GE Slashes Dividend Again; Will Reorganize ‘Power’ Business

Image Source: rik-shaw Industrial giant General Electric plans to cut its dividend once more in order to accelerate deleveraging, and it also will split its ‘Power’ business into two units. We’ve cut our fair value estimate for shares following the strategic update and earnings report. By Kris Rosemann Prior to its earnings release and strategic update before the open October 30, General Electric’s (GE) Dividend Cushion ratio was 0.1, which brought with it very poor Dividend Safety and Dividend Growth ratings, even after it halved the payout in late 2017, as its industrial operations were not able to generate enough cash flow to sustain a healthy payout. Management now plans to reduce its quarterly payout to $0.01 per share from … Read more

BMW’s Profit Warning Hits Automakers; General Motors Still Attractive

Image Source: Ya, saya inBaliTimur BMW became one of the first auto manufacturers to note a tangible negative impact of the US-China trade war, and its reduced expectations have impacted investor confidence in the near-term profit levels of other automakers, including simulated newsletter portfolio idea General Motors. By Kris Rosemann Simulated newsletter portfolio idea General Motors (GM) continues to fight through near-term challenges, but we remain fans of its longer-term outlook thanks to its initiative to expand its North America EBIT-adjusted margin to 10% as well as the positioning of its GM Cruise division, which received a nice injection of capital earlier this year via a partnership with SoftBank’s (SFTBY) Vision Fund. The company’s shares are trading at a miniscule multiple … Read more

Valuentum’s Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) Distribution

The weighted average cost of capital is one of the most subjective measures in corporate finance, but it is also one of the most important ones. “The most important item over time in valuation is obviously interest rates…If interest rates are destined to be at low levels…It makes any stream of earnings from investments worth more money. The bogey is always what government bonds yield….Any investment is worth all the cash you’re going to get out between now and judgment day discounted back. The discounting back is affected by whether you choose interests rates like those of Japan or interest rates like those we had in 1982…When we had 15 percent short-term rates in 1982, it was silly to pay … Read more

In the News: More Tariff Talk Keeps Markets Volatile

Many market observers were caught by surprise after President Trump continued down a path of escalating trade tensions late July 10. By Kris Rosemann As with many developments surrounding the Chinese (FXI, MCHI) economy, metals have found themselves at the fore of the discussion. After the Trump Administration threatened additional 10% tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports July 10, copper (COPX) and other metals prices plunged as the newest list of targeted goods includes manufacturing export industries, electronics, textiles, metal components, and auto parts. It is worth noting that the US imports far more Chinese goods than vice versa, suggesting China would not be able to match US tariffs dollar-for-dollar if a full-on trade war ensues, though such a … Read more

General Electric Stripping Businesses, Dividend in Aggregate

Image source: GE investor presentation By Kris Rosemann Though it had long ago become apparent that General Electric (GE) was struggling to generate ample cash flow from its industrial operations, “GE Takes the Plunge, Halves Dividend,” speculation had been running rampant on how new CEO John Flannery would handle the mess of a business he had been handed. Investors may have thought they got the answer in late 2017 when the company announced billions in dollars of divestitures and a dividend reduction, but here we are again, discussing what will become of GE’s once sprawling portfolio of industrial assets. With its dividend reduction in November 2017, GE announced its intention to refine its portfolio to focus on its three core … Read more

Study: Valuentum’s Best Ideas Newsletter Portfolio

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General Electric Gets a Boost; Honeywell Hikes Guidance

Image Source: Jeff Turner General Electric continues to struggle, but its first quarter earnings report came in better than expected as demand across many of its business was positive. We still have no interest in shares. Meanwhile, Honeywell continues to power ahead as it raised its top- and bottom-line guidance for the full year 2018, reflecting a similarly positive demand profile. By Kris Rosemann General Electric Gets a Boost Embattled industry giant General Electric (GE) continues to work to change its fortunes, and strong demand in a number of its businesses helped the company to beat lowered expectations in the first quarter of 2018, results released April 20. Shares received a nice boost on the news, too, but expectations have … Read more

ICYMI: Valuentum’s Improved Stock and ETF Web Pages

Valuentum has rolled out improved stock and ETF web pages on its website valuentum.com/. Now, subscribers can access key proprietary information on the stock and ETF web pages in addition to the customary stock and ETF reports. Dear reader, We have some exciting news that we can’t wait to share with you! At valuentum.com/, we have rolled out new stock and ETF pages that conveniently include a variety of our proprietary metrics from the Dividend Cushion ratio to the Economic Castle rating and beyond! There’s even mouseover functionality so you can learn about how we define the key metrics across our stock-selection and dividend growth methodologies. You’ll still have access to the stock and dividend reports on the landing pages, … Read more

The “Luck” and “Randomness” of Index Funds

Please select the image below to download the document. Image shown, page 1 of 14. Tickerized for Valuentum’s coverage universe.

Video: Quants! You’re NOT Measuring VALUE and Nelson’s Theory of Universal Value

President of Investment Research Brian Nelson defines the concept of universal value and shows how quantitative statistical methods are inextricably linked to those of fundamental, financial, business-model related analysis. Value does not exist in respective process vacuums! Value is universal. Find out why. Running time: ~10 minutes.  Tickerized for Valuentum’s stock and ETF coverage universe. Transcript Hi this is Brian Nelson from Valuentum Securities, and this is the tenth edition of a series that I call “Off the Cuff,” where I get in front of the camera and I talk for ten minutes. This is what we have to talk about today. We have to talk about this concept: The Theory of Universal Value. Value does not exist in vacuums … Read more