Valuentum Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor

Symbol Keyword

Feb 10, 2022

Dividend Growth and ESG Favorite Republic Services Is Buying U.S. Ecology
Image Shown: Republic Services Inc is one of our favorite waste management companies. On February 9, the company announced it was acquiring US Ecology Inc through an all-cash deal. US Ecology provides specialized waste management services and has an asset base that is nearly irreplaceable. We like the deal as it could generate meaningful cost saving and revenue synergies. Image Source: Republic Services Inc – February 2022 Infographic. On February 9, one of our favorite waste management companies, Republic Services announced a deal to acquire U.S. Ecology through an all-cash deal worth about $2.2 billion when including net debt considerations. Republic Services is paying $48 per share in cash to take over U.S. Ecology, which provides specialized waste management services. We like this deal as it will add nearly irreplaceable assets to Republic Services’ asset base and is expected to be immediately accretive to its adjusted earnings and free cash flow performance once the transaction closes.

Feb 8, 2022

Nutrien Benefiting from the Strong Global Farm Economy, Shares Yield ~2.5%
Image Source: Nutrien Limited – 2020 Annual Report. Nutrien Limited is benefiting from the strong global farm economy. The company sells tens of millions of metric tons of potash, nitrogen, and phosphate products every year, which are key ingredients used in the production of fertilizer. With geopolitical tensions building in Eastern Europe, Nutrien is preparing to bring idle potash production capacity in Canada back online while steadily expanding its nitrogen production capabilities. Nutrien is a great free cash flow generator with a promising growth outlook, though its net debt load is rather large. The firm is focusing on deleveraging activities in the near term, which we appreciate. Shares of NTR yield ~2.5% as of this writing, and we think it is one for your radar.

Feb 1, 2022

Structural Changes in the Airline and Aerospace Business
Image Source: Valuentum. The future profile for air travel demand will be negatively impacted in the long run (relative to pre-COVID-19 expectations) as increased leisure travel from the wealth effect may not completely offset reduced business travel growth impaired by digital solutions permanently disrupting the way companies conduct business. As with Warren Buffett, who recently wrote down the value of metal casting jet-engine supplier Precision Castparts (one of the best aerospace suppliers in the business), we believe intrinsic values of others in the aerospace supply chain have been permanently reduced as well. We’re staying away from airlines and aerospace with the exception of Honeywell, which offers diversified industrial exposure and a “call option” on a gradual aerospace recovery to a “new normal.” Honeywell is included in the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio and showed that it can thrive in a business environment where aerospace demand may not live up to pre-COVID-19 long-term expectations. Honeywell yields ~1.9% at the time of this writing.

Jan 14, 2022

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

Jan 10, 2022

High Yielding Philips 66 Has a Solid Plan in Place to Reward Its Shareholders
Image Shown: An overview of Phillip 66’s expansive asset base. Image Source: Phillips 66 – November 2021 IR Presentation. Demand for diesel and gasoline has largely recovered from the worst of the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, though kerosene demand (jet fuel) has a way to go given depressed levels of international travel. The refining giant Phillips 66 took advantage of the rebound seen over the past year to pare down its debt levels on a consolidated basis. At the end of December 2020, Phillips 66 had $13.4 billion in net debt (inclusive of short-term debt) on a consolidated basis, which fell down to $12.0 billion in net debt (inclusive of short-term debt) at the end of September 2021. Going forward, Phillips 66 now wants to focus on returning cash to shareholders as communicated during a January 2022 investor conference. Shares of PSX yield a nice ~4.6% as of this writing.

Dec 28, 2021

General Mills Managing Inflationary Headwinds; Scaling Up Pets Business
Image Source: General Mills Inc – Second Quarter of Fiscal 2022 IR Earnings Presentation. On December 21, General Mills, the firm behind the Cheerios, Pillsbury, and Nature Valley brands (among various others), reported second quarter earnings for fiscal 2022 (period ended November 28, 2021) that beat consensus top-line estimates but missed consensus bottom-line estimates. The consumer staples giant also raised its full year guidance for fiscal 2022 in conjunction with its latest earnings report. In the face of major input cost inflationary pressures and supply chain constraints, brought on in part by the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic and the fiscal/monetary policies enacted to offset the economic damage caused by the public health crisis, General Mills has done a solid job navigating the ever-changing landscape, all things considered.

Dec 24, 2021

High-Yielding Crown Castle Is One of Our Favorite REITs
Image Shown: We include Crown Castle International Corp as an idea in our High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio. Image Source: Crown Castle International Corp – October 2021 IR Presentation. Crown Castle International Corp is a real estate investment trust (‘REIT’) that owns and operates cell towers, fiber networks, and small cell nodes in the US. These assets form the backbone of wireless infrastructure and are key to enabling the domestic rollout of 5G networks and supporting existing 4G networks. We include shares of CCI in our High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio as we are big fans of its strong dividend coverage (when taking its ability to tap capital markets into account), impressive growth outlook, and high-quality cash flow profile. Shares of CCI yield ~2.9% as of this writing after the REIT boosted its quarterly dividend by 11% sequentially in October 2021, bringing its annualized payout up to $5.88 per share. Over the long haul, Crown Castle targets 7%-8% annual dividend growth. The REIT’s expansive asset base stretches across the US with operations in virtually every major metropolitan market. Crown Castle’s long-term contracts with its tenants (namely telecommunications giants) provide substantial visibility as it concerns its future cash flow performance. Additionally, Crown Castle generates substantial free cash flows, something we like a lot.

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.

Nov 26, 2021

South32 Continues to Improve Its Asset Base
Image Source: South32 – October 2021 Sierra Gorda Acquisition IR Presentation. South32 represents one of our favorite ideas in the mining space, and we include shares of SOUHY as an idea in the new ESG Newsletter portfolio. We view both South32’s capital appreciation and income generation upside quite favorably, keeping in mind the firm has a variable dividend policy that is subject to foreign currency movements. On a scale of 1-100 (with 100 being the best), South32 earns a nice ESG rating of 93 (based on our proprietary ESG rating matrix) as the miner continues to pivot towards commodities that will be essential to making the green energy revolution possible.

Nov 26, 2021

ICYMI: Time to Consider Buying Chinese Equities? Not Exactly.
Image Shown: Shares of Alibaba Group have plummeted over the past year in the wake of Beijing’s crackdown on China’s domestic tech and fintech titans. Is it finally time to start loading up on Chinese equities? We don't think so.