Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

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Sep 25, 2020

PayPal and Visa Expand Partnership
Image Shown: Shares of Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio holding PayPal Holdings Inc have surged higher this year. We continue to be big fans of the company.The payment processing and payment solution space is incredibly attractive given the secular growth tailwinds supporting companies operating in the financial tech industry. As consumers are increasingly using cards and digitally-oriented payment services during the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, demand for the various “cash-less” payment options offered by PayPal Holdings and Visa is on the rise. Please note that rising demand for payment processing, cross-border transactions, and similar services is increasing from both consumers and businesses alike. This is more than just a short-term adjustment to cope during the COVID-19 pandemic; the transition towards a “cash-less society” has been underway for some time. We continue to like shares of both PayPal and Visa as top-weighted holdings in our Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio.

Sep 8, 2020

Macy’s Is Treading Water for Now
Image Shown: Shares of Macy’s Inc have flatlined since crashing during the first three months of calendar year 2020 as investors await signs of the embattled retailer’s turnaround strategy taking hold. On September 2, embattled retailer Macy’s reported second quarter fiscal 2020 earnings (period ended August 1, 2020) that saw the firm’s comparable sales drop 34.7% year-over-year at stores owned by Macy’s due primarily to physical store closures brought on by the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. The year-over-year decline in comparable sales deepened to 35.1% when including stores owned and licensed by Macy’s. Digital sales offered some reprieve as those were up 53% year-over-year last fiscal quarter, with digital sales as a percentage of the retailer’s total sales at its owned stores coming in at 54%.

Aug 28, 2020

Dollar General Posts Another Stellar Earnings Report
Image Shown: Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio holding Dollar General Corporation has seen its stock price climb significantly higher year-to-date, as of this writing on August 27. On August 27, Dollar General Corp reported second quarter fiscal 2020 earnings (period ended July 31, 2020) that beat both consensus top- and bottom-line estimates. The retailer’s same-store sales increased by 18.8% year-over-year aided by a series of initiatives that we have covered in the past including DG Pickup (Dollar General had stepped up its digital investments in recent years, with DG Pickup offering customers a way to order via mobile device and pickup those goods in-store), DG Fresh (Dollar General is adding more consumer staples offerings to its stores, namely refrigerated and frozen foods), and by placing a greater emphasis on selling non-consumable products (which carry higher gross margins). Longer term, Dollar General wants to add more fresh produce to its stores.

Aug 27, 2020

Hats Off to Powell and Mnuchin!
"My hat goes off to Powell and Mnuchin. As you know, I used to be a big believer in (very) hands-off government policies when it comes to the free-market system, but we can no longer afford that today. There are too many investors that aren't paying attention to their investments and/or pursuing misguided correlation analysis. Many have noted, including Danielle DiMartino Booth, that "the Fed could be setting the US economy up for a harder fall down the road by flooding markets with cash and spurring investors to prop up firms that are not fit to survive." Almost completely lost today, however, is that the Fed and Treasury also propped up almost every investment firm tied to indexing and modern portfolio theory." -- Valuentum's President Brian Nelson, CFA

Aug 24, 2020

Target Posts Stellar Comparable Store Growth, Digital Investments Lead the Way
Image Source: Target Corporation – May 2013 IR Presentation. Elevated demand for consumers staples products and rebounding consumer discretionary sales helped Target Corp report record comparable store sales growth in the second quarter of fiscal 2020 (period ended August 1, 2020), which were up 24.3% year-over-year. Digital comparable sales were up a whopping 195% year-over-year as same-day delivery services grew by 273%, with Target citing strength at its curbside pickup, order online/pickup in-store and home delivery options. Please note Target generates virtually all of its revenues in the US.

Aug 17, 2020

CyrusOne Is a High-Quality Data Center REIT
Image Shown: CyrusOne Inc’s financials and near-term growth outlook held up well during the ongoing pandemic, all things considered. Image Source: CyrusOne Inc – Second Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation. One of the newest additions to our High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio is CyrusOne, a data center real estate investment trust (‘REIT’). Demand for data centers has been extremely strong during the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic as employees are often working from home (driving up demand for productivity programs which in turn is driving up data consumption worldwide) while demand for data-hungry video streaming services has surged. Over the long haul, we like the outlook for the industry, and more broadly, we prefer companies supported by secular growth tailwinds.

Aug 14, 2020

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week August 14
Let's take a look at companies that raised/lowered their dividend this week.

Aug 12, 2020

Amazon Secures Big Win in the Online Grocery Market
Image Shown: Shares of Amazon have surged over the past year. Compared to their March 2020 lows, shares of AMZN have almost doubled as of this writing on August 10, 2020. On July 30, Amazon reported second-quarter earnings for 2020 that beat consensus top- and bottom-line estimates by a mile. As of this writing, shares of AMZN have almost doubled since hitting their March 2020 lows as Amazon’s lines of business were well-prepared to ride out the storm created by the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, assisted by the firm’s pristine balance sheet.

Aug 10, 2020

Digital Realty Boosts Guidance, Extends Growth Runway
Image Shown: An overview of Digital Realty Trust Inc’s asset base. Image Source: Digital Realty Trust Inc – Second Quarter of 2020 IR Earnings Presentation. Data center real estate investment trusts (‘REITs’) are well-positioned to ride out the storm created by the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic due to surging demand for cloud computing services, which in turn is driving up demand for data centers. In short, data centers are primarily facilities that house server farms along with vast amounts of fiber-optic cables that interconnect with existing networks. These facilities form the backbone of modern IT infrastructure. We include Digital Realty Trust Inc (DLR) as a holding in both our Dividend Growth Newsletter and High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio, and continue to like the name. Shares of DLR are up ~32% year-to-date as of this writing, and that does not include meaningful dividend considerations as shares of DLR yield ~2.8% as of this writing. In mid-July, we significantly raised our fair value estimate for shares of DLR given its improving outlook, with the top end of our fair value estimate range sitting at $181 per share.

Aug 7, 2020

Republic Services Remains a Cash Cow, Raises Dividend
Image Source: Arvell Dorsey Jr.We continue to be huge fans of the garbage hauler industry. One of our favorites, Republic Services reported second-quarter results that displayed the resilience of its operations and its cash-flow-generating prowess. The company raised its dividend payout 5%, and we plan to continue to include the company as an idea in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio.