WHR

Home Depot’s Comparable Store Sales Continue Declines, Big Ticket Purchases Slow

by

By Brian Nelson, CFA Home Depot (HD) is one of the most resilient companies across the retail arena. The firm weathered the Great Financial Crisis [GFC] well and it handled the vicissitudes of the COVID-19 pandemic and aftermath flowingly as it juggled supply chain issues, changing consumer buying preferences, and increased demand as consumers remodeled and upgraded their working and living spaces while cocooning at home. The company’s second-quarter 2023 results, released August 15, came in better than expected, but comparable store sales fell 2% both in aggregate and in the U.S. Though comparable store sales declines improved from bigger declines in the first quarter, Home Depot’s guidance for comparable sales to fall 2%-5% for all of fiscal 2023 indicates … Read more

Our Reports on Stocks in the Discretionary Spending Industry

by

Dividend Yield: Estimated on a forward-looking annualized basis. VBI: The Valuentum Buying Index, a timeliness indicator that overlays a price-to-fair-value estimate consideration. Fair Value Estimate: Derived by Valuentum’s enterprise valuation process. Dividend Cushion ratio: A ratio assessing the health of the dividend (the higher, the better). Data as of the date of this article. Individual company reports may have been updated subsequent to the publishing of this article, so please download a company’s stock and dividend report for its latest information and data. Note: The data in the tables of each of the below companies’ respective stock pages is updated the weekend after the publishing of this update. Please click on a company name below to view the corresponding equity … Read more

Exclusive Call: What To Expect From Valuentum in 2023

by

Video: 2022 was a successful year by almost every measure from the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to the simulated High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio and Exclusive publication and beyond. There were some disappointments in 2022, of course, but the year showed the value of a Valuentum membership. Join President of Investment Research Brian Nelson on this year’s Exclusive conference call to learn what to expect from Valuentum in 2023. Cheers! Transcript President of Investment Research Brian Nelson: Happy Holidays everyone! I hope that you are enjoying this special time of year with family and friends, and I wish you all a wonderful 2023! I just wanted to take a few minutes to recap … Read more

2022 Showcased the Value of a Valuentum Membership

by

In bull markets, almost everyone is a winner. But 2022 was different. This year was a big test for Valuentum, and we passed with flying colors. We delivered across the board during the year from ideas in the Exclusive publication and the efficacy of the dividend growth methodology to the resilience of high yield ideas and simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio relative performance–despite setbacks from Meta Platforms, PayPal, and beyond. Tune in to the latest video installment from Valuentum. Thanks for listening! Tickerized for holdings in the SPY. ——————————————— About Our Name But how, you will ask, does one decide what [stocks are] “attractive”? Most analysts feel they must choose between two approaches customarily thought to be in opposition: “value” … Read more

Home Depot Says Customers Remain “Resilient and Engaged”

by

  Image: Home Depot’s third-quarter performance wasn’t bad. Inventories expanded, but management reiterated that its core customer remains resilient and engaged. Image Source: Home Depot By Brian Nelson, CFA On November 15, home improvement retailer The Home Depot (HD) reported strong third-quarter results that beat expectations on both the top and bottom line. Revenue advanced 5.6% in the period thanks to comparable sales growth of 4.3% and 4.5% comp expansion in the U.S. Net earnings came in at $4.24 per diluted share, showcasing 8.2% growth over the $3.92 per-share mark from last year. The firm noted that its core customer is still healthy, indicating that it has yet to feel a meaningful impact from what could be a painful decline … Read more

Market Whipsaw: Crypto Collapse and a Lower-than-Expected Inflation Print

by

Image: Uncertainty in the cryptocurrency markets has surged with concerns over the liquidity of a key exchange. Investors are weighing the spillover effects of crypto with the view that the pace of inflation may have peaked. — By Brian Nelson, CFA — The U.S. equity market continues to be highly volatile as it whipsaws between concerns over the health and sustainability of cryptocurrency and optimism over lower-than-feared inflation readings. We maintain our bearish/defensive stance on equities, but at the same time, we continue to be “fully-invested” across the simulated newsletter portfolios in part because we don’t want to miss out on days like today, November 10, when the markets are soaring ~2.5%-5.5% depending on which index you are monitoring. We’re also … Read more

Lumen’s Dividend Cut Highlights Effectiveness of Valuentum’s Dividend Methodology and Uniqueness of Dividend Cushion Ratio

by

Image Source: Valuentum By Brian Nelson, CFA  The Dividend Cushion ratio considers the company’s net cash on its balance sheet (total cash less long-term debt) and adds that to its forecasted future free cash flows (cash from operations less capital expenditures) over a five-year period and divides that sum by the company’s future expected cash dividend payments over the next five years. At its core, the Dividend Cushion ratio tells investors whether the company has enough cash to pay out its dividends in the future, while considering its debt load (capital structure). If a company has a Dividend Cushion ratio above 1, it can cover its dividend, but if it falls below 1, trouble may be on the horizon. The … Read more

Something New!

by

Hi everyone: To stay true to our mission, you’ll find something new regarding our methodology. In the coming weeks, you’ll see this table in our work going forward. We just wanted to let you know. We appreciate your membership very much!   ——————————————— About Our Name But how, you will ask, does one decide what [stocks are] “attractive”? Most analysts feel they must choose between two approaches customarily thought to be in opposition: “value” and “growth,”…We view that as fuzzy thinking…Growth is always a component of value [and] the very term “value investing” is redundant.                          — Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway annual report, 1992 At Valuentum, we take Buffett’s thoughts one step further. We think the best opportunities arise from an understanding of … Read more

Must Watch: MPT Failures and High Yield Dividend Breakdown Spiral!

by

Did you know that Valuentum’s income ideas are holding up great this year, far better than the traditional 60/40 stock/bond portfolio and what some call “sucker” yields, those companies with 8% dividend yields or higher? — The 60/40 stock/bond portfolio is down ~20% so far in 2022 and some high-yield stocks like mortgage REITs are down nearly 40%, but Valuentum’s income-oriented simulated newsletter portfolios, the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio and High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio, are estimated to be down just 8.4% and just 10.1%, respectively, in 2022. — Preventing huge drawdowns in retirement is the name of the game, and those pursuing modern portfolio theory (MPT) have been caught by surprise, while income investors reaching for 8%+ yields may have just experienced permanent … Read more

Announcing Valuentum’s Customer Appreciation Day Winners!

by

In no particular order — the five winners… As a Chief Investment Strategist that oversees a significant amount of assets, it is vital to have unbiased research that we can lean on for decision making. Brian and the Valuentum team help provide a disciplined and fundamental approach to stock analysis without the typical Wall Street bias or conflicts of interest. The value we get on a monthly basis for having this detailed thought analysis and wise long-term thinking greatly outweighs the cost. We are very happy to have them on our short list of management we trust.  – Stephen H. (October 2022) —– I’d like you to know what my takeaways are from your research: 1) Be wary of capital … Read more