Economy:
Child tax credit payments will start hitting bank accounts today. Here's what you need to know. (7/15/21)
CPI rose 5.4% for the 12 month period ending in June 2021. The Core CPI was up 4.5%:
A one year treasury bill purchased in July 2020 would have produced a negative real yield of about 5.25% before any tax obligation. 2020 Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates
'Bond King' Gundlach says inflation environment today reminds him of the 1970s: 'Jimmy Carteresque'
Paul Krugman makes the case that Trump's trade policies are significantly responsible for the chip shortages and bottlenecks that are retarding US GDP growth now and contributing to inflation. Opinion | The Trumpian Roots of the Chip Crisis - The New York Times He cites the paper written by Chad Brown of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and published recently in Foreign Affairs. I have been mentioned here how the chip shortage has negatively impacted new car production, leading to shutdowns at several major plants. The result is that used car prices are skyrocketing, contributing about 1/3rd to the rise in May's CPI.
The index for new vehicles rose 2% in June, the fastest increase since 1981.
Delta accounts for nearly all virus cases in southwestern Missouri, where Mercy Hospital recently ran out of ventilators. - The New York Times Springfield is a city in Greene County, MO where only 35% of the population had received vaccinations.
McDonald’s minimum wage raise and the fast food franchise future McDonald's intends to reach a mean average $15 wage in all company owned restaurants by 2024. The company currently owns 650 restaurants. The rest are owned by franchisees. McDonald's raised wages by an average of 10% last month, with entry level positions starting at $11 to $17 per hour depending on the location.
Hospitalizations rising again as delta variant spreads among the unvaccinated, doctors say
Powell says the Fed is still a ways off from altering policies, expects inflation to moderate
OPEC reportedly reaches compromise on oil production after dispute with UAE
Empire State Manufacturing Survey (overview) - FEDERAL RESERVE BANK of NEW YORK ("general business conditions index shot up twenty-six points to 43.0. New orders and shipments increased robustly. Delivery times continued to lengthen substantially, and inventories expanded. Employment grew strongly, and the average workweek increased. Input prices continued to increase sharply, and selling prices rose at the fastest pace on record.") Any number above zero indicates expansion. This is a very robust report.
 |
| Empire State Manufacturing Chart |
Sourced: Empire State Manufacturing Survey.pdf. The prices paid index was reported at 76.8.
The Covid infection rate is starting to spike again, though the percentage increases, while large, come off a low level. Delta variant spreads as infections rise in 48 states (7/15/21, USA Today) The NYT claims that the U.S. reported 26,513 new infections on 7/14, with the 14 day average increasing +111%.
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Markets and Market Commentary:
Several commentators believe that the recent decline in intermediate and longer term treasury yields lends support to the FED's opinion that the inflation spike is temporary. Ron Insana: The bond market agrees with the Federal Reserve — inflation is temporary; Randall Forysth: Bonds’ Odd Behavior May Presage Weaker Second-Half Economy | Barron's
Those opinions are based on the mistaken belief that inflation and inflation expectations are being factored into treasury yields which has not been the case for several years.
Since intermediate and longer interest rates have reflected for centuries an inflation component, it is difficult to accept that this is no longer the case.
Only in recent times have lenders paid borrowers to take their money. The amount of negative nominal yield debt stood at about $18+ trillion last November and is currently around $13T. The Amount of Negative Yielding Debt Is Trending Lower | LPL Financial Research A much larger chunk has positive nominal yields that are negative adjusted for current inflation or anticipated inflation (e.g. U.S. treasuries with inflation measures embodied in the breakeven inflation rates for the 5, 10, 20 and 30 year TIPs)
Interest rates are being set by the FED and other central banks without regard to inflation and inflation expectations.
The end result is that yields have been suppressed far below the current and anticipated inflation rates.
The existence of negative real yields and negative nominal yields are not consistent with a belief that GDP growth and inflation are considerations being factored by a free market into yields. The slight changes in treasury yields for notes and bonds are not reflecting any market opinion about GDP growth or future inflation.
There can be a more significant upward movement when a consensus forms that inflation will force central banks to abandon their extremely abnormal monetary policies. That would include ending QE programs and increasing the benchmark rates to levels consistent with fighting inflation.
The recent spike to a 5.4% 12 month inflation rate is probably a temporary event, at least at that level, but may not be, particularly if current monetary policies are continued by the FED, ECB and other major central banks in developed, democratic countries, all of whom have been suppressing interest rates below the inflation rate in unison.
The Bond Ghouls are currently forecasting an average annual CPI rate over the next 10 years at 2.32%, based on today's closing yields, a consensus opinion reflected in the 10 year TIP breakeven inflation rate. 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate-St. Louis Fed The 5 year TIP breakeven inflation rate is slightly higher at 2.53% (see tables below). 5-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate-St. Louis Fed
The Bond Ghouls response to higher than expected inflation was to take treasury yields down:
 |
Real Yields-TIPs:
Duke Energy announces dividend payments to shareholders The quarterly rate was increased 2 cents to $.985 per share.
PepsiCo (PEP) Q2 2021 earnings crush estimates
Goldman Sachs GS earnings Q2 2021 (E.P.S. of $15.02 vs. consensus at $10.24)
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Earnings Reports-Owned Stocks:
Bank of America (BAC) SEC Filed Press Release (net income of $9.02B or $1.03 per share, which includes a $1.6B boost from release of credit loss reserves and a $2B positive tax adjustment relating to the revaluation of a U.K. deferred tax asset; the E.P.S. consensus was $.774 per Fidelity; revenue, net of interest expense, declined 4% to $21.5B)
BNY Mellon (BK) Reports Second Quarter 2021 Earnings Of $991 Million Or $1.13 Per Common Share (E.P.S. of $1.13 with the consensus at $1 per Fidelity; repurchased 12.8M shares; total revenue decreased by 1%; fee revenue increased by 4% and at +10% excluding money market waivers which is costing this bank a lot of money; ROE =10%; ROTE = 19%; investment and wealth management revenue up 13% with AUM up 18% to $2.3T; increased quarterly dividend by 10% to $.34 per share)
Conagra Brands (CAG) Reports Strong FY21 Fourth Quarter And Full-Year Results or SEC Filed Press Release (E.P.S. "from continuing operations (EPS) for the fourth quarter grew 56.1% to $0.64, and adjusted EPS declined 28.0% to $0.54. On a two-year compounded annualized basis, fourth quarter EPS increased 56.9% and adjusted EPS increased 22.5%."; "Net sales decreased 16.7%, and organic net sales decreased 10.1% driven by lapping the prior year's significant surge in at-home food consumption at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. On a two-year compounded annualized basis, fiscal 2021 fourth quarter net sales increased 2.4% and organic net sales increased 4.5%."; revised fiscal 2022 results due to the negative impact from inflation to an adjusted E.P.S. of $2.5 which compares unfavorably to the $2.64 E.P.S. for the F/Y ending in May 2021)
J.P. Morgan (JPM) SEC Filed Earnings Press Release (GAAP E.P.S. of $3.78 vs. $3.178 consensus per Fidelity; GAAP includes $.75 per share of credit reserve release or a net benefit of $2.3B from releasing $3B; excluding credit reserve release, E.P.S. was $3.03 and return on tangible equity was 18%; average loans flat; deposits up 23%; total capital ratio of 17.1%; tangible book value per share = $68.91; discussed at JPM earnings 2Q 2021)
Morgan Stanley (MS) Second Quarter 2021 Earnings Results (Net income of $3.511B or E.P.S. of $1.85 with consensus at $1.66)
Truist Financial (TFC) SEC Filed Press Release (adjusted earnings of $2.1B or $1.55 per share with the consensus at $1.173 per Fidelity; adjusted ROTE = 24.7%; adjusted ROA = 1.69%; GAAP E.P.S. = $1.16, adjustments to GAAP include "merger-related and restructuring charges of $297 million ($228 million after-tax), incremental operating expenses related to the merger of $190 million ($146 million after-tax) and charitable contributions of $200 million ($153 million after-tax"; the Stock Jocks responded positively to this report: TFC $55.86 +$1.43 +2.63%)
US Bancorp (USB) SEC Filed Press Release (net income of $1.982B or $1.28 per share with the consensus at $1.123 per Fidelity; ROA = 1.44%; ROE = 16.3%; ROTE = 20.9%; NIM = 2.53%; Efficiency Ratio = 59%; Charge Off Ratio = .25%; NPA Ratio = .36%; total risk based capital ratio = 13.4%; the Stock Jocks responded positively to this report: USB $58.82 +$1.83 +3.21%)
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Charts:
Capacity Utilization: Total Index-St. Louis Fed
All Sectors; Debt Securities and Loans; Liability, Level/Gross Domestic Product-St. Louis Fed
Nonfinancial Corporate Business; Debt Securities; Liability, Level-St. Louis Fed
Federal Debt Held by Federal Reserve Banks-St. Louis Fed
Households and Nonprofit Organizations; Consumer Credit; Liability, Level-St. Louis Fed
Household Debt Service Payments as a Percent of Disposable Personal Income-St. Louis Fed
Household Financial Obligations as a percent of Disposable Personal Income-St. Louis Fed
Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE-St. Louis Fed
Velocity of M2 Money Stock St. Louis Fed
Personal Saving Rate-St. Louis Fed
4-Week Moving Average of Initial Claims- St. Louis Fed
Unemployment Rate-St. Louis Fed
Households; Owners' Equity in Real Estate, Level -St. Louis Fed
New One Family Houses Sold: United States -St. Louis Fed
15-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Average in the United States-St. Louis Fed
S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index-St. Louis Fed
Median Sales Price for New Houses Sold in the United States-St. Louis Fed
Share of Labor Compensation in GDP at Current National Prices for the United States -St. Louis Fed
Light Weight Vehicle Sales: Autos and Light Trucks- St. Louis Fed
Cass Freight Index: Shipments-St. Louis Fed
Leading Index for the United States-St. Louis Fed
University of Michigan: Consumer Sentiment-St. Louis Fed
E-Commerce Retail Sales-St. Louis Fed
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in the U.S. City Average-St. Louis Fed
Crude Oil Prices: West Texas Intermediate (WTI) - Cushing, Oklahoma-St. Louis Fed
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Trump wanted 'leaker' of bunker story executed, book says Trump is a psychopath with no feelings of empathy. Say it plainly: Trump is a psychopath If he could, Trump would cause the execution of anyone who dared to criticize or contradict him, point out his lies or who just displeased him in some way that virtually anyone else would ignore such as the innocuous story that the Secret Service took him to the bunker.
Will the GOP Steal the 2024 Election? - The Atlantic The answer is yes and that effort will be endorsed and encouraged by the rank-and-file as noted by the authors of this article.
A weekend of demagoguery shows why Trump can't be ignored
GOP Senators React to Trump's Latest Comments About January 6 Rioters Trump called the rioters "peaceful" and "great people". In Trump's America, it is of course irrelevant that there is a massive amount of video evidence showing that the Republican attack on the nation's capitol was not peaceful.
Fact check: Untethered to reality, Trump lies over and over about the 2020 election at CPAC I am unable to identify any living person who is more dishonest than Donald. No one is even close.
There can be financial incentives for Trumpsters to spread fact free conspiracy theories. How Sean Turnbull made a career at SGT Report anonymously amplifying dark plots - The Washington Post
According to NOAA, last month was the hottest June since NOAA started to keep records in 1907. Climate at a Glance | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI); New Wildfires In Western U.S. At 10-Year High: NPR
At Mercy Culture, the nations fastest-growing Christian movement is openly political and central to Trump’s GOP - The Washington Post The goal is to turn America into a theocracy controlled by middle aged white evangelical males who regularly talk with, and receive instructions from God.
The self-described "conservatives" at CPAC cheered a speaker when he mentioned that the government had failed to reach its vaccination goals. CPAC crowd cheers missing vaccination goal. Hear Fauci's response The CPAC members overwhelmingly chose Donald as their preferred 2024 candidate for President, fervently hoping for 4 more years of Kakistocracy. Trump and the GOP are one and the same, so he will be the nominee of his party if he wants it.
Cramer, who has morphed into a Trumpster, blamed Biden for the refusal of Trumpsters to get their vaccinations. Jim Cramer blasts governments for failing to contain the spread of Covid-19 delta variant - YouTube And what would happen if the government tried to compel Republicans to get vaccinations? Harvard poll: Americans sharply divided over vaccine mandates - POLITICO (guess who opposes the mandates, Republicans or Democrats?); The Red/Blue Divide in COVID-19 Vaccination Rates is Growing | KFF ("One of the main factors driving differences in COVID-19 vaccination rates across the country is partisanship. Our surveys consistently find that Democrats are much more likely to report having been vaccinated than Republicans, and Republicans are much more likely to say that they definitely do not want to get vaccinated.")
Newsmax Anchor Rob Schmitt claimed that vaccines were "against nature". Schmitt: “I feel like a vaccination in a weird way is just generally kind of going against nature. Like, I mean, if there is some disease out there — maybe there’s just an ebb and flow to life where something’s supposed to wipe out a certain amount of people, and that’s just kind of the way evolution goes. Vaccines kind of stand in the way of that.” Mr. Schmitt may not like the result of his recommendation since the number of Newsmax viewers would substantially decline.
Tennessee vaccine official's story reveals an ugly truth about GOP and children's rights; CDC chief: Tennessee move to halt vaccine outreach to teens 'incredibly disturbing'; Tennessee's vaccine manager fired over vaccinating kids against Covid Tennessee is a Charter Member of TrumpWorld.
Maria Bartiromo Bashed for Spreading 'Reckless' Info About Ashli Babbit's Death This is to be expected from Fox "news". Ms. Bartiromo called the violent Trumpster attack on the nation's capitol a peaceful protest. The rioters were just tourists in TrumpWorld.
Trump rioter Douglas Austin Jensen thought he invaded White House, not Capitol
The thin gruel of Trump’s latest voter-fraud revelation-The Washington Post, republished at MSN.com-The thin gruel of Trump’s latest voter-fraud revelation The pure Trumpster William McSwain, who was a Trump appointed Federal prosecutor in PA and who craves Donald's endorsement in his bid to become Pennsylvania's Governor, wrote Donald a letter claiming Bill Barr stopped him from investigating election fraud in Pennsylvania. Barr immediately denied the allegation pointing out that he was told by McSwain that his letter was written to get Trump's endorsement: Barr's response: “Any suggestion that McSwain was told to stand down from investigating allegations of election fraud is false. It’s just false.” Barr added that the assertions “appeared to have been made to mollify President Trump to gain his support for McSwain’s planned run for governor.” William McSwain letter to Trump prompts rebuke from Bill Barr - The Washington Post
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1. Small Ball:
My annual goal is to harvest at least $25K in short-term capital gains as a supplement to my dividend and interest income. I am not concerned about the tax issues associated with short term capital gains, given that I am retired with no earned income; SS is my only pension; and I generate significant income that is either tax free or taxed at the 15% qualified dividend or long term capital gain rates.
The general goal is to generate significantly more income than I am likely to spend so that there is no need to withdraw from either my retirement accounts or the total principal amount in taxable accounts.
This is going to be difficult going forward unless the market craters, interest rates rise significantly, allowing me to lock in higher yields, or I abandon the small ball risk mitigation strategy that I am now using.
I am, however, on a glide path in 2021 to reach that goal having harvested-to date- approximately $20K in short-term capital gains, but the market has had a strong tailwind this year, providing optimal conditions for achieving that objective.
The small gains are adding up given their abundance so far this year.
The small ball trading strategy is primarily about risk mitigation.
Part of the strategy involves selling my highest cost lots profitably, regardless of the profit amount.
Another aspect is selling fractional shares bought with dividends in order to harvest the original dividend amount plus a small profit on the shares. I am doing that regularly now, having turned off the dividend reinvestment option in virtually all stocks that I own.
The primary known threats to stock prices are valuations and inflation. A less likely threat is a reemergence of a more deadly Covid variant that is resistant to the vaccines. Another possibility is a massive increase in hospitalizations and deaths due to a more infectious variant that spreads among the millions who are unvaccinated or have failed to take the second shot.
A. Started REGN- Bought $100 at $544.72; $50 at $543.8:
Quote: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Closing Price 7/15/21: REGN $589.32 +$8.26 +1.42%
Previously, I have discussed REGN only in connection with its drug partnership with Sanofi (SNY). The most important drug in this collaboration is Dupixent which generated worldwide revenue of $1.2629B in the 2021 first quarter. REGN discovered that compound.
REGN has an agreement with Bayer to market REGN's blockbuster drug EYLEA outside the U.S.
REGN has a collaboration agreement with Roche to distribute the antibody cocktail REGEN-COV used to treat Covid. This was the compound given to Don the Authoritarian when he contracted Covid. (see page 10, 10-Q)
Collaboration agreements are more fully described in the 2020 Annual Report starting on page 18. Note on page 18 that REGN bought 9,806,805 of its shares owned by SNY for $5B in January 2020.
REGN Analyst Estimates | MarketWatch
2020 Annual Report (summary of drugs starts on page 7 and includes both approved and clinical-stage compounds)
Dividend: No and none expected.
Last Earnings Report (Q/E 3/31/21): SEC Filed Press Release
Total Revenue: $2.529B, up 38% Y-O-Y
Diluted GAAP E.P.S. = $10.09
Diluted Non-GAAP E.P.S. = $9.89
Product Sales and Collaboration Revenues:
Note footnote (b) in the first snapshot: "Sanofi records global net product sales of Dupixent, Kevzara, and ZALTRAP. The Company records its share of profits/losses in connection with global sales of Dupixent and Kevzara, and Sanofi pays the Company a percentage of net sales of ZALTRAP."
This is a breakdown of REGN's sales in the U.S. which excludes $754M in collaboration revenues:
"Net cash provided by operating activities in the first quarter of 2021 was $669 million, compared to $698 million in the first quarter of 2020, resulting in $553 million in free cash flow for the first quarter of 2021, compared to $528 million for the first quarter of 2020."
Purchase Restriction: The price spiked outside of my consider to buy range shortly after initiating a placeholder type position. Each subsequent purchase must reduce my average cost per share.
Maximum Position: 10 shares
B. Started BNS-Bought 5 BNS at $64.97 in Fidelity taxable; 1 at $62.83 after ex-dividend:
BNS is Canada's third largest bank based on assets, deriving about 1/2 of its revenue from Canada and the remainder outside of Canada. International operations, excluding the U.S., generate about 40% of revenues.
Quotes:
USD: Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS)
CAD: Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Quote (Canada: Toronto)
BNS Analyst Estimates | MarketWatch
Canadian Dollar to US Dollar Exchange Rates Chart
This is a new name for me.
I also bought a few shares in a Roth IRA account. Canada will not tax dividends paid by Canadian corporations (non-pass through entities) into a U.S. Citizen's retirement accounts.
Investment Category: Bond Substitute with some dividend growth. I will add to this position in small lots over time.
Dividend: Quarterly at C$.90 per share
I am anticipating that BNS will return to increasing its dividend later this year, probably in the 4th quarter. The last increase was from C$.87 to the current C$90 effective for the 2019 4th quarter. Many banks froze their dividends in 2020 in response to the uncertainties created by the pandemic.
Recent Dividend History:
Last Ex Dividend Date: 7/5/21 (owned 5 as of)
Average Cost per share = $64.61 (6 shares)
Next Ex Dividend Date: 10/4/21
Last Earnings Report (Q/E 4/30/21): Scotiabank reports second quarter results
Net Income: C$2.456B
Diluted E.P.S. = C$1.88, up from C$1
ROE = 14.8%
Total Capital Ratio = 15.7%
The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) Q2 2021 Earnings Call Transcript | The Motley Fool
Broker Reports (available to Schwab customers):
Morningstar (6/1/21): 3 stars with a FV of US$64
S & P (6/7/21): 4 stars with a 12 month PT of US$72, raised from a US$63 PT based on the last earnings report.
Purchase Restriction: Each subsequent purchase must reduce my average cost per share.
Maximum Position: 100 shares
C. Added to SAIC-Bought 1 at $87.5:
Quote: Science Applications International Corp.
Closing Price 7/15/21: SAIC $88.34 +$0.48 +0.55%
SAIC Analyst Estimates | MarketWatch
SAIC Annual Report F/Y ending 1/29/21
Prior Buy Discussion: Item # 3.C. Bought 1 SAIC at $88.17 (5/14/21 Post)
Dividend: Quarterly at $.37 per share ($1.48 annually)
Average Cost per share: $87.84 (2 shares)
Yield at AC per share = 1.68%
Last Ex Dividend Date = 7/15/21
On 6/7/21, Morgan Stanley increased its PT to $101 from $97 and maintained its overweight rating. On the next day, Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to sell while maintaining its $88 PT.
Last Earnings Report (First 2022 Fiscal Q ending 4/30/21):
GAAP E.P.S. = $1.38
Adjusted E.P.S. = $1.94
Free Cash Flow = $164M, up 4%
Revenues: $1.878B, up 7%
Fiscal 2022 Guidance:
Purchase Restriction: 1 share buys only with each subsequent purchase having to be at the lowest price in the chain.
Maximum Position: 10 shares
D. Bought 50 CLPR at $7.36:
Quote: Clipper Realty, Inc.
Closing Price 7/15/21: CLPR $8.20 +$0.09 +1.11%
Clipper Realty is an internally managed REIT that primarily owns multifamily residential properties in the New York metropolitan area. Clipper Equity REIT This REIT has been negatively impacted by the pandemic.
Investment Category: Equity REIT Common and Preferred Stock Basket Strategy
Most REITs that I buy also qualify as Bond Substitutes.
This is a new name for me.
Dividend: Quarterly at $.095 per share ($.38 annually)
Clipper Equity REIT Dividend History
Yield at $7.36 = 5.16%
Last Ex Dividend: 5/19/21
Last Earnings Report (Q/E 3/31/21): SEC Filed Press Release
FFO to AFFO Calculation:
E. Started CLPR in Schwab Taxable-Bought 20 at $7.3:
See Item # 1.D. Above.
Yield at $7.3 = 5.21%
Maximum Position all Accounts: 200 shares
F. Bought 1 FISV at $106.67-Placeholder:
Quote: Fiserv, Inc. (member of the S & P 500)
Closing Price 7/15/21: FISV $110.80 +$1.06 +0.97%
Website: Financial Services Technology, Mobile Banking, Payments | Fiserv
Investor Relations - Fiserv, Inc.
Businesses:
 |
| Except from 10-Q filing |
This is a new name for me. As part of my junk bond ladder strategy implemented mostly in 2011, I did own 1 junior unsecured bonds issued by First Data, a company that was later acquired Fiserv. Item # 2 Bought 1 First Data 11.25% Senior Subordinated Bond Maturing on 3/31/2016 at 98.75 (3/29/2011 Post)
10-Q for the Q/E 3/31/21 The components of FISV's long term debt of $20.838B are listed at p.15.
5 Year Historical:
 |
| Page 30 Annual Report |
Dividend: None, and none expected.
Last Earnings Report (Q/E 3/31/21): SEC Filed Press Release
GAAP E.P.S. = $.45
Adjusted E.P.S. = $1.17, up 18% Y-O-Y
Revenues: $3.755B, adjusted to $3.557B
Shares Repurchased During Quarter: 5.2M shares for $612M
Free Cash Flow: $821M, up 8% Y-O-Y
GAAP to Non-GAAP:
The next report is scheduled for release on 7/27/21.
G. Bought 1 PAY at $35; 1 at $34.5, 1 at $33-Placeholder:
Quote: Paymentus Holdings
Closing Price 7/15/21: PAY $33.05 -$1.74 -5.00%
"Paymentus is a leading provider of cloud-based bill payment technology and solutions." In 2020, the company processed over $37.9B in payments. 57% of the total dollar volume was in utilities, 23% in financial institutions and 16% in insurance. Revenue rose 32% in the 2021 first quarter.
Investment Category: Lottery Ticket Basket Strategy
PAY Analyst Estimates | MarketWatch
Website: Powering the Next Generation of Electronic Bill Payments
IPO Prospectus Shares were sold to the public at $21 last May.
Paymentus Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering | Business Wire (5/25/21)
This is a new name for me. I decided to follow it after reading this article. Buy These 3 New Stocks Before They Jump Over 40%, Says Goldman Sachs
H. Added $100 to FBIOX at $22.62:
Quote: FBIOX | Fidelity Select Biotechnology Portfolio Overview
Sponsor's Website: FBIOX - Fidelity ® Select Biotechnology Portfolio
Expense Ratio: .7%
I discussed the failure of this fund to have an overall meaningful position in gene editing stocks in a 7/1/21 comment. The only shareholder report then available was for the period ending 4/30/21.
Fidelity® Select Biotechnology (FBIOX) Portfolio | Morningstar (3 stars currently)
Last Discussed: Item # 2.H. (5/30/20 Post)
I. Bought 5 VIRT at $27.75; 5 at $27:
Quote: Virtu Financial
I would describe this company as a market maker.
"Virtu is a leading financial services firm that leverages cutting-edge technology to provide execution services and data, analytics and connectivity products to its clients and deliver liquidity to the global markets. Leveraging its global market making expertise and infrastructure, Virtu provides a robust product suite including offerings in execution, liquidity sourcing, analytics and broker-neutral, multi-dealer platforms in workflow technology. Virtu’s product offerings allow clients to trade on hundreds of venues across 50+ countries and in multiple asset classes, including global equities, ETFs, foreign exchange, futures, fixed income and myriad other commodities. In addition, Virtu’s integrated, multi-asset analytics platform provides a range of pre and post-trade services, data products and compliance tools that clients rely upon to invest, trade and manage risk across global markets."
VIRT Analyst Estimates | MarketWatch
Investment Category: Bond Substitute
This is a new name for me.
Average Cost Per Share: $27.38 (10 Shares)
Dividend: Quarterly at $.24 ($.96 annually) since VIRT became a publicly traded company in 2015.
Recent Dividend History:
I do not expect the dividend rate to change. Any cash surplus will most likely be used to increase share buybacks than to increase the dividend IMO.
Yield at $27.38: 3.5%
Last Ex Dividend Date: 5/28/21
Last Earnings Report (Q/E 3/31/21):
Diluted GAAP E.P.S. = $1.89
"Normalized" E.P.S. = $2.04
Total Revenues by segment:
"Market Making principally consists of market making in the cash, futures and options markets across global equities, options, fixed income, currencies and commodities. As a market maker, the Company commits capital on a principal basis by offering to buy securities from, or sell securities to, broker dealers, banks and institutions." This business is subject to potentially adverse regulatory changes. Payment for Order Flow (PFOF): Explaining the Controversial Trading Practice. | Barron's
"Execution Services comprises agency-based trading and trading venues, offering execution services in global equities, options, futures and fixed income on behalf of institutions, banks and broker dealers. The Company also provides proprietary technology and infrastructure, workflow technology, and trading analytics services to select third parties."
"Corporate contains the Company's investments, principally in strategic trading-related opportunities, and maintains corporate overhead expenses."
"As of March 31, 2021, Virtu had $1,021.8 million in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, and total long-term debt outstanding in an aggregate principal amount of $1,666.7 million."
Quote: Janus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha ETF Overview
Expense Ratio: .3%
Sponsor's Website: Small Cap Growth Alpha ETF ("A small-cap growth ETF leveraging a rigorous fundamental-based process for selecting stocks based upon Janus Henderson’s more than 45 year history in bottom-up equity research. . . A proprietary methodology that evaluates small-cap stocks from a universe of 2,000, in three key areas: growth, profitability and capital efficiency . . Each stock is evaluated on 10 fundamental factors to identify companies that can exhibit durable growth. Growth measures include revenue growth rate; profitability measures include operating profit and earnings per-share; and capital efficiency measures include return on invested capital.")
Janus Henderson Small Cap Gr Alpha ETF (JSML)-Morningstar: 3 stars
Dividends: Inconsequential and paid quarterly
Top 10 Holdings as of 7/9/21:
K. Bought 2 CALF at $44.48; 1 at $43:
Quote: Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows 100 ETF Overview
I briefly discussed this ETF in comments published on 7/2/21 and 7/4/21.
Sponsor's Website: CALF | Pacer ETFs
Expense Ratio: .59%
This ETF owns the 100 of the 600 stocks in the S & P SmallCap 600 index. The stocks selected have the highest trailing 12 month free cash flow yields. The 100 companies are weighted by free cash flow and the holdings are rebalanced quarterly.
Free Cash Flow Yield explained.
Top 10 holdings as of 7/12/21:
Of those stocks, I currently own only AMCX. Item # 1 Started AMCX-Bought 1 at $25.02; 1 at $23.75; 1 at $23.99; 1 at $23.15; 1 at $23; 1 at $21.99; 2 at $21.9, 3 at $21.4; 2 at $21.17; 2 at $20.9; 1 at $20.32 (9/26/20 Post); AMC Networks Inc. Cl A (AMCX)
L. Bought 2 ATKR at $69.04:
 |
| Snapshot Intraday on 6/12/21 |
Quote: Atkore Inc.
Closing Price 7/15/21: ATKR $68.92 +$0.09 + 0.13%
ATKR is "a leading manufacturer of Electrical Raceway products primarily for the non-residential construction and renovation markets and Mechanical Products and Solutions ("MP&S") for the construction and industrial markets. Electrical Raceway products form the critical infrastructure that enables the deployment, isolation and protection of a structure's electrical circuitry from the original power source to the final outlet. MP&S frame, support and secure component parts in a broad range of structures, equipment and systems in electrical, industrial and construction applications." The company believes that it holds a "#1 or #2 positions in the United States by net sales in the vast majority of our products."
ATKR Analyst Estimates | MarketWatch The trend indicates that ATKR is viewed as an early cyclical play that will experience robust earnings growth coming out of a recession which will quickly taper off.
Annual Report for the F/Y Ending 9/30/20
5 Year Financials:
ATKR 10-Q for the F/Q 3/26/21 This is the second fiscal quarter.
Dividend: None
Last Earnings Report (Q/E 3/26/21): SEC Filed Press Release
Diluted GAAP E.P.S. = $2.58, up from $.80
Free Cash Flow: $132.872M, up from $32.145M
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| Snapshot as of close on 7/12/21/Share Price = $29.54 |
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| As of 7/14/21 close |
