Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Feb 5, 2022

Our Thoughts on Big Pharma’s Calendar Fourth Quarter Earnings Reports
Image Source: Merck & Company Inc – Fourth Quarter of 2021 IR Earnings Presentation. We include the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF in the Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios to gain broad exposure to the health care sector. Instead of betting on one entity's pipeline (which could be hit or miss), we like the exposure to lots and lots of "shots on goal" when it comes to the vast collective pipeline in the XLV ETF. We wrote up the calendar fourth-quarter results of the top two weightings in the XLV ETF, United Health and Johnson & Johnson recently. We continue to like UNH a lot, but JNJ's story has become a lot more complicated for dividend growth investors in recent months. Let's have a look at some of the other key holdings in the XLV ETF, however. We'll cover the calendar fourth-quarter earnings reports from four heavyweights in the pharmaceutical arena (ABBV, GILD, LLY, and MRK). Additionally, we'll cover the performance of some of their top-selling treatments that have already received regulatory approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (‘FDA’) and key clinical trials that could produce new commercial growth opportunities. The coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic has become more manageable during the past year or so after several vaccines and therapeutics for the virus were discovered in record time. While headwinds from the pandemic remain, the health care sector is steadily recovering and this space is home to plenty of attractive opportunities for capital appreciation and income seeking investors. XLV, UNH, JNJ, and VRTX are a few that we like a lot.

Jan 25, 2022

Johnson & Johnson’s Pending Split-Up, Talc Liabilities, New CEO Add Complexity to a Once-Clean Dividend Growth Story
Image Shown: J&J continues to face legal liabilities due to talcum powder lawsuits. Image Source: Mike Mozart. We prefer simple dividend growth stories. Unfortunately, J&J is no longer one of them. A split of Johnson & Johnson’s consumer products division from its medical device and pharma divisions in the next 18-24 months means that dividend growth investors will have added complexity as a new CEO takes the helm, all the while the board manages its growing talc liabilities during a global pandemic. Shares of J&J haven’t been as strong a performer as other stocks on the market the past five years, but we still like its firm foundation and nice combination of dividend yield and potential dividend growth for now. That may change in the coming months to years, however.

Jan 20, 2022

Dividend Growth Idea UnitedHealth’s Growth Story Expected to Continue
Image Shown: Shares of dividend growth idea UnitedHealth Group Inc have surged higher over the past year. The company put up solid performance in 2021 and its guidance for 2022 indicates that its growth trajectory is expected to continue. On January 19, UnitedHealth Group reported fourth-quarter 2021 earnings that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. The company’s health insurance business is covered by its ‘UnitedHealthcare’ segment, and its health care provider business is covered by its ‘Optum’ segment. Virtually all of the firm’s revenues come from the U.S. It also reaffirmed its guidance for 2022 in its fourth-quarter earnings report. We continue to be impressed with UnitedHealth and include shares of UNH as an idea in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. Shares of UNH yield ~1.3% as of this writing.

Dec 10, 2021

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week December 10
Let's take a look at companies that raised/lowered their dividend this week.

Dec 3, 2021

Best Idea Dollar General Announces Plans to Go International
Image Source: Dollar General Corporation – Fiscal 2020 Annual Report. We are big fans of Dollar General. The discount retailer has several big initiatives underway to extend its growth runway while boosting per store sales and enhancing its margins. Shares of DG have been treading water over the past few months after surging during the 2020 calendar year, though we still room for significant capital appreciation upside potential going forward. The company is a tremendous free cash flow generator, and we like shares of DG as an idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio.

Dec 2, 2021

Best Idea Vertex Pharma Boosts Guidance (Again), Buying Back Stock While Awaiting Key Clinical Trials
Image Shown: Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is one of our favorite biotech ideas. Image Source: Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc – Third Quarter of 2021 IR Earnings Presentation. Vertex Pharma has a robust drug pipeline, though all eyes are on its potential CTX001 treatment. Should the treatment receive the green light from key healthcare regulators, Vertex Pharma’s financial performance would benefit from a major growth catalyst. In the meantime, we think it is prudent for Vertex Pharma to continue leveraging its financial strength to repurchase sizable chunks of its stock. We like Vertex Pharma as an idea in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio.

Nov 16, 2021

The Valuentum Weekly Is a Hit! Only Delivered By Email!
The Valuentum Weekly is a brand-new weekly market commentary from Valuentum Securities, released each weekend in digital form. The Valuentum Weekly offers members a weekly synopsis of the markets and major events. It will be straight and to-the-point. Our goal is to deliver to you the latest information and insights. We welcome your feedback on how we can make the Valuentum Weekly as useful and as relevant for you as ever!

Oct 21, 2021

Johnson & Johnson Boosts Guidance Again, Posts Great Earnings Update
Image Shown: Johnson & Johnson reported strong performance across its three core business operating segments in the third quarter of fiscal 2021. Image Source: Johnson & Johnson – Third Quarter of Fiscal 2021 IR Earnings Presentation. On October 19, Johnson & Johnson reported third quarter earnings for fiscal 2021 (period ended around the end of September 2021) that missed consensus top-line estimates but beat consensus bottom-line estimates. The healthcare giant also raised its full-year guidance (again) for fiscal 2021 as its ‘Pharmaceutical’ segment is growing at a robust pace, its ‘Medical Device’ segment is steadily recovering from the worst of the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, and its ‘Consumer Health’ segment is holding up well. We continue to like Johnson & Johnson as an idea in both the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio.

Oct 18, 2021

Dividend Growth Idea UnitedHealth Group Beats Estimates, Raises Guidance (Again)
Image Shown: Shares of dividend growth idea UnitedHealth Group Inc moved higher in the wake of its latest earnings report and guidance boost. On October 14, the health insurance and health care services provider giant UnitedHealth Group reported third-quarter 2021 earnings that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. The company also raised its full-year earnings guidance (again) for 2021 in conjunction with its latest earnings report, boosting its EPS forecast to $17.70-$17.95 and its non-GAAP adjusted EPS forecast to $18.65-$18.90. Shares of UNH are included as an idea in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio as we are enormous fans of its fortress-like balance sheet and ability to generate free cash flows in almost any operating environment. As of this writing, shares of UNH yield ~1.4%.

Sep 13, 2021

The Investment Case for More Gender Diversity
Image: The Impact Shares' YWCA Women’s Empowerment ETF (WOMN) has trounced the S&P 500 since inception, while the SPDR SSGA Gender Diversity Index ETF (SHE) has bested the quantitatively-hailed small cap value ETF over the same time period. There has been a plethora of research over the years regarding the value of diversity on teams, in corporate boardrooms, and across asset management. One of the forms of diversity is gender diversity. It has been documented that diverse teams create more innovative ideas and creativity, which can serve as quite an advantage in industries where margins are slim, or there are few barriers to entry. While a 2019 study summarized in the Harvard Business Review indicated that the value of gender diversity is highly context-dependent and tends to have the greatest benefit where it is already valued, the corporate environment, and arguably the stock market, itself, are a few of those areas where value has been demonstrated.