Howard Marks may not be a household name but sophisticated investors know that when Mr. Marks has something to say it is well worth paying close attention. I share a link to this 'Talks at Goldman Sachs' interview in late 2018 wherein Mr. Marks shares his insights on the forces shaping the market cycle. In [...]
United Technologies Corporation (UTX) and Raytheon Company (RTN) have recently announced a proposed merger of equals. Regulatory approvals are still required but because the companies are complementary in nature with less than 1% overlap in sales, management is optimistic the transaction can close in the first half of 2020. Summary United Technologies Corporation and Raytheon [...]
The J. M. Smucker Company (SJM) released Q4 and FY2019 results and FY2020 guidance on June 6, 2019. Although SJM is slowly transforming its product portfolio to better match consumer preferences it does not possess any major competitive advantages and faces significant competition. I currently view shares as richly valued and intend to once [...]
Waste Management, Inc. (WM) is the largest industry participant in the North American waste management industry. WM has recently announced its intent to acquire Advanced Disposal for $4.9B which would widen the gap between WM and the #2 and #3 industry participants by market cap (Republic Services and Waste Connections). I currently view WM as [...]
Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) is North America's largest publicly traded Class 1 railroad. Barriers to entry in this industry are extremely high. The G55+0 initiative and Unified Plan 2020 have been implemented view the objective of being able to achieve a targeted 55% Operating Ratio within the next few years. I currently view UNP as [...]
This is my May 2019 FFJ Portfolio update. The portfolio was created in January 2017 for the purpose of demonstrating how investing in high quality companies with competitive advantages and with a record of consistently increasing dividends can assist investors in reaching their long-term financial goals without the need to speculate or to chase dividend [...]
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.'s (ICE) valuable intangible assets include the New York Stock Exchange brand. I view ICE as a vendor of proprietary data and anticipate the current ~60% of operating income generated from trading and ~40% generated from information services to move toward a 50-50 split over the next few years. I currently view [...]
Ecolab Inc. (ECL), a high quality company currently overvalued, is one of the companies I have on my 'Watch List'. Summary Ecolab Inc. is the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that protect people and vital resources. It has distributed dividends uninterrupted for over 80 years. The typically low dividend [...]
3M Company (MMM) has fallen out of favor with the investment community. Its share price has fallen ~$53 subsequent to April 24th; Q1 2019 results were released April 25th. In previous articles I expressed my view that MMM shares were overvalued and disclosed my use of covered calls to skim additional income. Despite challenges which [...]
The Royal Bank of Canada (RY) released Q2 2019 results May 23, 2019. Despite reasonably solid results the share price pulled back slightly. Based on RY's current valuation and my long-term positive outlook on the company I have acquired additional shares for what is already one of my top 10 holdings. Summary RY released Q2 [...]
