ZION

Catching the Bottom?

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Image shown: The depths of how far the S&P 500 (SPY) has fallen more recently, and the timing of the decision to move to being “fully invested” in simulated Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio.   No Changes to Simulated Newsletter portfolios. This article was sent to members via email January 9. That email can be found at the link that follows this article. By Brian Nelson, CFA On the evening of December 26, we emailed members that we were moving to “fully invested” in both the simulated Best Ideas Newsletter and simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. First of all, please let me apologize. I wanted to stay in front of members during one of the most volatile times … Read more

Markets Up Big; Upside Volatility

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Image shown: The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) since August 2017. The index has broken through support and is now bouncing back to resistance. By Brian Nelson, CFA Good morning everyone, Are you watching these markets? This is incredible. The Dow finished down 660 points yesterday (briefly dropping 700 points), and today, the Dow is currently trading up 600 points at the time of this writing. Granted, there was Apple’s (AAPL) poor first-quarter 2019 guidance yesterday and the strong jobs report today, but this volatility is not “normal,” no matter what others are saying. A couple announcements up front. For those that already ordered our book Value Trap, I will send you the pdf download to your email address just to make sure … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending January 26

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending January 26. 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 3M (MMM): now $1.36 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.17. AGCO (AGCO): now $0.15 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.14. Air Products and Chemicals (APD): now $1.10 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.95. Alaska Air (ALK): now $0.32 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.30. ALLETE (ALE): now $0.56 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.535. Alliance Data Systems (ADS): now $0.57 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.52. … Read more

ETF Analysis: Banks and Financials

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Please select the image below to download the report. Tickerized for ETFs under coverage and stocks included in the XLF.

The Coming “Goldman Sachs Era”

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Valuentum covers recent developments in the financials sector, including hopes for a relaxation of certain prohibitive Dodd-Frank rules that, if repealed, could pave the way for improved economic returns across the banking sector during the Trump administration. A look back at the month of September 2008, and how Goldman Sachs may very well shape the financial markets during the next few years are two other areas in the piece. Financials stocks have come roaring back since Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States. We’ve participated. By Brian Nelson, CFA It’s been more than 8 years now. The month of September 2008 shaped my view of the financials and banking sector more than any other month possibly could–The … Read more

Podcast: Why ETFs and Roasting the Banks

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The Valuentum analyst team talks about why we don’t like the business models of banking entities, why they are currently destroying economic value, but also why the team includes exposure in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. What gives? Find out in this ~9 minute podcast. If you cannot view the video, please view the transcript that follows. Tickerized for holdings in the exchange traded funds, XLF and KBE, and for various financials-oriented ETFs.  Kris Rosemann: Hello and welcome to the Valuentum Securities podcast. My name is Kris Rosemann Associate Investment Analyst at Valuentum. With me is Chris Araos and Brian Nelson President of Equity Research and ETF Analysis at Valuentum. Today, we are going to have a quick discussion over … Read more

The Banking Industry Is All About Confidence

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Image Source: 401(K) 2012 The “5 Cs of credit” — character, capacity, capital, collateral, and conditions — is a widely-followed framework and generally-accepted guideline for lending to consumers, but for corporate entities, we think another C is much more important: confidence. By Brian Nelson, CFA The financial sector, and the underlying banking industry in particular, is distinctly different than most other sectors like industrials, retail, or healthcare, for example. Unlike the latter industries, banks use money to make money (net interest income), instead of using operating assets like property, plant and equipment (PPE) and raw materials to drive revenue and resulting free cash flow. This means that continued access to money and credit is the primary source of banks’ economic returns … Read more

Dividend Increases for the Week Ending April 17

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending April 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 Blackstone Group (BX): now $0.89 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.78. CSX (CSX): now $0.18 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.16. Discover Financial Services (DFS): now $0.28 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.24. Donegal Group (DGICA): now $0.135 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.1315. Fidelity Southern (LION): now $0.10 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.09. General Motors (GM): now $0.36 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.30. … Read more

Only One Bank Fails Fed’s Stress Test

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The banking industry is based almost entirely on the confidence of intermediaries and counterparties that make up the building blocks of the financial system. An investment in a bank or money center must come with the acknowledgement of the distinct possibility that another financial crisis may occur at an unknown time in the future. Though we don’t expect one anytime soon, it’s worth noting that there have been three significant banking crises during the past three decades alone: the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s/early 1990s; the fall of Long-Term Capital Management and the Russian/Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s; and the Great Recession of the last decade that not only toppled Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Washington Mutual, … Read more

LINK –> Massive Unrest In Europe, Energy Crisis Could Be the Catalyst to Topple the Global Markets

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Image Shown: The SSGA ETFS Europe II PLC SPDR MSCI Europe Industrials UCITS ETF, listed in the UK, tracks large and mid-sized European industrial firms. Shares of the ETF have fallen sharply year-to-date as recessionary fears across Europe have grown substantially in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the related European energy crisis. “Surging energy prices in Europe are decimating consumer spending power and forcing industrial companies to sharply scale back production. It is estimated that six in 10 British factories could fold as a result of the crisis, according to reports from Bloomberg.” — The Valuentum Team By Callum Turcan The European energy crisis continues to unfold, and we’ve been keeping our members … Read more