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Demystifying the Amazon Valuation Dilemma
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Amazon: the Valuation Dark Side It is no secret that Amazon (AMZN) has been a disruptive force, especially relating to the retail sector. On the other hand, the company is also an enigma to the value focused fundamental investor such as yours truly.
The Active versus Passive Performance Debate Is Nonsensical
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
One of the most hotly contested debates in finance is the argument over which is better – active or passive investing. Moreover, this debate has spurred numerous academic studies that claim to identify whether passive outperforms active investing or vice versa.
The Most Important Stock Investment Lesson I Ever Learned
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
My investing career officially started in 1970. However, for several years prior to that time I was an avid and interested student of common stock investing. My initial lessons were taught by studying the behavior and practices of the most renowned stock investors.
Penske Automotive Group: Growth, Value and Dividend Growth Hiding in Plain Sight
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Introduction Finding attractive investments in the dividend growth space has become a real challenge in today’s overheated market. This is especially true if you limit yourself to looking in the obvious places. Simply stated, you won’t find any bargains today in the Procter & Gambles, Johnson & Johnsons and Coca-Colas.
I Purchased United Parcel Service Inc. to Meet These Specific Objectives
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) currently offers a dividend yield in excess of 3%. Moreover, it is also available at a valuation that is slightly below historical norms. The company has provided a stable and growing dividend since it went public in 1999.
The Threat and Risk of Rising Interest Rates: Separating Fact from Fiction
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
The threat of rising interest rates is all the rage in financial circles today. However, the seminal question is: How real is the threat, and how much impact will rising rates have on stock prices and investor performance?
Happy 8th Birthday Bull Market! Has the S&P 500 Become Dangerously Overvalued?
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Introduction According to an article in Quartz today, March 9, 2017, marks the 8th birthday of the US bull market which started on March 9, 2009. According to the article, this is the 2nd longest and 4th strongest bull market in history for the S&P 500.
j2 Global: Don’t Overlook This Impressive Growth and Dividend Income Stock
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
j2 Global (JCOM) was founded in 1995 and went public in 1999. During their first few years as a public company, j2 Global generated operating losses; however, since 2002 the company has strung together an impressive record of rapid growth.
5 Fairly Valued MLPs: Is the Dilution Worth the Yield and How Do You Value Them?
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
The 5 MLPs covered in this article offer yields ranging from 5.7% to 10.7%. Additionally, each of these MLPs appears reasonably valued given their high yields and prospects for growth. However, two of these MLPs are currently in the process of merging.
Is The Increase In Volatility Signaling A Dangerous Market Environment?
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Over the last several weeks stock price volatility has increased significantly above norms. All of a sudden it is not uncommon to see stock prices moving 5%, 10% or more in a single trading day.
Which Is the Better Valuation Metric? The P/E Ratio or the PEG Ratio: Part 1
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Recently, I have been engaged in rather intense discussions regarding the validity of P/E ratios versus PEG ratios as proper or appropriate valuation metrics. I generally find these types of debates befuddling for a couple of reasons.
Why I Am Now Interested In CVS Health Corporation
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Investing in great companies sits at the core of my investment philosophy. In this regard, I reject the idea that I invest in the stock market. To me, the stock market is simply the store I shop in to purchase interests in fine businesses.
What Rate of Return Will an Investment in Johnson & Johnson Deliver? Part 2
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
I never invest in a common stock without a clear expectation of the future returns that it can generate for me. Consequently, I consider this one of the most important steps in my research and due diligence process.
Valuation is a Measurement of Soundness and Not the Primary Total Return Producer: Part 1
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Much of what I write about is related to the importance of valuation in one way or another. I do this, because I am a fervent believer that one of the most important metrics that investors should be considering before investing in a stock is the relative valuation of the shares they are purchasing.
Here is What I Don’t Want as a Dividend Growth Investor
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Achieving long-term success as a dividend growth investor implies a long-term buy-and-hold strategy. The reasons why are simple and straightforward. The primary objective of a committed dividend growth investor is to achieve a growing dividend income stream.
Canadian “Bank-in” for Delicious Yield and Great Value
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
It is no secret that US blue-chip dividend paying stocks are trading at extremely high valuations relative to historical norms. Interest rates remain at all-time lows, and investors hungry for yield have turned to blue-chip dividend growth stocks in order to satisfy their appetites.
A Comprehensive Look at Dividend Growth Stock Valuations Sector by Sector: Part 2
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Finding attractively valued dividend growth stocks is getting harder and harder to do. The overall market has been on a relentless advance for many years now, and high quality dividend paying growth stocks have been leaders.
Premier Dividend Growth Stocks: Is There Any Value? A Sector By Sector Summary Review: Part 1
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
As a value investor, I must admit to being very frustrated with the valuations I’m seeing on high-quality blue-chip dividend growth stocks. I have been vigorously searching for fairly valued dividend growth stocks to invest in.
Let’s Go Krogering for Value and Profit
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
In today’s frothy stock market, finding value in dividend growth stocks is hard to do. Unfortunately, most of the premier dividend growth stocks such as those found on David Fish’s CCC lists of Dividend Champions, Contenders and Challengers are currently overvalued.
7 Intriguing Healthcare Growth Stocks in the S&P 500: Part 2
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
The S&P 500 index is commonly used as a benchmark that investors use to measure the performance of their individual portfolios against. However, the S&P 500 is comprised of a very diverse group of companies.
Finding Value in the S&P 500: 9 Healthcare Dividend Growth Stocks: Part 1
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Most everyone would agree that the stock market as measured by the S&P 500 is not cheap today. However, there might be a great deal of disagreement regarding precisely how overvalued the S&P 500 currently is.
FOMC Interest Rates and Their Impact on the US Economy: Part 2
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
To me, interest rates and their future direction seems to be obsessively discussed and debated by many investors. So much so, that I often get the impression that many investors believe that interest rates coupled with Federal Reserve policy are the primary drivers of our economy. From my perspective, interest rates and Federal Reserve monetary policy are contributing factors to economic growth and stability. However, I would stop short of considering them of primary importance.
What Will Happen To the Stock Market When Interest Rates Rise? Part 1
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Interest rates have been in a freefall for the better part of the past two decades. Moreover, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury, which is the flagship interest rate benchmark, has mostly been below 2% since the beginning of 2012. The 10-year Treasury note did reach 3% by the end of 2013 but has promptly fallen ever since to its current level of 1.59 percent.
These are the Only Dividend Champions and Contenders That Appear Attractively Valued
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
As the stock market continues its relentless advance, attractive valuations are getting harder and harder to find. This is especially true for the highest quality blue-chip dividend growth stocks. Perhaps more importantly, in addition to the market’s relentless advance, there has also been a clear flight to quality - especially with dividend growth stocks. Therefore, the vast majority of the best-of-breed blue-chip dividend paying stocks are currently trading at elevated levels. In other words, finding high quality and value is very rare today in the dividend growth segment.
These Are the Only Dividend Aristocrats I Would Consider Today
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Generally speaking, the overall stock market is fully valued at best, and in many cases significantly overvalued. Therefore, it is very challenging to find sound and attractive stocks to invest in today. The challenge to find good value today is even more pronounced for the prudent dividend growth investor. Low interest rates and a flight to quality have driven the prices of best-of-breed dividend growth stocks to unprecedented highs.
10 Biotech and Specialty Pharma Bargains-Do You Have the Guts to Speculate?
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
There are many investors that believe that the stock market is currently overvalued. To a great extent, they may be correct as there is a lot of excessive valuation to be found in various segments of the market. However, as I believe it is a market of stocks and not a stock market, not everything in today’s stock market is expensive. In fact, there is one sector specifically where bargains galore can be found. That sector is the healthcare sector, and more specifically the subsectors biotechnology and specialty pharmaceuticals.
Answers to the Hardest Decision-When Do I Sell A Stock?
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
I’m going to start this article with the same opening statement that I utilized in a previous article I wrote on knowing when to sell a stock. The most common complaint that I have heard from investors over my 40+ years in the financial services industry is as follows: "Everyone wants to tell me what to buy and when, but no one ever tells me when to sell." Consequently, it seems to me that whether you are a novice investor or a grizzled old veteran, the decision as to when to sell a stock is considered the most difficult decision investors have to make.
Get Higher Returns and More Dividend Income - In Less Time With Less Risk
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Investing in blue-chip dividend growth stocks such as the Dividend Aristocrats or Champions has become very popular with retirees. This is understandable considering the low interest rate environment we find ourselves in. Traditional fixed income investments do not currently offer enough yield for the retired investor to live on. Consequently, current low interest rates, coupled with the possibility of a steadily increasing level of dividend income have made dividend growth stocks a viable and even attractive alternative.
5 Attractive Biotechnology Stocks for Healthy Long-term Returns
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
I am a fervent believer that investors are best served by investing towards a specific investment objective that suits their own unique goals, objectives and risk tolerance. In other words, investing is not always trying to get the highest possible total returns. If that were true, no one would have ever invested in bonds, CDs or other fixed income instruments.
Beware the Financial Destruction of Overvaluation
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
After such an extended bull run it’s only logical to assume that many stocks are trading at frothy valuations. On the other hand, it’s also important to keep in mind that it is a market of stocks and not a stock market. Nevertheless, the truth is that many stocks are now significantly overvalued based on both historic norms and fundamental values. This is not true of all stocks, because it is also true that there are high quality stocks available today that are fairly valued. However, they are admittedly getting more difficult to find.
Emerson Electric: High-yield, Sound Valuation and 59 Consecutive Years of Dividend Increases, Part 2
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
When I’m looking for a stock to add to my portfolio, there’s nothing more frustrating than spending a significant amount of time and effort on research - only to discover that the company in question is significantly overvalued. Consequently, my first step always starts out with an assessment of the relative valuation of the company I am considering. No matter how much I admire the company, its management team and its financial health and strength, I simply refuse to pay more for a stock than I believe it is worth. The most commonly accepted investing principle is to buy low and sell high.
How to Determine the Value of a Cyclical Stock like Emerson Electric: Part 1
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Identifying the intrinsic value of a cyclical stock is more difficult than valuing a company with a steady history of growing earnings. However, there are many Dividend Aristocrats and Dividend Champions that are, in fact, cyclical companies. In spite of this cyclicality, they have been able to steadily increase their dividends for over 25 consecutive years in order to make these prestigious dividend growth stock lists. Therefore, since growth of dividend income is important to the dividend growth investor (especially for those in retirement) it only makes sense to include certain cyclical stocks with long histories of growing their dividends in our research activities.
Retired Investors Should Give This Blue-Chip Technology Stalwart a Close Look
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
I believe that building and managing a successful stock portfolio is simple and straightforward, but not necessarily easy. Building and successfully managing a portfolio of individual stocks requires work, a disciplined philosophy and a reasonable commitment of time. But perhaps most importantly, it’s critical to start out with a precise understanding and acceptance of how you approach the investing process.
Mid-cap Dividend Growth Stocks by Sector - Part 2C: REITs and Real Estate Management
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
This is the final installment in my series of articles on fairly valued mid-cap selections. My inspiration to produce these articles was at the request and suggestion from regular readers who were frustrated at the lack of coverage and/or articles on mid-caps. To accommodate those requests, I screened through the S&P 400 mid-cap index with the assumption that it represented a credible universe of high-quality mid-caps. The fact that I was only reviewing the S&P 400 index was missed based on many comments received on my previous articles in this series. In other words, I only included fairly valued research candidates that are members of the S&P 400 index in this series.
9 Fairly Valued Mid-Cap Consumer Discretionary Dividend Growth Stocks: Part 2B
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Mid-cap stocks are often overlooked by investors and not widely covered on Wall Street or many financial websites and blogs. However, I consider it a mistake because there are many mid-size companies that are attractive long-term investment opportunities.
Mid-Cap Dividend Growth Stocks by Sector: Part 2A Regional Banks
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
In part 1 of this series on fairly valued mid-cap investment opportunities I primarily focused on non-dividend paying growth oriented mid-caps. In part 2 of this series I turned my focus to finding fairly valued dividend paying mid-caps. However, as I was evaluating dividend paying mid-caps in the S&P 400 mid-cap index, it became clear to me that the differences between dividend paying mid-caps were more important than the similarities. Therefore, I have grouped the dividend paying mid-caps I found into 3 separate offerings focusing on sectors. In this, part 2A, I will be exclusively covering fairly valued mid-sized regional banks.
10 Mid-Size Stocks for Large-Size Gains: Part 1
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Small and mid-sized companies are often overlooked by many or even most investors. That’s unfortunate, because there are many excellent investment opportunities that can be found in these equity classes. However, an argument could be made that between the small and mid-cap equity classes, the best and perhaps less risky investment opportunities are found in mid-caps.
Dynamite Comes in Small Packages: 10 Small Caps for Explosive Returns
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Investing in small-cap stocks is not for everyone. My definition of small-cap is a company whose market is $5 billion or less. However, for those brave souls that are willing to assume a little more risk, they can, under the right conditions, be a very profitable choice. Nevertheless, and in the general sense, small caps offer both advantages and disadvantages that I believe should be clearly understood before utilizing this asset class.
Dividends’ True Contribution to Total Return May Surprise You
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
In recent years, dividends’ contribution to total return has been one of the most heavily-studied topics in the investment world. Several conclusions about the contribution that dividends make to total return have been claimed. However, these conclusions vary greatly. I have seen studies claiming that 90% of returns are attributed to dividends, several claiming 50% or more, and others arguing for a 30% contribution. Ironically, they all seem to be correct depending on the data-sets and/or timeframes being measured.
Which is Best-Investing For Income or Total Return: Part 2
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
There is a long running feud between investors who believe in investing for total return versus those who believe in investing for current income. Both camps are fervent advocates of their respective beliefs, and there seems to be no feasible middle ground or compromise. Unfortunately, I believe that the dogmatic positions of both groups create a roadblock to investing enlightenment. In truth, there are valid arguments supporting both sides of these hotly-debated subjects. On the other hand, there are also valid arguments supporting investing for income over total return, and vice versa.
Dividends Don’t Drive Total Return They Contribute To It: Part 1
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
I believe there is a critical piece of investment wisdom that all investors in common stocks should possess. Every common stock investor should have a clear understanding of where and how long-term common stock returns are generated or come from. When an investor does not possess this knowledge, they can be easily led towards drawing erroneous conclusions about their portfolios and/or the individual stocks that they own. Knowledge is power, and the knowledge of where and how long-term stock returns are generated is incredibly enlightening.
Is Facebook a Screaming Buy Or Sell?
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
This article is directed to the individual investor concerned with achieving the highest possible total return. The highest total return will typically come from a true growth stock simply because a faster growing company is worth more than a slower growing company past, present and future. On the other hand, for that statement to be true, a high rate of earnings growth must be consistently achieved. Generating and sustaining a high rate of earnings growth is the tricky part, because although there are a few companies capable of generating higher earnings growth rates, they are rare.
Retired Dividend Growth Investors: Sleep Soundly by Embracing Survivorship Bias
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
Before investing in any common stock I believe it’s imperative to know as much about the business behind the stock as you possibly can. However, there are only so many businesses that an individual investor can know anything about. On the US stock exchanges alone, there are approximately 20,000 individual companies to choose from. Therefore, logic would dictate that every individual investor needs a process or system for separating the wheat from the chaff.
Why It’s a Mistake To Be Raising Cash In This Market
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
It appears that I have become caught up in a spirited discussion regarding holding cash in investment portfolios. However, I believe that my position on this important subject is being misrepresented. Therefore, I felt compelled to offer this article for clarification of my true position and beliefs on the utilization of cash in portfolios.
Suffering Stock Market Stress?
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
It would be an understatement to call the recent stock market activity turbulent. High stock price volatility makes investors anxious and some people even become downright frightened. These emotional responses are often exaggerated for people in or near retirement. Therefore, I contend that all investors need to find ways to keep their emotions in check in order to avoid panicking, which typically leads to the making of a devastating financial mistake.
Researching United Technologies: Here’s How I Do It
by Chuck Carnevale of F.A.S.T. Graphs,
One of the greatest challenges that authors face when posting articles on financial blogs is how much information they should include and how much they should exclude. Space is limited, and many readers prefer a short write-up over long dissertations. Therefore, most authors (yours truly included) attempt to summarize their positions in the fewest words possible. However, this approach implies that readers will fill in the blanks between what is said and what is left out. Unfortunately, that is not what always happens.
Results 351–400
of 622 found.
