Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Jan 22, 2020

Morgan Stanley Expecting Substantial Improvements
Image Source: Morgan Stanley Earnings Presentation. Morgan Stanley is guiding return on tangible equity to go from 12.9% this year to 13-15% in two years and to 15-17% in the longer term. Management was quite clear that they are using the assumption that the economy and markets move ahead at normal levels, meaning no severe recessions or booms. That said, if the company hits these goals, it will drive fundamentals ahead at a steady clip, requiring a reset higher in its valuation.

Jan 21, 2020

You Saw It Coming: 85% of Quant Funds Underperform
Financial advisors that shared the book Value Trap with your clients, if you think it makes sense, please be sure to let them know how hard you are working for them in staying up to date with new developments, especially the vast underperformance of quant mutual funds. Keep building trust.

Jan 21, 2020

PPG Industries’ Latest Earnings Report Indicates Softer Industrial Activity Ahead
Image Shown: Capitalizing on the various lucrative opportunities the aerospace industry offers PPG Industries Inc underpins its long-term free cash flow trajectory. Image Source: PPG Industries – December 2019 IR Presentation. On January 16, maker of painting, coating, and specialty materials PPG Industries posted fourth quarter earnings for 2019. The firm has performed well in the aerospace and marine industries, and we emphasize its growing exposure to the aerospace industry underpins the strength of its free cash flow trajectory. That said, let's walk through PPG Industries' quarterly performance to get a feel for how broader industrial activity is trending and why economic softness may be looming.

Jan 21, 2020

Two Dividend Growth Newsletter Portfolio Holdings Get Ready to Report Earnings Later This Month
Two holdings in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, Johnson & Johnson and Microsoft Corporation, are getting ready to report earnings later this month.

Jan 21, 2020

Goldman Hit By Charge Related to 1MDB
Image Source: Goldman Sachs Earnings Presentation. Aside from dominating the global revenue pools for investment banking and trading, Goldman is doing other things right. The firm has rapidly gathered deposits in the US and UK over the past year, bringing in a lower cost of funds to help facilitate its balance sheet. Goldman has also built up Marcus, Apple Card, and the bank is in the process of growing its asset management business to better serve institutional clients.

Jan 17, 2020

Why We Like Republic Services Over Casella
Image Source: Republic Services Inc – 2018 Annual Report. Let's talk about the story of two garbage haulers, one that is extremely pricey and one that we just added to the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. Casella has experienced an impressive growth spurt during the past few years, and we model in substantial growth in the coming years, but now the rally in CWST has gotten ahead of itself. Given the unsystematic risks Casella faces and the enormous amount of growth priced into its stock, shares of CWST could fall materially should the company stumble. We prefer the stability and strength of Republic Services in terms of its large geographical footprint, managed debt maturity schedule, investment-grade credit ratings, and free cash flow growth outlook. Republic Services also pays out a nice dividend with room for substantial payout growth, while Casella is using its free cash flows to fund its growth ambitions. We like Republic Services as a top quality defensive addition to our Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. The non-hazardous solid waste disposal industry is quite lucrative and one that offers a lot of upside, keeping in mind the current economic expansion is long in the tooth. Having some exposure to more defensive industries is a prudent move, in our view.

Jan 17, 2020

Bank of America Gaining Share
Image Source: Bank of America Earnings Presentation. We are increasing our fair value estimate of Bank of America to $40 per share, as we view the market share gains at the bank and steady loan and deposit growth to be more sustainable than we had previously envisioned. We like the bank’s solid franchise, the management team, and we like the shares here as it tries to catch up with larger peer JPMorgan.

Jan 17, 2020

Citigroup Succeeding at Cross-Selling
Image Source: Citigroup Earnings Presentation. Citigroup is finally out-earning our estimate of its cost of capital with a return on tangible common equity (ROTCE) of 12.4% in the quarter, and the shares have rallied substantially more recently as a result. Management lowered expectations for the degree of return on tangible equity improvement going into 2020, but continued improvements would be welcome, nonetheless.

Jan 17, 2020

Our Reports on Stocks in the Environmental Services Industry
Image: Republic's Apex landfill in Las Vegas. We've optimized our industrials coverage.

Jan 17, 2020

Our Reports on Stocks in the Integrated Circuits Industry
Image Source: Yuri Samoilov. We've optimized our technology coverage.