Summary Cummins has retraced ~26% from a high of ~$194 set at the end of January 2018. The company is forecasting strong revenue growth but warranty costs are taking a bite out of profits and further significant charges (~$400 million) are possible. CMI’s 15+ year returns greatly exceed that of the S&P500. While CMI has [...]
Summary Hershey’s current valuation is similar to that evidenced in FY2009 at which time we were experiencing that ‘little event’ called The Financial Crisis. HSY is unlikely to appeal to investors seeking companies with ‘high octane’ growth. The company’s dividend yield and valuation are at levels not evidenced in several years. I currently have a [...]
Summary HRL, as with other companies in the Consumer Staples sector, is experiencing headwinds such as changing consumer tastes. Its stock price has not been negatively impacted to the same extent as other members of this sector. HRL Investors have not experienced significant positive investment returns over the last couple of years. They have, however, [...]
Oftentimes investors will debate whether one stock is superior to another within the same industry sector. In some cases, the answer is not clear cut especially when comparing companies within a somewhat volatile industry. In today’s article I take a look at two major integrated oil and gas behemoths in the energy sector to bring [...]
Summary CSCO continues to shift toward the development and sale of more software and subscription-based offerings so as to improve the predictability of its revenue. It has an extremely strong balance sheet and generates significant FCF on an annual basis. I expect investors will continue to be rewarded with double digit percentage annual dividend growth. [...]
Typically I will write an article in which I analyze a company and indicate in advance what investment action I intend to take. In the case of my Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) investment, however, this is an 'after the fact' article; I acquired 200 Class B shares (NYSE: BRK-b) for the FFJ Portfolio on May 16, [...]
Summary GIS’s revenue has been on the decline for the last few years due to changing consumer preferences. High growth Blue Buffalo Pet Products was recently acquired as management endeavors to offset the decline in other areas of the business. The $8B purchase price for Blue Buffalo which reported $0.319B in adjusted EBITDA in FY2017 [...]
Summary BAM reported strong Q1 2018 results on May 10, 2018. At the end of Q1 2018 (March 31st), BAM maintained core liquidity and uncalled private fund commitments of $32B. It also generated over $2.5B of annual free cash flow from its asset management business and distributions from invested capital. I wish to have exposure [...]
Summary CHD released its Q1 2018 results on May 3rd and upped its projected sales growth and projected organic sales growth guidance from that provided just a few months ago. CHD has outperformed its larger peers in the S&P 500 Household Products Index. I view CHD as having greater potential to provide superior long-term investor [...]
Summary PG has struggled in recent years with sales having dropped from $82B in 2012 to $65B in 2017. PG has recently signed an agreement to acquire the Consumer Health business of Merck KGaA, for ~$4.1B which will add ~$1B in annual revenue. Strong cash flow has enabled PG to shower investors with dividends and [...]
