Clean Harbors: Coincidence Confirmed, Again

On February 9, 2012, we posted Edson Gould’s Speed Resistance Lines [SRL] regarding Clean Harbors (CLH).  Our hope at the time was that our prior work on the top of Gould’s work would be handily refuted or confirmed.  At the time we posed the following SRL:

For us, our expectation was that the Clean Harbors would, at minimum, descend to the conservative downside target of $43.53.  Well, the timing and coincidence were in our favor as CLH fell –40% to the appointed levels that we thought the stock should descend.

As with all Speed Resistance Lines, there is a chance that the stock will continue to move higher.  However, at each point higher we readjust the SRL and arrive at new downside target.  In the case of CLH, the stock increased from the $67.60 price to as high as $70.30 thereby requiring an adjustment of the downside targets higher as well.  Remember, if the stock does not hit downside targets avoid it.  When and if the stock falls to the target, review for potential investment.

Finally, for no explicable reason, when all seemed in favor of the stock, CLH declined from the $70.30 peak to the low of $37.09 achieved in January 2016.  By achieving such an improbable low (improbable to those who were buying CLH in February 2012) CLH stock price appeared to be worth considering.  For this reason, we iterated a review of CLH for investment consideration on December 14, 2015. Since our mid-December 2015 review, CLH has increased by +39%.

image

At this point, we’d consider our general analysis of CLH a success from the December 2015 posting.  What do we see going forward?  We see two critical upside resistance levels to watch for.  The first upside resistance is at $59.00 and the second upside resistance level is at $69.00.  Obtaining a +39% gaining in a 1-year period might suggest that an investor consider selling all of their CLH holdings and reinvesting the funds somewhere else.

The Cold Hard Truth

Granted, luck and timing have a lot to say in any and all the work that we produce, however, that does not mean that our efforts on the topic should be dismissed as there may be some value in what we’re trying to accomplish.  Since the very first of our SRLs we’ve had more than 80% of the SRL downside targets achieved at the point of the initial examination.  This generally could could be considered a success.  However, of the 20% that have not been successful are positions that we’ve taken a real world investment in, which totally sucks.

In spite of the prevailing reality we continue to attempt to mitigate the available information with the stocks of interest to us.  We’ll narrow down this situation to a point where the SRL will work and/or we’ll still be able to benefit regardless of whether an immediate rebound is experienced.

U.S. Dividend Watch List: December 9, 2016

It was another record breaking week for the market as the bulls continued to march forward. With the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Dow Jones Transportation Average reaching an all-time highs, there was a lot of talk about Dow Theory. Our team has studied Dow Theory in finer detail than most and would urge all readers to review our latest commentary titled Dow Theory: Myth & Fact. We would not encourage those on the sideline to jump into the market now but here are 18 companies to consider if one choose to do so.

Symbol Name Price % Yr Low P/E EPS (ttm) Dividend Yield Payout Ratio
KMB Kimberly-Clark Corp. 114.61 2.97% 20.84 5.50 3.68 3.21% 67%
MDT Medtronic 73.35 3.27% 24.45 3.00 1.72 2.34% 57%
CLX Clorox 115.29 3.64% 23.20 4.97 3.20 2.78% 64%
HRL Hormel Foods Corp. 34.39 3.65% 20.97 1.64 0.68 1.98% 41%
PPL PP&L Corporation 33.51 4.46% 12.46 2.69 1.52 4.54% 57%
BF-B Brown-Forman Corp. CL 'B' 45.87 4.68% 17.38 2.64 1.40 3.05% 53%
KIM Kimco Realty Corp. 25.98 4.97% 17.44 1.49 1.08 4.16% 72%
KO Coca-Cola Co 42.00 5.32% 25.45 1.65 1.40 3.33% 85%
NKE Nike, Inc. 51.72 5.53% 23.30 2.22 0.72 1.39% 32%
LLY Eli Lilly & 67.85 5.72% 29.50 2.30 2.04 3.01% 89%
PM Philip Morris International 90.24 6.84% 21.59 4.18 4.16 4.61% 100%
WTR Aqua America Inc 30.10 7.38% 25.08 1.20 0.77 2.56% 64%
MAC Macerich 71.14 7.79% 11.92 5.97 2.84 3.99% 48%
SO Southern Company 47.94 8.00% 18.02 2.66 2.24 4.67% 84%
VFC VF Corp. 56.55 9.25% 21.50 2.63 1.68 2.97% 64%
MCD McDonald's Corp. 121.26 9.91% 22.79 5.32 3.76 3.10% 71%
CATO Cato Corp. 31.36 10.42% 12.11 2.59 1.32 4.21% 51%
XRAY DENTSPLY International 59.02 10.46% 30.90 1.91 0.31 0.53% 16%
18 companies              

Watch List Review

We mentioned this before and will reiterate again that one shouldn't rush into the market at its all-time high. Recently, our team took a sizable position in Coca-Cola (KO) which is trading at less than 5% above its yearly low. The most recent headline is the change at the top with the current CEO set to step down next year. Perhaps this is a good/bad thing, we do not know. Our action stems from our assessment that downside risk are minimal at the current price. The dividend yield of 3.3% is also enticing for long term investors.

Our team ran some risk-reward profiles for Kimberly-Clark (KMB), Hormel Foods (HRL), Nike (NKE), and VF Corp (VFC) . We are cautious on these companies currently.

There is one company that would be interesting to dive into. It is DENTSPLY International (XRAY). This company is the world's largest manufacturer of professional dental products. The company consistently performed well with an average ROE of 15% since 1988. Dividend yield is negligible now but the company could return more to shareholders in the future.

Disclaimer On our current list, we excluded companies that have no earnings. Stocks that appear on our watch lists are not recommendations to buy. Instead, they are the starting point for doing your research and determining the best company to buy. Ideally, a stock that is purchased from this list is done after a considerable decline in the price and extensive due diligence. Our view is to embrace the worse case scenario prior to investing. It is important to place these companies on your own watch list so that when the opportunity arises, you can purchase them with a greater margin of safety. It is our expectation that, at the most, only 1/3 of the companies that are part of our list will outperform the market over a one-year period.

Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF

The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) is trading in range that ultimately needs to be resolved.  The outcome is either falling dramatically below $240 or striking the $343 level before doing a retest of the prior high around $400.

image

Already, IBB has managed to resist falling below the ascending $218.37 level.  This is in defiance of our belief that a highly volatile sector and fund should retest the extreme downside target of $133.60.  Those wanting to have exposure to the biotech sector but unwilling to take on the individual risk should consider the prospects of this ETF.

2017 Dogs of TSX

Performance Review

Earlier this year, we did a “2016 Dogs of the TSX” where we outlined the stocks that conformed to the “Dogs of the Dow” strategy based on stocks from the Toronto Stock Exchange.  The Canadian stocks that we reviewed generated the following returns:

  • Category 1: +51.59%
  • Category 2: +12.52%
  • Category 3: +9.71%
  • TSX: +18.51%

This was was a smack down of epic proportions. Category 1 outdistanced all other groups by more than double, this includes the Toronto Stock Exchange gain of +18.51%.  Discerning investors should note the overall fundamental attributes of each category as there are some surprising elements to each.  As an example, Category 1 had the following value attributes at the time:

  • average p/e: 62x
  • average earnings: $0.02
  • average p/b: 0.75
  • average payout ratio: 398%

All is well in a rising market, however, we’ll continue to review the three categories to confirm that returns are consistent regardless of the market conditions.  This means that the TSE Index needs to be in a declining trend for us to confirm the value to the categories that we’ve created.

2017 Dogs of the TSX

Continue reading

Dow Theory: Myth & Fact

Recent stock market action warrants the review of Dow Theory.  On December 8, 2016, the Dow Jones Transportation Average increased above the previous peak set in December 2014.  This change in the Transportation Average confirms the new highs established by the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

image

We’ve canvassed various articles referring to the recent Dow Theory signal and have pointed out the myths and facts.

2016 NLO Book List

Below are the books that we’ve read cover-to-cover in 2016.  The accompanying links will take you to Amazon.com if you’re interested in buying the books.  The must reads from this list are Coined by Kabir Sehgal, Isabella by Kristen Downey and The Half Has Never Been Told by Edward E. Baptist. Enjoy.

Title Author
Absolute Monarchs John Julius Norwich
America's Bank Roger Lowenstein
Antifragile Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Battling the Gods Tim Whitmarsh
Beating the Street Peter Lynch
Boomerang Micheal Lewis
Carthage Must Be Destroyed Richard Miles
Code Warriors Stephen Budiansky
Coined Kabir Sehgal
Cycle of Lies Juliet Macur
Irrationally Yours Dr. Dan Ariely
Isaac Newton James Gleick
Isabella Kristen Downey
Magna Carta Dan Jones
Master Thieves Stephen Kurkjian
Native Son Richard Wright
Our Endangered Values Jimmy Carter
Personal History Katharine Graham
Plutarch's Lives, Volume 2 Plutarch
Politics Aristotle
Sex on the Moon Ben Mezrich
Strange Gods Susan Jacoby
The 48 Laws of Power Robert Greene
The Auctioneer Simon de Pury
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Vol. 1 Edward Gibbon
The Evolution of God Robert Wright
The Full Catastrophe James Angelos
The Great Beanie Baby Bubble Zac Bissonnette
The Great Cholesterol Myth Jonny Bowden
The Great Escape Paul Brickhill
The Half Has Never Been Told Edward E. Baptist
The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching Thich Nhat Hanh
The Improbability Principle David J. Hand
The Lufthansa Heist Henry Hill
The Plantagenets Dan Jones
The Tao of Warren Buffett Mary Buffett
The Tao Te Ching Lao Tsu
The Twelve Caesars Suetonius
The Warren Buffett Way Robert Hagstrom
When to Rob a Bank Steven D. Levitt
Wisdom of Crowds James Surowiecki
Year of No Sugar Eve O. Schaub

Gold Stock Indicator: December 2016

After our assessment on gold and gold stocks in October 2016, the price of both have declined but to varying degrees.  Gold declined by –7.82% while gold stocks, as represented by the Philadelphia Gold and Silver Stock Index (XAU), fell by –2.91%.

image

Coppock Curve: November 2016

Since the Coppock Curve flashed a buy indication at the end of March 2016, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by +8.3% while the S&P 500 gained +6.7%. Our strategy of purchasing Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) has proven was well timed and is up +9.2%. Below is an update to the Coppock Curve.

Continue reading

Buffett: “Money Has No Utility”

According to an article posted by Yahoo!Finance dated September 20, 2016, Warren Buffett is quoted as saying that, for him “…money has no utility.”  To those with $500 million or more, Buffett has the following to say about the extent of pleasure they can get out of their wealth:

“Well, I told one person all they can do with those stock certificates is they can go down once a year and open the safe deposit box, and maybe they can fondle them.”

As far as Buffett’s quote on gold having no utility, well, as the Quote Investigator indicates, Buffett never said such a thing about gold.  Although Buffett might have alluded to the concept, there has been no accurate verification of the exact quote.

Analyst Estimates: Canadian Dividend November 2016

Below is a snapshot of the analysts’ low estimated earnings based on our November Canadian 2016 Watch List. This projection assumes the same price-to-earnings ratio that the stock currently has and the percentage change in price that is implied based on these low earnings estimates.  For the stocks that currently don’t have earnings, a P/E ratio of 14 was assigned.

Canadian Dividend Watch List: November 2016

Performance Review

Below is the performance of our Canadian Watch List from November 2015:

image

Again, the performance was in line with our expectations that the analysts are generally wrong about 1-year expectations in earnings and price change.  The most surprising change was experienced by Ag Growth International (AGN.TO) with a gain of +77.90%. The worst performing stock was Empire Company (EMP-A.TO) which lost –33.85%.  The projected average change for the list of stocks was +31.26% while the actual change for the list was +4.92%.  During the last year, the Toronto Stock Exchange increased +10.65%.

Transaction Alert

We executed the following transaction(s):

Dividend Aristocrats Watch List: November 11, 2016

There's something to be said about a company that are capable of increasing their dividend payouts for 25 consecutive years or more. These would be considered the cream of the crop when it comes to income investing. Typically, the companies will consist of wide economic moat and strong return on equity. Such characteristics prevent competitors from taking market shares and profit shares. Currently there are 50 companies as part of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats EFT. One can find a complete list of these companies here. Below are 7 Dividend Aristocrats companies that are at or near the yearly low. Continue reading

U.S. Dividend Watch List: November 4, 2016

Top Five Watch List Performance Review

In our ongoing review of the NLO Dividend Watch List, we have taken the top five stocks on our list from November 6, 2015 and have checked the performance one year later. The top five companies on that list can be seen in the table below.

Symbol Name 2015 Price 2016 Price % change
IBM IBM 138.25 152.43 10.3%
STT State Street Corp. 73.62 70.39 -4.4%
STR Questar Corp. 19.04 25.06 31.6%
SIAL Sigma-Aldrich Corp. 139.56 139.76 0.1%
WMT Wal-Mart Stores 58.78 69.16 17.7%
      Average 11.1%
         
DJI Dow Jones Industrial 17,863.43 17,888.28 0.1%
SPX S&P 500 2,099.20 2,088.66 -0.5%

Prior Year Performance Review

The average gain for the top five companies was +11.10% compared to the market performance which was virtually flat. The largest gain came from Questar (STR) which gained +31.60% as a result of a take over from Dominion Resources (D). The agreement was for a $25 cash per share while Dominion assume any outstanding debt.

We spoke briefly about IBM (IBM) as well. Because shares hit 52-week low for three straight years, we thought it was proper to start looking at IBM. Below is an excerpt from last year.

We believe it is a good time to start considering IBM as part of a long-term holding. The company continues to have Warren Buffett's support. The company has a 10% earnings yield and is expected to rise with 2016 expected earnings growth. On October 30th, we modeled IBM's speed resistance line with downside risk to $100 and possible upside to $160.

Shares of IBM rose +10% and after potentially reaching its bottom.

U.S. Dividend Watch List: November 4, 2016

It was a rough week for the bulls as the market fell 2%. This is the last week until the election thus we're not surprised by the volatility. However, it will be interesting to see where we stand at the end of next week. For now, here are 43 companies to ponder about.

Continue reading

Analyst Estimates: DJIA November 2016

Below are the price projections based on analyst earnings estimates for the Dow Jones Industrial Average as of November 4, 2016. These estimates project the price change for the respective stocks over the next 12 months and the risk profiles associated with the estimates.

Continue reading