My analysis of Union Pacific is accessible through my guest post at Dividend Power. Class I railroads (UNP is one of 6) are generally a bellwether of economic growth and they are generally good at forecasting how different industrial sectors are likely to perform. This is because they receive input from their customers who need [...]
I became a Becton Dickinson shareholder in February 2009. For the first several years of ownership, BDX's financial performance was fine. The addition of Carefusion in 2015 worked out fine but following the C.R. Bard acquisition in December 2017, things started to go downhill. The spin off of its Diabetes Care business into a newly [...]
Once upon a time, BCE Inc. (BCE) was the quintessential 'widows and orphans' stock. Investors seeking income could count on BCE to distribute its quarterly dividend like clockwork. Now? BCE is a 'dog with fleas'. I can't specifically pinpoint when I became a BCE shareholder but I know my parents acquired BCE shares for me [...]
I last reviewed Paycom Software (PAYC) in my February 8, 2024 post following the release of Q4 and FY2023 results. With the release of Q1 2024 results on May 1, 2024 I revisit this existing holding. Business Overview I have provided a brief business overview in prior posts. The best sources of information to learn [...]
I last reviewed Copart (CPRT) in this November 17, 2023 post at which time the most current financial information was for Q1 2024. Following that post, I disclosed in my January 2024 FFJ Portfolio report the purchase of CPRT shares for two young investors I am helping on their journey to financial freedom; I [...]
Rollins (ROL) might not be a glamorous business but it is a leader in the somewhat recession resistant highly fragmented pest control industry. I last reviewed ROL in this August 26, 2023 post at which time I stated that recent changes positioned it for faster growth. I followed up that post with a very brief [...]
When I last reviewed West Pharmaceutical (WST) in my February 17 post, it had just released its Q4 and FY2023 results and FY2024 guidance. Despite management's expectation of a challenging FY2024, I continued to like WST's long term thesis and acquired another 50 shares @ ~$340.92 in a 'Core' account within the FFJ Portfolio. I [...]
While low risk CME Group (CME) benefits from volatility, its share price is less volatile than the broad market. Its beta is just under 0.5! Beta measures the expected move in a stock relative to movements in the overall market. If a stock's beta exceeds 1.0, it suggests the stock is more volatile than the [...]
In my February 2, 2024 Nasdaq (NDAQ) post, I state that the success of the Nasdaq 100 index makes NDAQ sensitive to the volatile technology sector. Inevitably this leads to volatile quarterly results. To reduce the volatility of its results, NDAQ undertook a strategic review which led to the beefing up of its anti-financial-crimes business [...]
Canadian National Railway (CNR) is perennially overvalued. I, therefore, pay very little attention to it despite it being my 19th largest holding at the time of my 2023 Year End FFJ Portfolio Review. Railroads are attractive in that the barriers to entry are so high; it is cost prohibitive to establish a new Class 1 [...]