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Utilities and Telecoms to Benefit Most from Corporate Tax Reduction?

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Image Source: Michael Vadon By Kris Rosemann and Brian Nelson, CFA Speculation over which sectors may be the biggest beneficiaries of the incoming Trump administration has been running rampant in recent weeks, and we’ve received questions from members pertaining to this topic, specifically with respect to the utilities and telecom sectors. In fact, an article in the Financial Times, released mid-November, tabbed the utilities (XLU) and telecom (XTL) spaces as two sectors that may be able to generate outsize earnings improvements thanks to a reduced corporate income tax. But will they truly benefit over the long haul? Let’s walk through our take on the impact a potential reduction in corporate tax rates may provide these two areas. It may not all be … Read more

AT&T Targeting Disruption in Transformational Merger

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Key Takeaways AT&T has agreed to acquire Time Warner for $85.4 billion in cash and stock in a deal that is expected to close by the end of 2017. Strict regulatory scrutiny can be expected. The deal has the potential to disrupt the traditional pay-TV industry while setting AT&T apart from its competitors in the wireless telecom industry, where growth has become sparse for the firm. The telecom industry is maturing, and price-slashing competition has changed the game as network differentiation has largely become a thing of the past. We’re not fans of the debt that will come with the completion of the deal, but the prospects of what the combined entities could produce are certainly interesting. We view the … Read more

Video: An Overview of Our 16-page Stock Research Reports

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Can’t view the video walk-through of our 16-page reports on your mobile device? Download the Puffin Web Browser App from Apple free. Click here. Unable to display content. Adobe Flash is required.

Understanding the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Designation

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“Among the countless finance degrees around the world, the Chartered Financial Analyst qualification has become the gold standard.” – Financial Times, 13 August 2010 “[The] qualification is roughly equivalent to a specialized postgraduate finance degree, including a mixture of economics, ethics, law, and accountancy… Whereas there are tens of thousands of finance degrees available around the world, ranging from the excellent to the worthless, there is only one CFA, managed and examined by an American association of financial professionals, the CFA Institute.” – the Economist From the CFA Institute: “The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter is an investment credential that, for more than 60 years, has been the global standard for embodying the integrity, dedication, and advanced skills needed to … Read more

Yahoo’s Cascade of Issues

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By Valuentum Analysts Yahoo (YHOO) has been in the news a lot lately, and not in a good light. The revelations recently uncovered at the Internet portal have put the terms of its pending deal to be bought by Verizon (VZ) at risk, perhaps jeopardizing the transaction altogether. Recent reports indicate that Yahoo shareholders may now get far less for their business from Verizon, to the tune of ~$1 billion, and top Verizon executives are even “wondering if (it) should pull out of the deal.” The telecom giant could just be taking advantage of the “bad” situation at Yahoo in asking for a better price, but the company walking away would not be out of the question. Yahoo, after all, … Read more

The “Uninvestable” Twitter and Netflix Buoyed By Takeout Chatter

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By Kris Rosemann and Brian Nelson, CFA At Valuentum, we like slam-dunk, no-brainer investment opportunities–like Microsoft (MSFT) in the mid-$20s before it doubled, or Visa (V) prior to its strong equity price performance in recent years, or even cigarette-maker Altria (MO) in advance of its ongoing march higher since the dawn of the release of the inaugural Best Ideas Newsletter. Our members count on us to use our knowledge of valuation to sort out “investable” stocks from “uninvestable” ones; good stocks with fundamental promise from bad ones built on fantasy outcomes. Benjamin Graham calls what we do “investing,” while he may call readers that dabble in the two highlighted stocks in this piece “speculators.” There is a difference, and it’s … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending September 23

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending September 23. 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 8point3 Energy Partners (CAFD): now $0.2406 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.2325. ALPS Cohen & Steers Global Realty Majors ETF (GRI): now $0.382421 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.312204. Ameris Bancorp (ABCB): now $0.10 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.05. ATN International (ATNI): now $0.34 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.32. Bank of South Carolina (BKSC): now $0.14 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.13. BIOQUAL (BIOQ): … Read more

Apple’s Brand as Strong as Ever

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By Kris Rosemann Recent quarterly performance had some naysayers doubting the true power of Apple (AAPL). The second quarter of fiscal 2016 (calendar first quarter) marked the first decline in sales in a quarter in thirteen years due largely to pressure on iPhone sales, and the third quarter of the fiscal year continued the year-over-year sales weakness. As Apple hosted its company event September 7, shares remained under pressure as many anticipated ongoing weakness in demand for the iPhone, even with a new iteration being introduced. The declines continued in the days immediately after due in part to the firm’s decision not to release first-weekend estimates of pre-order sales volumes. Management indicated that it believes the measure is a meaningless … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending September 2

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending September 2. 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 Bank of America (BAC): now $0.075 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.05. Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS): now C$0.74 per share quarterly dividend, was C$0.72. Broadcom (AVGO): now $0.51 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.50. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP): now $0.59 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.57. Campbell Soup (CPB): now $0.35 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.31. Capital Southwest (CSWC): now $0.11 per share quarterly … Read more

Yahoo! Should Still Buy eBay’s “Free Cash Flow”

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Image Source: eBay According to the latest from CNBC, there are five bidders left for Yahoo’s (YHOO) core business, and it’s very likely the company will make the sale to one of them soon. Many are saying that Verizon (VZ) is the front-runner, but we can’t rule out the buying power of the group led by Quicken Loans’ Dan Gilbert, who has the backing of the Oracle of Omaha himself, Warren Buffett, or a high-ball bid from private equity, perhaps TPG Capital. AT&T (T), Time (TIME), and other private equity giants KKR and Bain Capital might still be in the game as well. We think breaking apart Yahoo! or selling it outright, instead of merging it with eBay (EBAY) isn’t … Read more