Flashback 2008: Brian Nelson and Pat Dorsey — the Morningstar Years

We think it’s important to know the people you’re working with at Valuentum. We’re not some robot behind the scenes that only lives in the Internet. We’re hard-working individuals with families just like you. Let’s take a flashback in time to when Valuentum’s current President of Equity Research Brian Nelson called for Boeing’s shares to hit $110 in 2008, while he was working as a Senior Analyst at Morningstar. Shares are just a few dollars away from that level today. Source: http://www.youtube.com/user/MorningstarInc?feature=watch << Learn more about Brian Nelson, CFA Aerospace & Defense – Prime: BA, FLIR, GD, LLL, LMT, NOC, RTN Aerospace Suppliers: AIR, ATRO, COL, HEI, HXL, PCP, SPR, TDY, TXT

Boeing’s and United Technologies’ Second Quarters Reinforce Strength in Aerospace

On Wednesday, Boeing (click ticker for report: ) reported better-than-consensus top and bottom line results for its second quarter. Revenue advanced 9% thanks to higher deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner and the workhorse 737 platform, while backlog grew to a record $410 billion (nearly 5 times expected 2013 revenue), including $40 billion of net orders during the quarter. Core earnings per share jumped 13%, as operating cash flow (before pension contributions) more than doubled, to $3.5 billion. Free cash flow generation in the period was just over $3 billion, or nearly 14% of revenue. Management raised its 2013 revenue outlook to the range of $83-$86 billion thanks to improved performance in its ‘Defense, Space, & Security’ segment and upped its … Read more

Market Overreacts to Heat Damage on Boeing’s 787 at Heathrow

Boeing’s (click ticker for report: ) shares tumbled a few percentage points Friday after reports of a fire in the upper part of the rear fuselage of one of Ethiopian Airlines’ 787 Dreamliners that was parked on the tarmac at London Heathrow Airport. Preliminary results of the investigation reveal that the fire (heat damage) was not caused by the plane’s lithium-ion battery (location of batteries shown here), which had been the trigger of previous fire-related incidents on the aircraft. Interestingly, the plane had been parked for as many as eight hours and was unoccupied, leaving the cause of the blaze unidentified (unwitnessed) and somewhat peculiar. We expect the aft fuselage on this 787 to be a total loss, given our assessment … Read more

Precision Castparts Scoops Up Permaswage; Commercial Aircraft Orders Keep Rolling In

On Thursday, Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio holding Precision Castparts (click ticker for report: ) acquired California-based aerospace supplier Permaswage for $600 million. Permaswage specializes in swage fittings, and its technology is included in almost every major commercial and military aircraft program. The deal is right in Precision Castparts’ wheelhouse as it improves dollar-content per aircraft and enhances the firm’s already-robust product suite. Precision Castparts’ CEO Mark Donegan should have no problems folding in the firm’s state-of-the-art operations and driving material synergies across the board. Though profitability disclosures are limited, we have a high degree of confidence that cost-savings and revenue enhancements will trump any meaningful premium that may have been paid above the entity’s fair value. We also think the deal strengthens Precision Castparts’ position in separable … Read more

Boeing Keeps Raking in Aircraft Orders

Boeing (click ticker for report: ) updated its ‘Orders and Deliveries‘ page on its website this week, and we were pleased to see a nice uptick in orders. We keep a close eye on commercial aircraft orders as the pace remains a key driver of sentiment within the aerospace industry, even though Boeing and Airbus are effectively “sold out” for at least the next 12 months. According to the disclosure, the plane-maker has booked roughly 428 net orders through May 21 of this year, which puts the aerospace giant well on its way to achieving a book-to-bill north of 1 (signaling backlog expansion). Though our positive thesis on the aerospace supply chain–AAR (AIR), Astronics (ATRO), Rockwell Collins (COL), HEICO (HEI), Hexcel Corp (HXL), Precision Castparts (PCP), Spirit AeroSystems (SPR), … Read more

Why We Like Lockheed Martin as a Defensive Dividend Growth Play

Image Source: Lockheed Martin Corporation – Third Quarter Fiscal 2019 Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan On January 13, 2020, we announced (link here) we were making some major changes to our newsletter portfolios and that included adding major defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) to the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio with a modest 2.5% – 3.5% weighting. Lockheed Martin is the lead contractor on the massive F-35 fighter jet program, has an expansive slate of weapon systems offerings (including the Javelin and Paragon systems), owns helicopter company Sikorsky (which sells aircraft for military, governmental, and civilian purposes), and offers a wide range of other defense related products and services (radar, sensors, etc.). The company is also the lead contractor on … 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

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

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

Boeing’s Big Dividend Hike; Potential Deal with Embraer


Image Source: Boeing.

We love Boeing. The company has been one of our favorites for years, but its performance during 2017 has simply been amazing. The dividend growth giant upped its payout in a big way recently, too, even as it is reportedly pursuing merger discussions with Embraer.

Valuentum: Now Bearish, We’ve Been Here Every Step of the Way

Valuentum Has Been Here Every Step of the Way   From the COVID-19 top in February 2020 to the COVID-19 bottom to the massive bull run through the end of 2021, we’ve been here for you.    2022 started out to be a rough year, catching many by surprise.   But Valuentum stayed positive. When the markets headed south in June, Valuentum stood its ground. On June 14, Valuentum said that “we still believe stocks could make a “huge rebound” in the near term.   We reiterated our views a few days later and on June 19, we said that “investors shouldn’t panic during this bear market” and that “stocks remain an attractive proposition at the moment and a very attractive consideration … Read more