US Congress Is Getting Ready to Pass a Massive ~$2.2 Trillion Fiscal Stimulus Bill

Image Shown: US equities have started to recover some of their lost ground as the likelihood that the US Congress will pass a massive ~$2.2 trillion fiscal stimulus and emergency spending package, dubbed the CARES Act, has increased significantly over the past week as seen through the bounce in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). President Trump has clearly indicated that he intends to sign such a bill into law as soon as possible, with the US House of Representatives expected to take up the legislation this upcoming Friday morning on March 27. By Callum Turcan On March 25, the US Senate worked late into the night to secure a bipartisan compromise on a massive ~$2.2 trillion fiscal stimulus … Read more

Top Research and Ideas You May Have Missed

Is Quant Value Giving Intrinsic Value Investors a Bad Name? Surely, you don’t believe Warren Buffett’s “style” is out of favor? By Brian Nelson, CFA I need to make sure that you’re aware of something very important. The media and perhaps many investment professionals define the concept of “value” as companies with low price-to-book (P/B) ratios, and the concept of “growth” as companies with high price-to-book ratios. This definition of “value” and “growth” and their corresponding returns have been magnified in writings throughout the media and across quantitative research, even in prestigious journals. Warren Buffett has been rallying against most quantitative applications and how “growth” and “value” are defined in popular media and quantitative research for decades.  Here’s one of the Oracle’s most … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of July 28

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending July 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                          AMG Advanced Metallurgical (AMVMF): now EUR 0.40 per share interim dividend, was EUR 0.30. Arbor Realty Trust (ABR): now $0.43 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.42. Archrock (AROC): now $0.155 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.150. Baker Hughes (BKR): now $0.20 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.19. Boise Cascade (BCC): now $0.20 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.15. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company PFD CONV 2 … Read more

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

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

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending July 21

Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending July 21. 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 Ally Financial (ALLY): now $0.12 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.08. Bank of New York Mellon (BK): now $0.24 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.19. Bryn Mawr Bank (BMTC): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.21. Cambridge Bancorp (CATC): now $0.47 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.46. Citigroup (C): now $0.32 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.16. Chemical Financial (CHFC): now $0.28 per share quarterly … Read more

ICYMI — Video: Will Hasty Policy Facilitate the Next Leg Down, or Do We Have It Coming Anyway?

President of Investment Research and award-winning author of Value Trap: Theory of Universal Valuation Brian Nelson explains how US policymakers are stuck between a rock and a hard place, and how the market may be factoring in too high of a probability of a return to normalcy before 2021. This and more in the latest video report. Summary Make sure you review Value Trap on Amazon. Do so here. We think those that bought equities near the bottom of this swoon may be looking to take profits at present levels. The market is currently reflecting an 80%-85% probability of a return to normalcy before 2021, which we believe is too high at this time. Our main concern is that government … Read more

How to Think About Corporate Tax Reform

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending July 19

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending July 19. 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 American Express (AXP): now $0.43 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.39. American National Bankshares (AMNB): now $0.27 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. American River Bankshares (AMRB): now $0.07 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.05. Atlantic Union Bank (AUB): now $0.25 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.23. Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.20. Blackstone (BX): now $0.48 per share quarterly … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of July 22

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending July 22. 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 (SRCE): now $0.32 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.31. Bank of America (BAC): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.21. Bluegreen Vacations Holdings Corporation (BVHBB): now $0.15 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.0125. CenterPoint (CNP): now $0.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.17. Chesapeake Financial Shares (CPKF): now $0.15 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.14. Citizens Financial (CFG): now $0.42 per share … Read more

7 Hidden Dividend Aristocrats in Industrials

Image notes: The price-to-fair value ratio shows the relationship between the company’s stock price and our discounted cash-flow derived fair value estimate. Price is what you pay for the stock, while value is what you get. Price and fair value seldom equal. The savvy investor seeks to find stocks whose price is far below an informed forward-looking cash-flow-based fair value estimate of their intrinsic value. The Dividend Cushion ratio is a proprietary Valuentum measure that drives our assessment of the company’s Dividend Safety rating. The forward-looking measure assesses dividend coverage via the cash characteristics of the business. The Dividend Cushion is a ratio that sums the existing net cash (total cash less total long-term debt) a company has on hand … Read more