WSM

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

by

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

Valuentum’s 3 Breakthroughs in the Field of Finance and More

by

Valuentum’s President Brian Nelson pauses for a picture before speaking at the CFA Society of Houston in March 2017. By Valuentum Editorial Staff Let’s cover Valuentum’s 3 major breakthroughs in the field of finance. The first one is big and may challenge you to rethink everything you think you know about investing. 1. On a logical framework, Valuentum has debunked John C. Bogle’s landmark syllogism that has paved the way for the concept of index investing. Index investing has been built on a logical shortcoming, whether supported by evidence or not. We think it is important that the investment community know of this. Read (pdf): The “Luck” and “Randomness” of Index Funds (2018), Brian Nelson, CFA See video documentation: /FALLACY_of_Index_Funds To … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending March 17

by

Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending March 17. 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 AirBoss of America (ABSSF): now CAD 0.07 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.065. Ashford Hospitality Prime (AHP): now $0.16 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.12. CareTrust REIT (CTRE): now $0.185 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.17. CECO Environmental (CECE): now $0.075 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.066. Dollar General (DG): now $0.26 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. Federal Agricultural Mortgage (AGM): now $0.36 per … Read more

Housing Is Back! Trends in Home Improvement

by

Housing prices are no longer in the dumps. What does this mean for the home improvement retailers, and how might other trends be helping to provide a positive industrywide backdrop? Both Home Depot and Lowes may be long-term winners, but valuation considerations shouldn’t be ignored. The Valuentum analyst team digs in. ~8 mins. If you cannot view the podcast below, please select the link here or view the transcript that follows. Chris Araos: Hello, this is Chris Araos at Valuentum Securities. With me are Kris Roseman and Brian Nelson. Today, we are going to focus on Home Depot (HD) and Lowes (LOW) and why they are doing so well. We have a strong housing market. New home sales have hit … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending March 18

by

Image: Williams-Sonoma’s dividend strength continues to impress; source: Mike Mozart Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending March 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 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APD): now $0.86 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.81. CareTrust REIT (CTRE): now $0.17 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.16. Children’s Place Retail Stores (PLCE): now $0.20 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.15. Global High Income Fund (GHI): now $0.0658 per share monthly dividend, was $0.0657. Granite Real Estate (GRP.U): now C$0.203 … Read more

Is the Time Right to Invest in Home Improvement?

by

The US housing market has been hot this summer. Both purchases of previously-owned homes and residential housing starts reached their highest monthly levels in the month of July since 2007. The improved demand has been driven by a resilient labor market, historically-low mortgage rates and “pent-up” demand from the Great Recession. Purchases of previously-owned homes advanced 2% sequentially in July to an annualized rate of 5.59 million houses, handily beating consensus estimates of 5.43 million. The increased levels of demand come despite limited support from first-time buyers, however. Millennials, now coming of age, are making their first “rent-versus-buy” decisions, and many, having witnessed the housing bubble burst late last decade, aren’t viewing ownership as the wise investment decision that their … Read more

Valuentum Economic Castleâ„¢ Rating Update

by

Read: Keeping the Horse Before the Cart: Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ Rating The Economic Castle Focuses on the Magnitude of Economic Value Creation The Valuentum Economic Castle™ rating is an enhancement of the competitive advantage framework (commonly known as economic moat analysis) that has become widespread and ubiquitous within the investing world. Whereas an economic moat framework evaluates a firm on the basis of the sustainability and durability of its competitive advantages, Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ rating evaluates a firm on the basis of the firm’s future economic profit spread (return on invested capital less its weighted average cost of capital). The companies with the strongest Valuentum Economic Castle™ ratings are poised to generate the most economic value for shareholders in the … Read more

Bed Bath & Beyond Rides the Housing Wave

by

Wednesday afternoon, home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond (click ticker for report: ) posted solid second quarter results thanks to an improving housing market. Revenue increased 8.9% year-over-year to $2.8 billion, slightly above consensus estimates. Earnings-per-share of $1.16 was an improvement of 18% compared to the year-prior and a penny above consensus expectations. Year-to-date, free cash flow sits at $365 million, equal to 6.7% of revenue. Comp Sales Growth Image Source: Company Filings, Valuentum Comparable sales growth accelerated during the second quarter, registering a number that was 3.7% higher than that of the previous year. The two-year stacked comp for the period sits at 7.2%, which we believe is a solid growth rate in a modest retailing environment. Management offers … Read more

VBI Ratings Not as Impressive As We Would Have Liked in 2022

by

Image: How the VBI rating system has ranked equities so far this year. By Brian Nelson, CFA At Valuentum, we use the Valuentum Buying Index (VBI) to source ideas into diversified simulated newsletter portfolios, and the VBI may be most applicable to the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, where we generally like to include ideas when they register a high VBI rating and remove them when they register a low VBI rating. We always use the VBI in a portfolio setting and never by itself. But what about the Valuentum Buying Index ratings, themselves? How did they “perform” during 2022 in one of the worst years for stock market investors in history? Well, not as spectacular as we would have … Read more