|
Recent Articles
-
Can Things Really Stay This Good?
Nov 27, 2023
-

"Large cap growth is booming. Small cap value is trailing. Dividend payers are stagnating. The markets are making a lot of sense again. But I do have my worries. When things are going this well, some market choppiness is probably in the cards. The S&P 500 is now bumping up against the high end of its downtrend, so the remainder of this year will likely see some increased volatility. On the back of Nvidia’s momentum and the great promise of artificial intelligence, however, I wonder if the first half of 2024 will be awesome followed by a very difficult back half of 2024 as some of my concerns finally catch up to the markets. But that just might be at the time the Fed starts cutting rates." -- Brian Nelson, CFA
-
Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of November 24
Nov 24, 2023
-
Let's take a look at firms raising/lowering their dividends this week.
-
Dick’s Sporting Goods Still Looks Really Cheap
Nov 20, 2023
-
 Image Source: Dick’s Sporting Goods.
On November 21, Dick’s Sporting Goods reported solid third-quarter results with sales up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis thanks to comparable store sales growth of 1.7% that lapped an impressive 6.5% increase in the same period a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $2.85 in the quarter, up from $2.60 in last year’s period. The company also raised its 2023 comparable store sales growth guidance range to 0.5%-2% from flat to 2% previously, and it raised its 2023 non-GAAP earnings per share outlook to $12.00-$12.60 from its previous range of $11.50-$12.30. We liked the news and continue to believe that shares are mispriced. Our fair value estimate stands at $160 per share, well above where shares are trading at the moment.
-
REITs Will Likely Continue To Underperform
Nov 17, 2023
-
 Image: REITs have not performed as well as some may have thought.
This article clearly explains that REIT dividends are risky and showcases that REIT investors have missed out on a lot of total return during the past decade or so. One has to go back a long time to see any real return from REITs, and changing working and shopping habits will likely continue to punish the broader REIT sector. We view REITs as a game of financial leverage tied to the vicissitudes of the commercial real estate cycle, all for a dividend yield that approximates that of risk-free assets these days. REITs seem to have a large following these days and many will come to the defense of REITs in their own way, but from a bird's eye view of this market, we remain puzzled by the love affair some have for them. We can only posit that some have a myopic focus on REIT-specific metrics, are not getting the best information when it comes to capital-market dependence risk, and perhaps don't truly understand the structural dynamics of the dividend payment with respect to the free dividends fallacy (i.e. that a REIT's share price is adjusted downward by the amount of the dividend on the ex-dividend date). In our view, the structural dynamics that have hurt REITs for the past decade won't be going away anytime soon, and for investors looking to maximize their returns and the longevity of their retirement savings, there are much better options than REITs.
|