VAL

2022 Oil & Gas Market Update: “The Outlook for Crude Oil Prices Remains Quite Bullish”

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Transcript Hello, this is Callum Turcan, Associate Director of Research at Valuentum Securities. WTI and Brent have pulled back moderately from recent highs, though near-term futures remain just above $100 per barrel which is well above levels seen last year. As of early July, both WTI and Brent are in backwardation, meaning spot prices are trading at a higher price than later dated future contracts. In other words, the trajectory of future crude oil prices is expected to have a downward slope. Please note that backwardation does not mean that things are going to rapidly deteriorate for the global energy complex, as this dynamic is due to global oil inventories steadily declining over the past two years or so. Backwardation … Read more

Valuentum’s Theses on Best Ideas Chevron and Exxon Mobil Playing Out

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By Callum Turcan Raw energy resources pricing has surged higher during the past year with room to run. The global energy complex is on the rebound as demand for crude oil and refined petroleum products is steadily recovering from the worst of the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. As demand for electricity and heating needs held up well during the pandemic, liquified natural gas prices (‘LNG’) put up a strong year in 2021 and remain elevated. The OPEC+ cartel is committed to slowly phasing out its crude oil supply curtailment agreement first enacted in 2020, effectively limiting growth in global oil supplies at a time when demand is rebounding at a brisk pace. We view the near-term outlook for the global energy … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending November 27

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending November 27. 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 Becton, Dickinson (BDX): now $0.66 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.60. Capital City Bank (CCBG): now $0.04 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.03. Citizens Community Bank (CZYB): now $0.07 per share annual dividend, was $0.05. Ferrellgas Partners (FGP): now $0.5125 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.51. Hormel Foods (HRL): now $0.29 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. Laclede Group, Inc. (LG): now $0.49 per share quarterly … Read more

Dividend Increases for the Week Ending November 28

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending November 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 Becton, Dickinson (BDX): now $0.60 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.545. Capital City Bank (CCBG): now $0.03 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.02. Glacier Bancorp (GBCI): now $0.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.17. Hormel Foods (HRL): now $0.25 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.20. McCormick & Company (MKC): now $0.40 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.37. Merck (MRK): now $0.45 per share quarterly dividend, was … Read more

The Dividend Dilemma

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One of the core tenets of the Valuentum process not only rests in the all-important price vs. value consideration (see Valuentum’s Brian Nelson talk about that here), but also in “letting winners run.” At first read, these two items appear to be at odds with each other. For example, we preach about getting stocks at a bargain, but yet, we don’t sell holdings when they start to move beyond our estimate of their fair value. What gives? At the Valuentum core, we prefer an entry point that corresponds to the time when shares have substantial valuation and pricing support (i.e. they have high Valuentum Buying Index ratings), and we prefer an exit point when shares have little valuation and pricing … Read more

PPG Posts Record Third Quarter Results; Our Favorite Idea in the Chemicals Industry

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Our favorite fundamental chemical idea PPG Industries (PPG) reported record third-quarter results Thursday. Net sales jumped 17% versus the prior year (about 4% organic expansion), and the firm posted record adjusted earnings per diluted share from continuing operations of $2.44, up an impressive 30%+ from the year-ago period (shown right). We liked the operating leverage inherent in performance as well as the firm’s ability to hit the ground running with impactful transactions. The company noted that aerospace and automotive OEM coatings, both up about 10%, were the key drivers behind PPG’s top-line expansion, though other business lines did contribute as well, including the company’s architectural coatings operations. Volume trends improved in all regions of the world, and the firm’s cost-reduction … Read more

Chemical Firms Continue to Worry About Economy; PPG Industries, Ecolab, and Eastman Chemical Stand Out in Second Quarter

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The most common theme expressed by constituents in the chemicals (broad) industry during the calendar second quarter had to do with concerns about the economy. The negative tone was so prevalent that either management teams in the industry have started to engage in an executive form of “group think” or the economic environment continues to be difficult for many cyclical and largely commoditized chemical entities. Many industries, including housing, aerospace, and automotive, continue to perform well, but we think the latter interpretation of such commentary is likely correct: Albemarle (ALB): “an economic environment that saw continued sluggishness across Europe…and a much weaker China” Air Products (APD): “continued economic weakness…our outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year continues to be … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending November 18

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending November 18. 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 Agilent Technologies (A): now $0.132 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.115. American Equity (AEL): now $0.24 per share annual dividend, was $0.22. Assurant (AIZ): now $0.53 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.50. Bancroft Fund (BCV): now $0.52 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. Brown-Forman (BF.A): now $0.1825 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.17. Brunswick (BC): now $0.165 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.15. C&F Financial (CFFI): … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending November 22

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending November 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 Agilent (A): now $0.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.164. American Equity (AEL): now $0.30 per share annual dividend, was $0.28. Brown-Forman (BF.B): now $0.1743 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.1660. C&F Financial (CFFI): now $0.38 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.37. ESSA Bancorp (ESSA): now $0.11 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.10. Everest Re Group (RE): now $1.55 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.40. Farmers … Read more