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Dec 18, 2020

Omni-Channel Strategy at Dick’s Sporting Goods Makes It a Long-Term Dividend Growth Idea
Image Source: Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc – Third Quarter of 2020 Earnings Infographic. The ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, due to the desire of households to socially distance, has seen a meaningful amount of consumer spending shift to e-commerce platforms. Retailers that invested heavily in their online operations, while also bulking up their omni-channel sales capabilities, were in a much better position when the pandemic hit than those that had to rely largely on their physical footprint. Over the past year, “contactless” delivery options have become much more popular. That includes fulfillment options such as curbside pickup and in-store pickup (usually in specially designated areas), where consumers purchase goods online and then travel to the relevant physical store location to acquire those products. Demand for home delivery services has surged as well. On November 27, we added Dick’s Sporting Goods to the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio to gain exposure to a high-quality retailer with strong omni-channel sales operations, and the rise of e-commerce more broadly. In this note, let's focus on Dick’s Sporting Goods’ operational improvements and e-commerce strategy.

Dec 18, 2020

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week December 18
Let's take a look at companies that raised/lowered their dividend this week.

Dec 17, 2020

UnitedHealth Group’s Dividend Growth Potential is Impressive
Image Shown: UnitedHealth Group Inc has a tremendous dividend growth runway, one that is supported by its high-quality cash flow profile, pristine balance sheet, and improving near-term outlook. Shares of UNH have staged an impressive recovery over the past several months since crashing in March 2020 due to headwinds arising from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We added UnitedHealth Group to our Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio on November 27, 2020. On November 27, we added UnitedHealth Group to the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. The company has an “EXCELLENT” Dividend Growth rating as the firm is well-positioned to push through meaningful dividend increases in the coming years. Additionally, UnitedHealth Group earns an “EXCELLENT” Dividend Safety rating as its Dividend Cushion ratio sits at 3.1, and please keep in mind these metrics factor in our expectations that the company will meaningfully grow its payout going forward. As of this writing, shares of UNH yield ~1.5%. We like UnitedHealth Group’s stellar cash flow profile, pristine balance sheet, improving near-term outlook and resilient business model. During the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, the company’s financial performance has remained rock-solid, too.

Dec 17, 2020

Congress Seeks to Strike a Deal
Image Shown: The S&P 500 is trading near all-time highs as of December 16, but political risk could cause some choppiness in the near term. The potential for yet another government shutdown is upon us, but according to key leaders on both sides of the aisle, a deal appears to be within reach. Certain provisions may be left out in order to reach an accord sooner rather than later, however. In any case, we remain bullish long term, as the world continues to work to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind it. Funding for most US federal government agencies may run out by the end of this week (December 18) if both sides of the aisle in Congress do not reach an agreement over a potential omnibus bill. In light of the tremendous efforts by the Fed/Treasury to support both the economy and the financial markets since the initial outbreak of COVID-19 to date, we don’t think Congress will do harm by not stepping up to the plate during the biggest global health crisis in the past 100 years. Still, we wanted to keep this news in front of you, as a prolonged shutdown presents a “fat-tail (low probability) risk” to the equity markets, particularly with respect to sentiment and momentum and especially with respect to any legal delays related to President Donald Trump leaving office in the coming weeks. We’re not making any changes to the newsletter portfolios at this time, however.

Dec 16, 2020

Public Storage Receives Interest from Activist Investor
Image Shown: A look at Public Storage’s geographical footprint at the end of 2019, keeping in mind some of these properties are owned by its strategic partners. Image Source: Public Storage – 2019 Annual Report. We are big fans of the self-storage industry and include Public Storage in the High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio. One of the greatest things about Public Storage is the ability for this self-storage real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) to generate sizable positive free cash flows, a rarity in the REIT world. We have covered this dynamic in detail in the past. Shares of PSA yield ~3.6% as of this writing, and we see room for significant payout growth in the coming years. Recently, Public Storage received a letter from a major activist investor that seeks to shake up the company to improve the REIT’s ability to reward shareholders going forward.

Dec 16, 2020

The December Edition of the Best Ideas Newsletter
Download the December edition of the Best Ideas Newsletter in this article.

Dec 15, 2020

Honeywell Is a Tremendously Resilient Enterprise and a Rock-Solid Dividend Payer
Image Shown: Honeywell International Inc expects its financial performance will post a significant rebound in 2021. Please note this guidance assumed a safe and viable COVID-19 vaccine would get distributed by early-2021, though distribution activities started before then in December 2020, which supports Honeywell’s near-term outlook. Image Source: Honeywell International Inc – Third Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation. We added one of our favorite industrial stocks Honeywell to the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio on November 27 as the firm’s operational and financial performance has proven to be incredibly resilient in the face of the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. As global health authorities begin to put an end to the pandemic, aided by recent COVID-19 vaccine developments, Honeywell is well-positioned to capitalize on a global economic recovery. Shares of HON yield ~1.8% as of this writing and its Dividend Cushion ratio sits at 2.3, earning the firm a “GOOD” Dividend Safety rating. Please note that the forward-looking Dividend Cushion ratio and Dividend Safety rating incorporates our forecast that Honeywell will push through meaningful dividend increases in the coming years, too, so Honeywell's foundation of dividend health is quite strong even considering future growth in the payout.

Dec 15, 2020

Oracle Posts Solid Earnings and Provides Favorable Near-Term Guidance
Image Source: Oracle Corporation – September 2019 IR Presentation. On December 10, Oracle Corp reported second-quarter earnings for fiscal 2021 (period ended November 30, 2020) that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. In the fiscal second quarter, Oracle’s GAAP revenues advanced 2% year-over-year on the back of its ‘Cloud services and license support’ segment posting 4% sales growth. The company’s GAAP operating income rose 13% year-over-year last fiscal quarter, as operating expenses shifted lower 3% thanks to the efforts of Oracle’s management team to make cost containment efforts a priority. The firm’s diluted GAAP EPS came in at $0.80 during the second quarter of fiscal 2021, up 16% year-over-year thanks in part to its weighted-average outstanding diluted share count falling almost 9% during this period. We are maintaining our $67 per share fair value estimate for Oracle and continue to include shares of ORCL in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. Shares of ORCL yield ~1.6% as of this writing with room for ample payout growth going forward, in our view.

Dec 14, 2020

Starbucks’ Long-Term Outlook Is Improving
Image Shown: Starbucks Corporation sees the total addressable market for coffee products growing by a decent clip over the coming years, which is forecasted to reach ~$450 billion in 2023. Image Source: Starbucks Corporation – 2020 Biennial Investor Day Presentation. On December 9, Starbucks Corp hosted its biennial Investor Day meeting, held virtually this year due to the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic and updated its financial guidance for the next several fiscal years. For reference, Starbucks’ GAAP revenues and GAAP operating income fell 11% and 62% year-over-year, respectively, in fiscal 2020 (period ended September 27, 2020) as the company contended with headwinds created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking ahead, Starbucks expects to realize a “significant rebound” in fiscal 2021 and “outsize growth” in fiscal 2022, particularly as it concerns its non-GAAP EPS performance. We expect to raise our fair value estimate modestly upon the next update.

Dec 13, 2020

7 Hidden Dividend Aristocrats in Industrials
In the world of dividend growth investing, when a company hits the mark of raising its dividend for more than 25 consecutive years, it garners the coveted title of a Dividend Aristocrat. The accomplishment is so rare that only 65 companies in the S&P 500 have achieved this commendable feat--just 13%. Our strategic focus in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio is to identify companies with attractive valuations, respectable dividend yields and strong expected dividend growth prospects for the next 25 years. This perspective is embedded within the construct of our proprietary and forward-looking Dividend Cushion ratio that can be found in each company’s Dividend Report. In this article, however, let’s cover seven hidden and relatively overlooked Dividend Aristocrats from our Industrials coverage that have promising prospects to continue raising their dividends for many more years to come (three on the list have already raised their dividends for more than 60 consecutive years). The valuations of these seven companies may be a little stretched for our taste (at the time of this writing), but we think these stocks are worth keeping on your radar given their resilient business models, shareholder-friendly management teams, notable competitive advantages, and praiseworthy status as Dividend Aristocrats. Each of the companies’ 16-page Stock Report and Dividend Report can be downloaded following their respective profiles.