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Verizon’s Investment Grade Credit Rating May Be Challenged

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On Thursday, Verizon (VZ) reported better than expected top- and bottom-line performance in its third quarter, which showed impressive subscriber additions and healthy iPhone sales. We continue to evaluate Verizon for addition to the portfolio of our Dividend Growth Newsletter, though we note its pursuit of Verizon Wireless has complicated matters quite a bit (given the outsize debt load it will take on). We’d like to see how the financials shake-out post-transaction, as there are quite a few moving parts that will negatively impact the firm’s Valuentum Dividend Cushion score (and potentially challenge its investment-grade rating). Verizon added 1.1 million net retail wireless connections and 927,000 net retail postpaid connections in the period, leading to quarter-end marks of 101.2 million total … Read more

Rising Rates Spur Verizon-Vodafone Deal

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Although financing isn’t fully secured yet, earlier this week Verizon (click ticker for report: ) and Vodafone (click ticker for report: ) agreed to a $130 billion deal for Verizon to acquire Vodafone’s 45% stake in Verizon Wireless. The deal values Verizon Wireless at nearly $290 billion (or nearly 10 times EBITDA), and it could immediately boost earnings per share by 2%-10%. Though this is certainly a large deal, we think Verizon acted quickly to capitalize on interest rates that have moved sharply to the upside in recent months (it didn’t want to wait for a further increase, which may have made the deal cost-prohibitive). As we noted in our prior discussion of the deal, rising rates and a declining … Read more

Search Dividend Reports by Company Name: Q to Z

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Going forward, please use the ‘Symbol’ search box to download stock and dividend reports of companies you are interested in. The ‘Symbol’ search box can be found in our website header. Image shown from above. Use the active search box in the website header above. Learn more about your membership >>  Note: We have now discontinued this list. Please use the ‘Symbol’ search box in the website header for stock and dividend reports. Please read about our Valuentum Dividend Cushion score (ratio) here. Just having access to this valuable metric alone could save your income portfolio thousands of dollars! The past meets the future as we showcase the Valuentum Dividend Cushion scores of Dividend Aristocrats in this article (click here). The dividend reports below … Read more

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

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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

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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

Our Thoughts on the Widespread Launch of 5G Services

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Image Shown: The evolution of wireless networks and telecommunications technology over the years. Image Source: Intel Corporation – November 2019 State of 5G Presentation  By Callum Turcan The rollout of 5G telecommunication networks is upon us and we want to draw our members’ attention to some of the key companies with meaningful exposure to this space. Many are excited about what opportunities 5G technology could enable. Background On July 23, AT&T Inc (T) announced its 5G network in the US was operational nationwide and that effective August 7, both consumers and businesses with certain packages would have 5G access “at no additional cost” which included customers with AT&T Unlimited Starter, Extra, Elite, AT&T Business Unlimited Web-Only and Starter wireless plans. … Read more

How to Think About Corporate Tax Reform

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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