Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of April 4

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending April 4. 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                          Adecoagro (AGRO): now $0.175 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.174. Banco Santander (SAN): now EUR 0.1100 per share final dividend, was $0.1152. Bank OZK (OZK): now $0.43 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.42. Brookfield Renewable Power Preferred Equity Inc. PREF SHS CL A 2 (BRF.PR.B:CA): now CAD 0.3318 per share quarterly dividend. Compass Diversified Holdings Non-Cum Red Pfd Registered Series A (CODI.PR.A): now $0.4532 … Read more

There Will Be Volatility

By Brian Nelson, CFA Last year, 2022, was a big test for equity investors, and the downside volatility that we witnessed during the year wasn’t comfortable, to say the least. Following the COVID-19 crash and rebound during 2020, and then the market surge in 2021, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say many investors’ heads are probably still spinning from all the volatility witnessed to start this decade. That said, part of what we’ve been warning about the past few years with respect to the equity market, especially in Value Trap, is that the proliferation of price-agnostic trading (e.g. quant, machine/algorithmic trading, etc.) will only lead to more and more market volatility, so while we were somewhat surprised by last … Read more

Home Depot’s Comps, Operating Income Fall in Q4; Hikes Dividend 10%

Image Source: Mike Mozart By Brian Nelson, CFA  On February 21, home improvement retailer Home Depot (HD) reported weak fourth quarter 2022 results that showed comparable store sales for the period falling 0.3% and operating income dropping 1.5% from the same period a year ago. Diluted earnings per share advanced 2.8% from last year’s quarter. The company is dealing with a weakened consumer spending environment and difficult comparisons from pandemic-driven demand of a year ago. Home Depot raised its dividend payout 10%, to $2.09 per share, or $8.36 per share on an annualized basis. That translates into a forward estimated dividend yield of ~2.6%. Looking to fiscal 2023, Home Depot’s sales guidance was rather weak. The company expects sales and … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of January 6

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending January 6. 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                Alamo (ALG): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.18. Alpine Summit Energy Partners, Inc. (ALP.U:CA): now $0.0315 per share monthly dividend, was $0.0300. Ashtead Group plc (ASHTY): now $0.55 per share dividend. Bank OZK (OZK): now $0.34 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.33. Immersion (IMMR): now $0.10 per share special dividend. Life Storage (LSI): now $1.20 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.08. Pine Trail … Read more

Things Are Bad Out There

“I don’t like this market one bit, but we have to endure. Markets will rise again, but there will be a lot more pain to come in the near term. We think the base case is that we get a very bad recession in 2023. We’ve yet to pull the trigger on put option ideas in the simulated newsletter portfolios, but we expect things to get worse before they get better. For readers seeking ongoing option ideas each month, please consider subscribing to our options commentary here.” – Brian Nelson, CFA By Brian Nelson, CFA Things are bad out there, and there’s probably no better way to say it. On September 28, Bloomberg reported that Apple Inc. (AAPL) is now … Read more

U.S. Housing Market Showing Signs of Weakness

Image Shown: The US housing market is starting to show signs of weakness. Companies involved in the home building business in the US are starting to feel the heat, with the iShares US Home Construction ETF down ~30% year-to-date as of early September 2022 on a price-only basis. By Callum Turcan The national U.S. housing market has been on fire during the past few years. Sharp increases in U.S. housing prices are now contending with rising mortgage rates, which is prompting the question, are U.S. housing prices heading for a crash? Affordability issues are rampant, with many households now priced out of the market, and signs of weakness are emerging in the U.S. housing market. Background The Federal Reserve is … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week April 1

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending April 1. 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      AGF Management (AGFMF): now CAD 0.10 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.09. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. 6.25 FX FT PFD F (ABR.PF): now $0.3906 per share quarterly dividend. Bancolombia S.A. (CIB): now $0.828 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.0661. Bank OZK (OZK): now $0.31 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.30. BioNTech (BNTX): now EUR 2.00 per share special dividend. Cal-Maine Foods (CALM): now $0.125 per … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week April 2

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending April 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 OZK (OZK): now $0.28 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.2775. Camden National (CAC): now $0.36 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.33. China Gold International Resources (JINFF): now $0.12 per share special dividend. China Petroleum & Chemical (SNP): now RMB 0.13 per share final dividend, was RMB 0.07. Dollarama (DLMAF): now CAD 0.0503 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.0470. Eagle Bancorp (EGBN): now $0.25 per … Read more

Zillow Continues to Disrupt Real Estate Market

Image Source: Zillow Group Inc – May 2020 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Record low interest rates for mortgages in the US, largely a product of the Fed’s monetary stimulus measures (quantitative easing and near-zero interest rates), has gone a long way in stimulating demand for homes. According to the US Census Bureau, the national homeownership rate stood at 67.4% in the second quarter of 2020, up ~260 basis points from the same period the prior year. For reference, the domestic homeownership rate has been steadily climbing higher since 2015-2016 (when homeownership rates were in the low-60s% range) according to data provided by the US Census Bureau. Homeownership rates peaked in 2005-2006 at the high-60s% level before sliding significantly lower … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending January 4

Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending January 4. 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 OZK (OZK): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.21. Brandywine Realty Trust (BDN): now $0.19 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.18. Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY): now $0.41 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.40. Owens Corning (OC): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.21. Preferred Bank (PFBC): now $0.30 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. Templeton Emerging Markets Income Fund (TEI): now $0.0655 per share … Read more