XHB

US Housing Recovery Has Yet to Hit Whirlpool

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Appliance maker Whirlpool (click ticker for report: ) reported strong fourth quarter earnings Thursday morning. Improving operating margins helped drive earnings growth of well over 600% to $2.29 per share on an adjusted basis, easily exceeding expectations. Revenue fell 2% on a reported basis, to $4.8 billion, but was up 2% in constant currency. Perhaps the most impressive part of Whirlpool’s results (shown below) was that the firm significantly expanded operating margins (profitability), despite the weakness in its largest market, North America. Sales fell 3% year-over-year to $2.5 billion. However, ongoing business operating margins more than doubled to 9.3%, and the firm saw a total profitability increase of 121% (please see image below). The firm has lowered its cost structure to the … Read more

The US Housing Market Is Back

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The housing market in the United States has regained its footing and looks poised to rebound even further. First, on Thursday, PulteGroup (click ticker for report: PHM) reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings, generated 15% revenue growth, and showed that its backlog grew 31% year-over-year on a unit basis. Then, on Friday, D.R. Horton’s (click ticker for report: DHI) fiscal third-quarter results revealed its backlog advanced 25% year-over-year. Plus, the firm reversed a tax-asset write-down, indicating the company expects increased profitability down the road. The strong performance from these two builders was preceded by solid results from other builders including KB Home (click ticker for report: KBH) and Lennar (click ticker for report: LEN). Though conventional wisdom may suggest a weak economic … Read more

ICYMI — Podcast: 2nd Annual Nelson Exclusive Yearly Round Up Call

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Tune in to President of Investment Research Brian Nelson’s Exclusive Yearly Roundup Call. Ladies and gentlemen, Thank you for joining us on our second annual Nelson Exclusive roundup call. I appreciate your interest very much, and I appreciate your attention even more. Just an important reminder, Valuentum is an information provider, not a broker or financial advisor, and we do not issue recommendations of any kind. With that said, let’s get started. These are the best of times. We have now surpassed the 9-year mark since the March 2009 panic bottom that sent shudders through the global financial system, and the US economy is as strong as it has ever been. US gross domestic product is now approaching $20 trillion … Read more

2,350-2,750 on the S&P? Could the Coronavirus Catalyze a Financial Crisis?

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Image: We think a rather modest sell-off in the market to the target range of 2,350-2,750 on the S&P 500 is rather reasonable in the wake of one of the biggest economic shocks since the Global Financial Crisis. The chart above shows how far markets have advanced since 2011, and an adjustment lower to the target range of 2,350-2,750 is rather modest in such a context and would only bring markets to late 2018 levels (note red box as the target range). The range reflects ~16x S&P 500 12-month forward earnings estimates, as of February 14, adjusted down 10% due to COVID-19. When companies like Visa talk about a couple percentage points taken off of growth rates, one knows that … Read more

US Congress Is Getting Ready to Pass a Massive ~$2.2 Trillion Fiscal Stimulus Bill

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Image Shown: US equities have started to recover some of their lost ground as the likelihood that the US Congress will pass a massive ~$2.2 trillion fiscal stimulus and emergency spending package, dubbed the CARES Act, has increased significantly over the past week as seen through the bounce in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). President Trump has clearly indicated that he intends to sign such a bill into law as soon as possible, with the US House of Representatives expected to take up the legislation this upcoming Friday morning on March 27. By Callum Turcan On March 25, the US Senate worked late into the night to secure a bipartisan compromise on a massive ~$2.2 trillion fiscal stimulus … Read more

Valuentum’s ETF Reports

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Image Source: GotCredit Welcome to Valuentum’s ETF coverage. If you’re new to the site, please be sure to access the stock reports and dividend reports as part of your membership. If you are looking for the archives to the Best Ideas Newsletter, they can be found here. The Dividend Growth Newsletter archives can be found here. The Exclusive and High Yield Dividend Newsletter have their own website with archives, the latter coming soon. To learn more about Valuentum’s ETF reports, please see  here . To request a report of an ETF we do not currently cover, please contact us. To access the relevant Valuentum reports for each major ETF category, please click on the respective link, “Click Here to Access Valuentum Report.” The links … Read more

The Impact of the US Housing Recovery Cannot Be Underestimated

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Valuentum reveals the far-reaching implications of a strengthening US housing market.