his work is furthering the financial discipline. Learn the pitfalls of factor investing and modern portfolio theory and how the efficient markets hypothesis holds little substance in the wake of COVID-19. He’ll talk about which companies Valuentum likes and why, and which areas he’s avoiding. This and more in Valuentum’s 2020 Exclusive conference call.   Note: This video was originally published August 2, 2020.    To watch the video >>   The Theory of Universal Valuation —– Valuentum members have access to our 16-page stock reports, … Read more

Realty Income’s Dividend Track Record Unfazed by Its Weakened Theater Exposure

Image Source: Realty Income By Brian Nelson, CFA On Monday, February 22, Realty Income (O) reported solid fourth quarter results that beat expectations. For the quarter ending December 31, 2020, net income per share came in at $0.33, adjusted funds from operations per share was $0.84, and the REIT collected 93.6% of contractual rent, a decent percentage given that the troubled theater industry comprises ~5.6% of its annualized contractual rent. Regal Cinemas and AMC Entertainment (AMC) are top-10 customers. Though Realty Income continues to face headwinds from its non-investment grade client tenant portfolio, the REIT continues to invest for the future, with over $1 billion allocated to properties and properties under development or expansion in the period. As with many … Read more

Two High-Quality REITs Report Earnings: Crown Castle and Digital Realty

Image Shown: Crown Castle International Corp. forecasts that its core financial metrics will continue to grow in 2021. Image Source: Crown Castle International Corp. – Fourth Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan Searching for lofty yields in a low interest rate environment comes with substantial risks as high yields can sometimes be more indicative of the expected headwinds facing the company or entity in question rather than an excellent risk-reward opportunity. We published an article back in September 2020 titled High Yield Dividend Income Investing in a Time of Need (link here) that highlighted our thoughts on this issue and why we think investors in high-yielding enterprises need to keep their guards up. All yields–even of the … Read more

ALERT: Raising Cash in the Newsletter Portfolios

January 27, 2021 ALERT: Raising Cash in the Newsletter Portfolios We are raising the cash position in the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to 10%-20%. — By Brian Nelson, CFA — Our research has been absolutely fantastic for a long time, but 2020 may have been our best year yet. You can read the 2020 recap here. With the S&P 500 trading within our fair value estimate range of 3,530-3,920 (and the markets rolling over while showing signs of abnormal behavior), we’re raising the cash position in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to 10%-20%. — For more conservative investors, the high end of this range may even be larger, especially … Read more

Realty Income Remains Resilient and Its Outlook is Improving

Image Shown: An overview of Realty Income Corporation’s asset base and historical financial performance. Image Source: Realty Income Corporation – Third Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan On November 2, Realty Income Corporation (O) posted third quarter earnings for 2020 that saw the real estate investment trust’s (‘REIT’) funds from operations (‘FFO’) come in flat year-over-year at $0.82 per share, while its adjusted funds from operations (‘AFFO’) declined by 2% year-over-year, hitting $0.81 per share. Realty Income invests in single-tenant commercial properties, and its business has faced headwinds from the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. However, things are starting to improve, though there is ample room for additional improvement. We like the relative resilience of Realty Income’s financials … Read more

Digital Realty’s Momentum Continues, Raises Outlook

Image Shown: An overview of Digital Realty Trust Inc’s asset base. Image Source: Digital Realty Trust Inc – Third Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan On October 29, the data center real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) Digital Realty Trust Inc (DLR) reported third quarter 2020 earnings that beat consensus revenue estimates and consensus funds from operations (‘FFO’) estimates. Please note that while FFO is an imperfect metric, particularly because it does not incorporate the REIT-in-question’s need to refinance maturing debt and tap capital markets for funds for growth, it provides a useful snapshot of how well the REIT-in-question can maintain its dividend in the near term. Digital Realty posted $1.54 per share in core FFO last quarter … Read more

Crown Castle Continues to Shine

Image Shown: Crown Castle International Corp.’s growth trajectory continued in the third quarter of 2020. Image Source: Crown Castle International Corp. – Third Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan Crown Castle International Corp. (CCI)–3.3% yield (as of this writing)–is a real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) that owns 40,000+ cell towers, ~70,000 small cell nodes (on air or under contract) and ~80,000 route miles of fiber that support numerous networking operations all across the US. We include shares of Crown Castle as a holding in our High Yield Dividend Newsletter given its ability to generate sizable free cash flows even after investing heavily in expanding its asset base. From 2017 to 2019, Crown Castle generated ~$0.75 billion in … Read more

Global Net Lease’s Yield Is Flashing Signs of Trouble

Image Shown: An overview of Global Net Lease’s asset base. Image Source: Global Net Lease – Second Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan Global Net Lease (GNL) is a real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) focused on single tenant net-leased commercial properties in the US, Canada, and Europe. Sale and leaseback transactions are a common way the REIT grows its business. At the end of June 2020, a little less than two thirds of its annualized rental income came from properties in the US and Canada. Global Net Lease generated a little less than half of its annualized rental income from both office properties and industrial/distribution properties, with the remainder coming from retail properties. Shares of GNL yield … Read more