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Investing

Ideas and Strategies on Investing.

Previous Articles

Itron

11/29/2016

0 Comments

 
In August I reviewed a great company with a great future in the area of the Internet of Things (IoT) named Silver Springs Network Inc. Today I'll be taking a quick look at a company named Itron Inc. which operates in an area very similar to Silver Springs Network. To anyone unfamiliar with this next wave in the development of the internet, it's moving beyond the idea of connecting people with other people and is now moving into the area of connecting things to other things. And there will be billions of more things than people that will end up being connected. And that means ideas, products and profits.
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​Itron, Inc. provides metering solutions to electricity, gas, and water utility markets worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Electricity, Gas, and Water. It offers standard electromechanical and electronic, gas, and water and heat meters; and advanced and smart electricity, gas, and water meters and communication modules. The company also provides prepayment systems, including smart key, keypad, and smart card communication technologies; advanced systems, such as handheld, mobile, and fixed network collection technologies; smart network technologies; meter data management software; and knowledge application solutions. In addition, it offers installation and software implementation; professional services comprising consulting and analysis; and project management and post-sale maintenance support services. The company offers its standard metering systems to measure electricity, natural gas, water, or thermal energy; advanced metering systems to collect, store, and transmit meter data to handheld computers, mobile units, and fixed networks; and smart metering systems to collect and transmit meter data for supporting various applications. Itron, Inc. markets its products directly through its sales force, as well as through indirect sales force consisting of distributors, sales representatives, partners, and meter manufacturer representatives to utilities. The company was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Liberty Lake, Washington.
(Summary) (Company) (Chart)
27 November 2016
Price $64.85
1yr Target $61.80
Analysts 5
Dividend $0.00
Payout Ratio ---

1yr Cap Gain -4.71%
Yield ---
1yr Tot Return -4.71%

P/E 84.88
PEG 3.69
Beta 1.29
EPS (ttm) $0.76
EPS next yr $2.91
Forward P/E 22.29
EPS next 5yr 23.00%
1yr Price Support $66.93

Market Cap $2,48 Bil
Revenues $2.01 Bil
Earnings $29.40 Mil
Profit Margin 1.44%

Quick Ratio 1.30
Current Ratio 1.70
Debt/Equity 0.53
1yr RevGR -3.29%
3yr RevGR -4.69%
5yr RevGR -3.58%

1yr EarnGR N/A
3yr EarnGR -50.09%
5yr EarnGR -33.62%

1yr DivGR ---
3yr DivGR ---
5yr DivGR ---

ROA 1.70%
ROE 4.70%
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Iron Inc. is an American technology company that offers products and services on energy and water resource management. Its headquarters is in Liberty Lake, Washington, United States. Its products and services include technology solutions related to smart grid, smart gas and smart water that measure and analyze electricity, gas and water consumption, Its products include electricity, gas, water and thermal energy measurement devices and control technology; communications systems; software; as well as managed and consulting services.

History

Itron was founded by a small group of engineers trying to find more efficient ways to read meters in Hauser Lake, Idaho, in 1977. In 1984, Itron experienced global expansion into the Asian market and developed new manufacturing plants in France and the U.K. By 2006, Itron consulting teams were created to offer services for energy efficiency programs, renewables, conservation and demand response. Itron gained national recognition from the White House in 2010, for its commitment to U.S.-based manufacturing and contributions to a clean energy economy. Within the same year, Itron and Cisco formed an alliance to deliver Internet Protocol (IP) communications to the smart grid market thus changing networking capabilities for utilities. Itron is a founding member of the Smart Cities Council, having joined in 2013. Itron is also a partner of Microsoft CityNext helping with global Smart City initiatives. After developing Itron OpenWay Riva adaptive communications technology (ACT), Itron launched the Itron Riva Developers Community for the Internet of Things, for developers interested in developing software applications for the IoT space.

Recent Acquisitions
  • 2012 - Itron acquires SmartSynch, cellular communications and also acquires C&N GasGate Technology for enhanced smart gas distribution systems.
  • 2007 - Itron expands global footprint and both gas and water metering products are added to product portfolio. Itron acquires Actaris Metering Systems.
  • 2004 – Itron acquires Schlumberger Electricity Metering.
  • 2002 - Itron acquires software solutions for distributed system design, field workforce management and energy forecasting.
  • 1996 - Itron acquires UTS, bringing MV-90 metering software application to its product portfolio.
  • 1995 - AEG Meters are acquired with production sites in Italy, Germany, Spain & South Africa.
  • 1993 – Itron acquires two German companies, Heliowatt and Danyl.
  • 1989 - Itron acquires a number of metering companies including, Thorn Emi Gas Metering in the U.K. and Bosco Spa in Italy.
  • 1987 – Itron acquires Allmess Congermania and Conteuro Rigas in Europe, as well as two U.S. companies for gas and water meter technology, Sprague and Neptune, respectfully.

Partners

Various utilities have worked with Itron to deploy smart meters, advanced communications technology, analytics software and other resource management solutions. Below are some of the utilities that have worked and partnered with Itron for smart meter projects.
  • North America: CenterPoint Energy; Southern California Edison; BC Hydro; FirstEnergy; DTE Energy; San Diego Gas & Electric; Cleveland Water; Sacramento Municipal Utility District; Glendale Water and Power; Rancho California Water District; Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).
  • Europe, Middle East & Africa: EDF Energy; Gaz reseau Distribution France (GrDF); Yorkshire Water; Italgas; Malta Water Services Corporation; State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR); Aguas de Valencia; Linea Distribuzione, Stadtnetze Neustadt and Stadtwerke Garbsen.
  • Asia Pacific & Australia: Powercor; CitiPower; PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN); Hong Kong Water; Sydney Water; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Tonga Power Limited (TPL).
  • South America: Iberdrola; Dominican Corporation of State Electricity Companies; NAMC Algeria; CPFL Energia; Eletrobras; ELO Sistemas Eletrônicos (ELO).

​My Path Forward

I'm very much interested in this area of the Internet of Things (IoT). I believe we're in the infancy of the next wave of the internet in which things get connected instead of people. It's a future where machines become interconnected to operate autonomously to make the world more friendly for humans. As a result I'm interested in both Silver Springs Network as well as Itron. But despite this expected bright future, the shares of these companies currently are somewhat expensive. So for right now, these two companies are going on my watch list for accumulation at a better price level.
 
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0 Comments

NextEra Energy

11/28/2016

2 Comments

 
Certain things are necessary in order to exist in the modern world. Among them are electricity, water, telephones, television and the internet, so owning companies in these areas is always a great idea. In the area of energy generation NextEra Energy is a giant. But even more important to me is the knowledge that it's a utility with a very nice growing dividend. 

​NextEra Energy, Inc. generates, transmits, and distributes electric energy in the United States and Canada. The company generates electricity from gas, oil, solar, coal, petroleum coke, nuclear, and wind sources. As of December 31, 2015, it served approximately 9.5 million people through approximately 4.8 million customer accounts in the east and lower west coasts of Florida. The company had approximately 46,400 megawatts of generating capacity. It also leases fiber-optic network capacity and dark fiber to telephone, wireless, and Internet companies. The company was formerly known as FPL Group, Inc. and changed its name to NextEra Energy, Inc. in 2010. NextEra Energy, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida.
(Summary) (Company) Chart)
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24 November 2016
Price $113.42
1yr Target $137.73
Analysts 15
Dividend $3.48
Payout Ratio 65.90%

1yr Cap Gain 21.43%
Yield 3.06%
1yr Tot Return 24.49%

P/E 21.47
PEG 3.11
Beta 0.22
EPS (ttm) $5.28
EPS next yr $6.58
Forward P/E 17.23
EPS next 5yr 6.91%
1yr Price Support $45.46

Market Cap $53.32 Bil
Revenues $16.53 Bil
Earnings $2.45 Bil
Profit Margin 14.82%

Quick Ratio 0.50
Current Ratio 0.60
Debt/Equity 1.33
1yr RevGR 2.73%
3yr RevGR 6.97%
5yr RevGR 2.68%

1yr EarnGR 8.21%
3yr EarnGR 9.83%
5yr EarnGR 5.03%

1yr DivGR 6.20%
3yr DivGR 8.58%
5yr DivGR 15.47%

ROA 2.90%
ROE 10.60%
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Twenty years of dividend increases.

Company Operations

NextEra Energy, Inc.
NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) is a leading clean energy company with consolidated revenues of approximately $17.5 billion and approximately 14,300 employees in 27 states and Canada as of year-end 2015, as well as approximately 45,000 megawatts of generating capacity, which includes megawatts associated with noncontrolling interests related to NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE: NEP) as of April 2016. Headquartered in Juno Beach, Fla., NextEra Energy’s principal subsidiaries are Florida Power & Light Company, which serves more than 4.8 million customer accounts in Florida and is one of the largest rate-regulated electric utilities in the United States, and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world’s largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. Through its subsidiaries, NextEra Energy generates clean, emissions-free electricity from eight commercial nuclear power units in Florida, New Hampshire, Iowa and Wisconsin. A Fortune 200 company and included in the S&P 100 index, NextEra Energy has been recognized for its efforts in sustainability, corporate responsibility, ethics and compliance, and diversity, and has been ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry in Fortune’s 2016 list of “World's Most Admired Companies.”

NextEra Energy Resources
NextEra Energy Resources, LLC (together with its affiliated entities, "NextEra Energy Resources"), is a clean energy leader and is one of the largest wholesale generators of electric power in the U.S., with approximately 18,260 megawatts of generating capacity, which includes megawatts associated with noncontrolling interests related to NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE: NEP), primarily in 25 states and Canada as of April 2016. NextEra Energy Resources, together with its affiliated entities, is the world’s largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. The business operates clean, emissions-free nuclear power generation facilities in New Hampshire, Iowa and Wisconsin as part of the NextEra Energy nuclear fleet, which is one of the largest in the United States. NextEra Energy Resources, LLC is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Fla.-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE).

Florida Power & Light
Florida Power & Light Company is the third-largest electric utility in the United States, serving more than 4.8 million customer accounts or more than 10 million people across nearly half of the state of Florida. FPL's typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill is approximately 30 percent lower than the latest national average and, in 2015, was the lowest in Florida among reporting utilities for the sixth year in a row. FPL's service reliability is better than 99.98 percent, and its highly fuel-efficient power plant fleet is one of the cleanest among all utilities nationwide. The company received the top ranking in the southern U.S. among large electric providers, according to the J.D. Power 2016 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction StudySM, and was recognized in 2016 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities by Market Strategies International. A leading Florida employer with approximately 8,800 employees, FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Fla.-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), a clean energy company widely recognized for its efforts in sustainability, ethics and diversity, and has been ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry in Fortune's 2016 list of "World's Most Admired Companies." NextEra Energy is also the parent company of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun.

NextEra Energy Partners, LP
NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE: NEP) is a growth-oriented limited partnership formed by NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) to acquire, manage and own contracted clean energy projects with stable, long-term cash flows. Headquartered in Juno Beach, Fla., NextEra Energy Partners owns interests in wind and solar projects in North America, as well as natural gas infrastructure assets in Texas. The renewable energy projects are fully contracted, use industry-leading technology and are located in regions that are favorable for generating energy from the wind and sun. The seven natural gas pipelines in the portfolio are all strategically located, serving power producers and municipalities in South Texas, processing plants and producers in the Eagle Ford Shale, and commercial and industrial customers in the Houston area. The NET Mexico Pipeline, the largest pipeline in the portfolio, provides a critical source of natural gas transportation for low-cost, U.S.-sourced shale gas to Mexico.

FPL FiberNet
FPL FiberNet, an award-winning provider of bandwidth infrastructure services, owns and operates its state-of-the-art, end-to-end fiber-optic network. FPL FiberNet delivers high-speed network solutions throughout most major metropolitan areas in Florida and Texas with additional connectivity throughout the United States. FPL FiberNet offers a full range of reliable fiber-optic solutions for businesses, public sector government and educational organizations, and national wholesale and wireless carriers. The company's service portfolio includes customized Ethernet and Dedicated Internet Access, direct-to-cloud connections, security and DDoS mitigation services.
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Monthly Chart of NextEra Energy

​My Path Forward

With the recent pullback in the price of the shares of NextEra Energy as well as the sustained increases in the dividend over the last twenty years, this company has become quite desirable to an investor like myself. I'm amazed that I don't have any utilities in my portfolio but maybe I should. And this would be a great addition at this recently pulled back price. I expect to start a position in this company next week. As always, I'll start with a small position and then allow that position to grow through dividend reinvestment, the sale of call options, and the accumulation of additional shares on the open market as the price dictates.
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NextEra Energy Partners, LP acquires, owns, and operates contracted clean energy projects. It owns interests in wind and solar projects in North America, as well as in seven contracted natural gas pipeline assets in Texas. It has a portfolio of approximately 2,200 MW of renewable energy projects. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida. (Summary) (Company)
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Weekly Chart for NextEra Energy Partners
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Dividend History
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2 Comments

Patterson Companies

11/25/2016

0 Comments

 
The Patterson Companies may have just announced numbers just shy of analyst's expectations and that may have presented an opportunity for astute investors. Sales came in at $1.42 Billion with earnings at $0.56 per share, both short of expectations. In addition, management also reduced its profit guidance for fiscal 2017. The company's prior outlook called for non-GAAP adjusted earnings of $2.60 to $2.70 per diluted share, but management is now guiding for $2.25 to $2.35 per diluted share. None of this is good news for the short term but it may be good news for long term buyers of the company's shares. This may not be the exact bottom yet but the stock has moved into oversold territory. It's now definitely on my watch list with a high expectation that I will start a position soon. 
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​Patterson Companies, Inc. distributes and sells dental and animal health products in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The company's Dental Supply segment offers dental products, including consumable products, such as infection control, restorative materials, hand instruments, and sterilization products; basic and advanced technology dental equipment; patient education systems; and office forms and stationery. This segment also develops and sells technology solutions, such as practice management software and e-commerce solutions. In addition, it offers a range of related services, including software and design services, maintenance and repair, and equipment financing. The company's Animal Health Supply segment distributes animal health products, such as pharmaceuticals, vaccines, parasiticides, diagnostics, prescription and non-prescription diets, nutritionals, consumable supplies, equipment, and software to veterinarians, producers, and retailers under the Aspen, First Companion, and Patterson Veterinary brands. This segment also offers a range of value-added services to animal health customers. The company's customers include dentists, laboratories, institutions, other healthcare professionals, veterinarians, other animal health professionals, production animal operators, and animal health product retailers. The company was formerly known as Patterson Dental Company and changed its name to Patterson Companies, Inc. in June 2004. Patterson Companies, Inc. was founded in 1877 and is headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota.
(Summary) (Company) (Chart)
24 November 2016
Price $39.26
1yr Target $46.20
Analysts 10
Dividend $0.96
Payout Ratio 45.49%

1yr Cap Gain 17.67%
Yield 2.44%
1yr Tot Return 20.11%

P/E 18.58
PEG 2.04
Beta 1.00
EPS (ttm) $2.11
EPS next yr $2.92
Forward P/E 13.46
EPS next 5yr 9.10%
1yr Price Support $26.57

Market Cap $4.04 Bil
Revenues $5.58 Bil
Earnings $204.30 Mil
Profit Margin %

Quick Ratio 1.10
Current Ratio 2.00
Debt/Equity 0.81
1yr RevGR 37.74%
3yr RevGR 13.83%
5yr RevGR 9.54%

1yr EarnGR -14.74%
3yr EarnGR -2.00%
5yr EarnGR 0.21%

1yr DivGR 9.75%
3yr DivGR 15.60%
5yr DivGR 16.46%

ROA 5.60%
ROE 14.10%
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Monthly Chart
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Dividend History
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0 Comments

Hormel Foods Update

11/22/2016

0 Comments

 
Hormel Foods is one of the Dividend Kings and it recently announced another increase in its dividend. That's great news for the company's shareholders and a green light to continue holding on to those shares. In addition the stock price has been struggling lately opening up an opportunity to accumulate shares at a more reasonable price. As a long term holder of shares of Hormel Foods, I intend to add to my position while the shares are on sale.

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​Hormel Foods Corporation produces and markets various meat and food products worldwide. The company operates in five segments: Grocery Products, Refrigerated Foods, Jennie-O Turkey Store, Specialty Foods, and International & Other. It provides various perishable meat products, including fresh meats, frozen items, refrigerated meal solutions, sausages, hams, wieners, and bacon; and shelf-stable products comprising canned luncheon meats, shelf-stable microwaveable meals, stews, chilies, hash, meat spreads, flour and corn tortillas, salsas, tortilla chips, peanut butter, and other products. The company also offers poultry products, such as turkey products; and nutritional food products and supplements, sugar and sugar substitutes, dessert and drink mixes, and industrial gelatin products. It sells its products through sales personnel, as well as through independent brokers and distributors. The company was formerly known as Geo. A. Hormel & Company and changed its name to Hormel Foods Corporation in January 1995. Hormel Foods Corporation was founded in 1891 and is based in Austin, Minnesota.
(Summary) (Company)
Hormel Foods (HRL) declares $0.17/share quarterly dividend, 17.2% increase from prior dividend of $0.145. Forward yield 1.95% Payable Feb. 15; for shareholders of record Jan. 17; ex-div Jan. 12.
21 November 2016
Price $34.94
1yr Target $40.89
Analysts 9
Dividend $0.58
Payout Ratio 37.66%

1yr Cap Gain 17.02%
Yield 1.65%
1yr Tot Return 18.67%

P/E 22.75
PEG 2.44
Beta 0.48
EPS (ttm) $1.54
EPS next yr $1.68
Forward P/E 20.77
EPS next 5yr 9.32%
1yr Price Support $15.65

Market Cap $18.68 Bil
Revenues $9.30 Bil
Earnings $833.30 Mil
Profit Margin 8.95%

Quick Ratio 0.90
Current Ratio 1.80
Debt/Equity 0.09
1yr RevGR -0.57%
3yr RevGR 3.97%
5yr RevGR 5.10%

1yr EarnGR 13.90%
3yr EarnGR 10.82%
5yr EarnGR 11.71%

1yr DivGR 25.00%
3yr DivGR 18.36%
5yr DivGR 18.94%

ROA 13.50%
ROE 19.80%
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Monthly Stock Chart
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Dividend History
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0 Comments

Dividend Growers Dividend Charts

11/19/2016

0 Comments

 
Companies that have recently increased their dividend are generally a fertile area for finding companies that are good investments for dividend growth investors. This is especially true if they've increased their dividends on a regular interval. Companies that raise their dividend consistently and annually are gems that DGIs consistently look for, but there are also other companies that have raised their dividend consistently but irregularly for economic reasons. Those companies can be financially rewarding also and are often overlooked by strict DGIs. 

Below is a sampling of those companies that raised their dividend this past week. While their dividend charts may not be ideal, they are for the most part great companies that have raised their dividend as their own economic view dictated. Each one deserves further research to see if there's sufficient value there to start accumulating shares of the company. 

And each chart reminds me that it's often advisable to look outside the strict confines of the true dividend growth investment strategy. 
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AEL
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AIZ
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COLM
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GFF
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MATW
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MLGF
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NKE
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OSK
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RE
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RGLD
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SBUX
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SYBT
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SYY
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UNP
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0 Comments

Dunkin Brands Group

11/17/2016

0 Comments

 
Dunkin' Donuts is an American global donut company and coffeehouse chain based in Canton, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1950 by William Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts. Since its founding, the company has grown to become one of the largest coffee and baked goods chains in the world, with more than 12,000 restaurants in 36 countries. The chain's products include donuts, bagels, other baked goods, and a wide variety of hot and iced beverages.
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​Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. develops, franchises, and licenses quick service restaurants under the Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins brands worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Dunkin' Donuts U.S., Dunkin' Donuts International, Baskin-Robbins International, and Baskin-Robbins U.S. Its restaurants offer hot and cold coffee, baked goods, donuts, bagels, muffins, breakfast sandwiches, hard-serve ice cream, soft serve ice cream, frozen yogurt, shakes, malts, and floats. As of November 3, 2016, the company operated approximately 12,000 Dunkin' Donuts restaurants and 7,600 Baskin-Robbins restaurants. It also leases franchised restaurant properties in the United States, as well as office space in Brazil, China, Dubai, and the United Kingdom. The company is headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts.
(Summary) (Company) (Chart)
15 November 2016
Price $50.26
1yr Target $49.57
Analysts 21
Dividend $1.20
Payout Ratio 71.42%

1yr Cap Gain -1.38%
Yield 2.38%
1yr Tot Return 1.00%

P/E 35.52
PEG 2.74
Beta 0.21
EPS (ttm) $1.42
EPS next yr $2.41
Forward P/E 20.86
EPS next 5yr 12.98%
1yr Price Support $31.28

Market Cap $4.69 Bil
Revenues $817.00 Mil
Earnings $130.50 Mil
Profit Margin 15.97%

Quick Ratio 1.50
Current Ratio 1.50
Debt/Equity ---
1yr RevGR 8.31%
3yr RevGR 7.12%
5yr RevGR ---

1yr EarnGR -34.55%
3yr EarnGR 5.05%
5yr EarnGR ---

1yr DivGR 15.21%
3yr DivGR 18.11%
5yr DivGR ---

ROA 4,20%
ROE -63.20%
My Perspective.

This is a great company with a growing dividend. If that's all I looked at I'd probably buy shares in this company. But a closer look shows that the stock is overpriced to such an extent it becomes uneconomical to buy these shares at this price. I would need a price closer to $45 per share for this trade to make sense to me. At that price I could see a 10% upside to the shares along with a two and a half percent dividend. Together these two would provide a respectable 12% total return on investment. 

​At the right price this could be a great addition to my portfolio. It immediately goes on my watch list. 

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0 Comments

Farm and Construction Equipment

11/16/2016

0 Comments

 
There's been a lot of conversations about the potential for infrastructure improvements during the next administration so I thought it might be time to look at the companies in the Farm and Construction Equipment industry that pay a dividend as well as the potential of increasing profits if infrastructure projects begin next year. While some of these may be strictly farm equipment manufacturers, others may be manufacturing equipment that can, and is, being used in the construction industry. 
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Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar is engaged in manufacturing construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. Co.'s segments include: Construction Industries, which supports customers using machinery in infrastructure and building construction applications; Resource Industries, which supports customers using machinery in mine and quarry applications; Energy and Transportation, which supports customers using reciprocating engines, turbines, diesel-electric locomotives, and related parts across industries such as power generation and industrial; and Financial Products, which provides retail and wholesale financing for Co.'s products.
​(Summary)
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Deere & Co.
Deere & Company operates in three business segments. The agriculture and turf segment primarily manufactures and distributes a line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts, including loaders; combines, and corn pickers among others. The construction and forestry segment primarily manufactures and distributes a range of machines and service parts used in construction, earthmoving, material handling and timber harvesting, including backhoe loaders; crawler dozers and loaders; and excavators among others. The financial services segment primarily finances sales and leases by Co.'s dealers of new and used agriculture and turf equipment and construction and forestry equipment.
​(Summary)
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Terex Corporation
Terex is a lifting and material handling solutions company. Co. has five business segments: Aerial Work Platforms, which provides aerial work platform equipment, telehandlers, and light towers; Cranes, which provides mobile telescopic cranes, tower cranes, lattice boom crawler cranes, lattice boom truck cranes, utility equipment and truck-mounted cranes (boom trucks), and related components and replacement parts; Material Handling & Port Solutions, which provides industrial cranes, as well as a portfolio of port and rail equipment; Materials Processing, which provides materials processing equipment; and Construction, which provides compact construction equipment and specialty equipment.
​(Summary)
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AGCO Corporation
AGCO is a manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment and related replacement parts. Co. sells a range of agricultural equipment, including tractors, combines, self-propelled sprayers, hay tools, forage equipment, seeding and tillage, implements, and grain storage and protein production systems. Co.'s products are marketed under a number of well-known brands, including Challenger®, Fendt®, GSI®, Massey Ferguson® and Valtra®. In addition, Co. also provides retail and wholesale financing through its finance joint ventures with Cooperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A.
​(Summary)
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Gencor Industries Inc.
Gencor Industries manufactures machinery used in the production of highway construction materials, synthetic fuels, and environmental control equipment. Co.'s products include: asphalt plants, which consist of hot-mix asphalt plants, and related asphalt plant equipment including hot mix storage silos, fabric filtration systems, cold feed bins and other plant components; combustion systems and industrial incinerators, which include soil remediation machinery, combustion systems for rotary dryers, kilns, fume and liquid incinerators and fuel heaters; and fluid heat transfer systems, which include the Hy-Way heat and Beverley lines of thermal fluid heat transfer systems and storage tanks.
(Summary)
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0 Comments

Oil and Gas Refining and Marketing

11/14/2016

0 Comments

 
Sometimes it makes more sense to look at an entire industry and then select those companies that appear to be paying an increasing dividend, even if that dividend is a little less than perfect for those strict dividend growth investors. Once that's completed I like to look at the visual aspects of the stock in the form of the dividend payment history and the monthly stock chart. It ends up being a rather long term view of the company but it gives me a pretty good idea of any historical inertia going forward. 

Below you'll see descriptions of companies in the Oil and Gas Refining and Marketing industry along with a graph of their dividend payment histories and their monthly stock charts. This should provide some interesting ideas for further research for dividend growth investors who want to look beyond the Dividend Aristocrats. 
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Adams Resources and Energy, Inc.
Adams Resources & Energy is engaged in the business of crude oil marketing, tank truck transportation of liquid chemicals, and oil and gas exploration and production. Co. has three reportable segments: Marketing, which purchases crude oil and arranges sales and deliveries to refiners and other customers; Transportation, which transports liquid chemicals on a for hire basis throughout the continental U.S. and Canada; and Oil and Gas, which is engaged in the exploration and development of domestic oil and natural gas properties. As of Dec 31 2015, Co. had estimated proved natural gas reserves of 4.84 billion cubic feet and crude oil reserves of 226,000 barrels.
​(Summary)
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Alon USA Energy, Inc.
Alon USA Energy is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, Co. is engaged as an independent refiner and marketer of petroleum products, operating primarily in the South Central, Southwestern and Western regions of the U.S. Co.'s crude oil refineries are located in Texas, Louisiana and California. Co. refines crude oil into petroleum products, including various grades of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, petrochemicals, petrochemical feedstocks, asphalt, and other petroleum-based products. Co. has three segments: refining and marketing; asphalt; and retail. At Dec 31 2015, Co. operated 309 convenience stores in Central and West Texas and New Mexico.
​(Summary)
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CrossAmerica Partners LP
CrossAmerica Partners LP is primarily engaged in the wholesale distribution of motor fuel and the ownership and leasing of real estate used in the retail distribution of motor fuel. Co. is also engaged in the operation of convenience stores. As of Dec 31 2015, Co. distributed motor fuel at nearly 1,100 sites located in 25 states (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Maine, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Colorado, Rhode Island and Texas). Additionally, Co. receives rental income for sites it owns in Arizona and New Mexico.
​(Summary)
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Marathon Petroleum Corporation
Marathon Petroleum is an independent petroleum refining, marketing, retail and transportation company. Co. has three operating segments: Refining and Marketing, which refines crude oil and other feedstocks at Co.'s refineries in the Gulf Coast and Midwest regions of the U.S., purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products; Speedway, which sells transportation fuels and convenience products in the retail market in the Midwest, East Coast and Southeast; and Midstream, which gathers, transports, fractionates, stores and markets natural gas liquids and transports and stores crude oil and refined products.
​(Summary)
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NGL Energy Partners LP
NGL Energy Partners is a limited partnership company. At Mar 31 2016, Co.'s operations include: Crude oil logistics segment, which include owned and leased crude oil storage terminals, pipeline injections stations, trailers, railcars, and barges and towboats; water solutions segment, which include water pipelines, water treatment and disposal facilities; liquids segment, which supplies natural gas liquids to retailers, wholesalers, refiners, and petrochemical plants; retail propane segment, which sells propane, distillates, and equipment and supplies to end users; and refines products and renewables segment, which conducts gasoline, diesel, ethanol, and biodiesel marketing operations.
​(Summary)
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Phillips 66
Phillips 66 is an energy manufacturing and logistics company with midstream, chemicals, refining, and marketing and specialties businesses. Co.'s operating segments include: Midstream, which gathers, processes, transports and markets natural gas; and transports, fractionates and markets natural gas liquids; Chemicals, which manufactures and markets petrochemicals and plastics on a worldwide basis; Refining, which buys, sells and refines crude oil and other feedstocks at 14 refineries in the U.S. and Europe; and Marketing and Specialties, which purchases for resale and markets refined petroleum products (such as gasolines, distillates and aviation fuels), mainly in the U.S. and Europe.
​(Summary)
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Phillips 66 Partners LP
Phillips 66 Partners is a limited partnership, which owns, operates, develops and acquires primarily fee-based crude oil, refined petroleum product and natural gas liquids pipelines, terminals and other transportation and midstream assets. As of Dec 31 2015, Co.'s assets included its: Clifton Ridge Crude System, a crude oil pipeline, terminal and storage system located in Sulphur, LA; Hartford Connector Products System, a refined petroleum product pipeline, terminal and storage system located in Hartford, IL; Ferndale Rail Rack crude oil receiving facility located in Ferndale, WA; and Eagle Ford Gathering System, a crude oil gathering system near Helena and Tilden, TX.
​(Summary)
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Sprague Resources LP
Sprague Resources is a wholesale distributor of refined products in the Northeast U.S. Co. operates four business segments: refined products, which purchases a range of refined products and sells them to its customers; natural gas, which purchases, sells and distributes natural gas to customers located in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic U.S.; materials handling, which consists of the movement of raw materials and finished goods through its waterfront terminals; and other operations, which includes the marketing and distribution of coal conducted in its Portland, ME terminals, commercial trucking activity conducted by its Canadian subsidiary, and its heating equipment service business.
​(Summary)
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Sunoco LP
Sunoco LP is a limited partnership in the retail sale of motor fuels and merchandise through its company-operated convenience stores and retail fuel sites, as well as the wholesale distribution of motor fuels to convenience stores, independent dealers, commercial customers and distributors. As of Dec 31 2015, Co. operated approximately 900 convenience stores and fuel outlets in eight states, providing merchandise, food service, motor fuel and other services. Co.'s retail stores operate under several brands, including its convenience store brands brands Stripes®, Aloha Island Mart™, and other retail locations.
​(Summary)
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Tesoro Corporation
Tesoro is a petroleum refining and marketing company. Co.'s subsidiaries operate through three business segments: refining, which owns and operates six refineries in the western U.S., refines crude oil and other feedstocks into transportation fuels, such as gasoline and gasoline blendstocks, jet fuel and diesel fuel, as well as other products, including heavy fuel oils, liquefied petroleum gas and petroleum coke for sale in bulk markets; logistics, which is comprised of Tesoro Logistics LP's assets and operations; and marketing, which sells transportation fuels in 16 states through a network of retail stations under the ARCO®, Shell®, Exxon®, Mobil®, USA Gasoline™ and Tesoro® brands.
​(Summary)
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Valero Energy Corporation
Valero Energy is a petroleum refining and marketing company. Co. markets branded and unbranded refined products on a wholesale basis in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, the U.K., and Ireland through a bulk and rack marketing network and through outlets that carry the Valero®, Diamond Shamrock®, Shamrock®, Ultramar®, Beacon®, and Texaco® brand names. Co. has two reportable segments: refining and ethanol. Co.'s refining segment includes refining and marketing operations in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Aruba, and Ireland. Co.'s ethanol segment includes ethanol and marketing operations in the U.S.
​(Summary)
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0 Comments

Summit Hotel Properties

11/7/2016

0 Comments

 
Summit Hotel Properties is a hotel REIT servicing the upscale traveler. They've been paying the same dividend since 2011 but recently started raising the dividend. When that happens management is telling the investing community that the future looks bright. As a dividend growth investor, I tend to take notice of these things. Especially with REITs because REITs usually don't do that sort of thing. 
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Summit Hotel Properties is a publicly-traded real estate investment trust organized to continue and expand the existing hotel investment business of their predecessor, Summit Hotel Properties, LLC, a leading U.S. hotel owner. The company focuses primarily on owning premium-branded, select-service hotels in the Upscale segment of the U.S. lodging industry. The company's current portfolio consists of 80 hotels with a total of 10,751 guestrooms located in 23 states. Their hotels are located in markets in which they have extensive experience and which exhibits multiple demand generators, such as business and corporate headquarters, retail centers, airports, and tourist attractions. 
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Based on the total number of guestrooms, approximately 87% of the company's portfolio is positioned in the top 50 metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs, and approximately 95% is located within the top 100 MSAs. Based on total number of guestrooms, approximately 98% of the hotels operate under premium franchise brands owned by Marriott International, Inc. (Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott, Marriott, SpringHill Suites by Marriott, and Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott), Hilton Worldwide (DoubleTree, Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Homewood Suites, and Hilton Garden Inn), InterContinental Hotels Group (Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Hotel Indigo, and Staybridge Suites), and an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corporation (Hyatt Place and Hyatt House).
​(Summary) (Company) (Chart)
3 November 2016
Price $12.57
1yr Target $15.00
Analysts 9
Dividend $0.65
Payout Ratio 37.57%

1yr Cap Gain 19.33%
Yield 5.17%
1yr Tot Return 24.50%

P/E 7.26
PEG 1.15
Beta 0.91
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EPS (ttm) $1.73
EPS next yr $0.52
Forward P/E 24.27
EPS next 5yr 6.30%
1yr Price Support $3.27

Market Cap $1.12 Bil
Revenues $480.41 Mil
Earnings $151.30 Mil
Profit Margin 31.49%

Quick Ratio ---
Current Ratio ---
Debt/Equity 0.64
1yr RevGR 14.86%
3yr RevGR 41.54%
5yr RevGR 49.82%

1yr EarnGR 2480.00%
3yr EarnGR ---
5yr EarnGR ---

1yr DivGR 1.07%
3yr DivGR 1.44%
5yr DivGR ---

ROA 9.40%
ROE 17.40%
Summit Hotel Properties (INN) declares a quarterly dividend of $0.1625/share, which represents a 22.6% increase from the prior dividend of $0.1325. The forward yield is now above 5.0%, and payable on Nov. 30 for shareholders of record Nov. 16. Ex-div is Nov. 14.

​My Approach to Summit Hotel Properties.

I recently started a position in this company for a couple of reasons. First of all, I like REITS and the dividends they seem to always be throwing off. Dividends are a high priority for me and REITs seem to distribute a lot of them. Summit Hotel Properties is distributing a dividend that yields of over 5%.

Second, although there are a lot of great hotel REITs, this one is conveniently headquartered locally in Austin, Texas. I have a personal affinity to investing in companies that operate out of Texas.

Finally I like to invest in REITs because I like the high dividend for reinvesting back into addition shares of the company as well as the potential for income in the future when I need it. For me and for these reasons, this company works for me, but I also own shares in several other REITs. 

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0 Comments

Dividend Kings Dividend Charts

11/4/2016

0 Comments

 
Dividend Kings are blue chip companies listed in the S&P 500 index with large market capitalizations that have increased their dividends annually for a minimum of at least 50 consecutive years. That means that the stocks on the Dividend Kings list have been paying and increasing their dividends since at least 1964. They've been steadily increasing their dividend while the country experienced at least 9 different Presidential administrations, wars in Viet Nam, Bosnia, Kosovo, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and numerous economic expansions, recessions and depressions.
    
Fifty years is a very long time for a company to consistently and continuously increase its dividend and only 17 companies have been able to successfully accomplish it. These are the country's premier companies and deserve at least your consideration when researching investments. Just remember that even great companies can become overbought or oversold, so please do your research before committing funds to any investment. 
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American States Water (AWR)
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Cincinnati Financial Corp (CINF)
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Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL)
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Dover Corp (DOV)
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Emerson Electric (EMR)
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Genuine Parts Co. (GPC)
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Hormel Foods Corp (HRL)
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Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)
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Coca-Cola Co (KO)
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Lancaster Colony Corp (LANC)
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Lowe's Cos (LOW)
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Nordson Corp (NDSN)
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Northwest Natural Gas (NWN)
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Procter & Gamble Co (PG)
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Parker Hannifin Corp (PH)
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Vectren Corp (VVC)
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    I am an Individual Investor with specific interest in long term growth and then enhancing my returns with income from dividends and derivatives. I don't recommend stocks to anyone (it's a good way to lose friends) and no one reading this should misinterpret my blog as a recommendation for any type of investment. I am writing this solely for myself and my kids.

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