WSM

Home Depot Reports Fourth Quarter Amid Rising Exogenous Headwinds

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Image Shown: Home Depot Inc has had plenty of success building off of and expanding its ‘Pro’ ecosystem as it relates to generating nice comparable sales growth. Image Source: Home Depot – 2019 Investor and Analyst Day IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On February 25, Home Depot Inc (HD) reported fourth quarter and full-year earnings for fiscal 2019 (period ended February 2, 2020) which matched top-line consensus estimates and beat bottom-line consensus estimates. What really caught the market’s attention was Home Depot’s strong comparable sales performance, which was up 5.2% overall and 5.3% in the US during the fourth quarter on a year-over-year basis (for the whole fiscal year, Home Depot’s overall and US comparable sales rose by 3.5% and … Read more

Has the Stock Market Crash Begun?

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Image: CDC. Transmission electron microscopic image of an isolate from the first U.S. case of COVID-19, formerly known as 2019-nCoV. The spherical viral particles, colorized blue, contain cross-section through the viral genome, seen as black dots. Dear members: This article is our fourth update on COVID-19. The previous three installments can be found here (Feb 22), here (Feb 7) and here (Jan 31). We trust you and yours are well during this global crisis. It’s hard to turn on the television these days without hearing about COVID-19, a novel coronavirus and respiratory illness that continues to spread from person to person around the world. COVID-19 is deadly, and particularly deadly among those 60 years of age and older and those … Read more

ALERT: Adding Market Crash ‘Protection,’ Removing MSFT, BKNG

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Image source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  ALERT: Adding Market Crash ‘Protection,’ Removing MSFT, BKNG — Changes to newsletter portfolios — We’re adding out-of-the-money put options to both the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio and Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. — We’re removing Microsoft from the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. — We’re removing Booking Holdings from the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. — By Brian Nelson, CFA — We’re making some moves in the newsletter portfolios today.  — The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA) is currently indicated down 900+ points in pre-market trading during the session Monday, February 24. We laid out a thesis where the US markets could experience a “crash,” and we encourage you to read that take here, “Is a … Read more

Is a Stock Market Crash Coming? — Coronavirus Update and P/E Ratios

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Image Source: World Health Organization, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Situation Report — 32 We don’t think this is the environment to put new capital to work, and we remain highly cautious of what COVID-19 means for global economic growth not just in the first quarter of 2020 but for the rest of this year (maybe longer). Right now, the US markets are not really factoring in anything related to COVID-19, and perhaps may be adjusting to China’s stimulus in artificially propping up the markets as if the outbreak is somehow a “positive thing.” With the S&P 500 trading at 19.0 forward earnings estimates–estimates that are likely too high given the evidence we are seeing with respect to a slowdown due … Read more

Resetting Your Mental Model

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Image Source: affen ajlfe A version of this article was originally published on our website October 6, 2013. Having the right mental model and using the right information can be the reason why you win or lose in investing. “What is the definition of timeliness? Many believe it is getting information to investors as quickly as possible after an event, or updating something every single day or week for immaterial information. I believe in a different definition of timeliness. I believe timeliness is using all information available in a mosaic approach to accurately predict the event before it even happens. Take Kinder Morgan as the latest example. We were the only ones predicting what was going to happen before it did. To investors, … Read more

Our Reports on Stocks in the Specialty Retailers Industry

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Images Source: Mike Mozart (Home Depot, Lowes) Structure of the Specialty Retailers Industry The specialty retail segment is fragmented, highly competitive, and economically-sensitive. The group covers a broad array of businesses and is dominated by retailers with large brick-and-mortar store footprints. Though some constituents may be insulated from e-commerce competition, others risk obsolescence as product distribution moves to digital means, and online retailers offer lower prices for identical goods and services. We’re fairly neutral on the structure of the industry, though some constituents will inevitably face secular and permanent declines. For coverage of firms in the Specialty Retailers Industry, please click here. 

Best Buy’s Rebound Continues

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Image Shown: Best Buy Co Inc has staged an impressive rebound over the past few years. This rebound was aided by significant investments in its digital presence, recognizing the core markets Best Buy wanted to target, and ultimately comparable store sales growth.  By Callum Turcan On November 26, Best Buy (BBY) reported third quarter earnings for its fiscal 2020 (three month period ended November 2, 2019) that beat both top- and bottom-line consensus estimates. Even better, Best Buy raised its guidance for fiscal 2020, largely on the back of stronger than expected same-store sales growth. Best Buy’s update helped send shares of BBY over our fair value estimate of $76 per share, and if this outperformance is sustained, the retailer … Read more

Berkshire Hathaway Invests in RH, a Quality Company in Our View

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Image Shown: RH now counts Berkshire Hathaway Inc as a shareholder, which saw shares of RH initially spike up on the news. By Callum Turcan In a recent regulatory filing, Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.A) (BRK.B) announced it had acquired a ~$0.2 billion stake in upscale home-furnishings company RH (RH), formerly known as Restoration Hardware Holdings, by initiating a position in the company’s equity. Please note RH does not pay out a common dividend at this time, indicating Berkshire Hathaway is seeking capital appreciation with this investment. Additionally, RH’s fiscal 2018 ended on February 2, 2019. Business Overview As of February 2, 2019, RH operated 86 galleries and showrooms across the US, Canada, and the UK. That includes galleries highlighting offerings … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending March 22

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending March 22. 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 BBX Capital (BBX): now $0.0125 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.01. Canadian Banc Corp (CNDCF): now CAD 0.0956 per share monthly dividend, was CAD 0.093. CareTrust REIT (CTRE): now $0.225 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.205. CBTX (CBTX): now $0.10 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.05. Cervus Equipment Corporation (CSQPF): now CAD 0.11 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.10. Children’s Place Retail Stores (PLCE): now … Read more

New 10s! — Stock Report Updates — Triage During Market Volatility

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We have updated our 16-page equity and dividend reports for a number of high-profile companies in our coverage universe and have provided a table summarizing the new fair value estimates, Dividend Cushion ratios, and other key metrics following the updates for your convenience. By Valuentum Analysts We’ve been actively updating select reports through the course of this market swoon, and we have provided the table above for your convenience.  Guess what — Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOG, GOOGL) are now registering 10s on the Valuentum Buying Index again! These two companies are also the highest weighted equities in the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. There’s a lot of “hair” on both names, given political and regulatory risks, and both may experience … Read more