WStNN.com™ WallStreetNewsNetwork® Stockerblog™ WSNN®
Wall Street News Network: Information on stocks, bonds, real estate, investments, gold, startups, & money
by Fred Fuld III
When I first got the book Winning Now, Winning Later: How Companies Can Succeed in the Short Term While Investing for the Long Term, the first thing that caught my eye was the list of successful people who gave it endorsements, including Bob Iger, Executive Chairman of Disney, Hank Paulson, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Marc Benioff, Co-CEO of Salesforce, and Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo.
The author, David M. Cote, was the CEO behind the enormous success of Honeywell. He covers, in great detail, the process for successfully achieving both short-term goals and long-term goals for your company. Every chapter has a summary at the end called Questions to Ask yourself.
The book includes many informative and sometimes amusing anecdotes, which help to explain his process for business success for both a short term and long term basis.
I found Chapter 4 Focus on Process, to be the most important. It explains how it is imperative to get employees involved in improving company processes, and the utilization of phases to improve success.
Whether you are the head of a large publicly traded corporation, the CEO of a mid-size business, or managing a fast growing startup, I recommend that you read Winning Now, Winning Later as you will find extensive advice and information that will help your organization.
Affiliate links
by Nkem Iregbulem
Many people drink coffee first thing in the morning. Some heavily rely on this dose of caffeine to boost their energy and start their day. Turns out that in addition to its energy-boosting powers, coffee may be associated with more health benefits than we once thought. Recent studies have highlighted different reasons why coffee may be good for us.
A cohort study published in the Current Developments in Nutrition journal this past May investigated the association between coffee consumption and mortality rates. The participants of the study were 36,758 US adults ages 20+ years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 to 2014. Researchers found that drinking 1 to 2 cups of coffee a day was significantly associated with a reduced risk of heart disease mortality. Additionally, they found that participants who consumed 1 or more cups of coffee a day had a lower risk of all-cause mortality.
Recent studies have also studied the potential health benefits of caffeine, a key component of coffee. A meta-analysis published in Nutrients this past June explored the effect of caffeine on the risk and progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Nine different studies were included in the healthy cohort, and four were included in the PD cohort. Researchers observed a significant deceleration in the progression of motor symptoms in patients with PD. They also found that caffeine consumption among healthy individuals was associated with a lower risk of developing PD.
These potential health benefits may also compel you to invest in some coffee-related companies. Your options include Starbucks (SBUX), Coffee Holding (JVA), Farmer Brothers Co. (FARM), Spot Coffee (SPP), and Youngevity International Inc. (YGYI). All of these stocks are traded on NASDAQ except SPP, which is traded on the TSX Venture Exchange — previously known as the Canadian Venture Exchange.
Your first option is Starbucks (SBUX), the largest coffeehouse chain in the world. The company has over 31,000 stores around the world that sell coffee, tea, blended drinks, sandwiches, pastries, and many other food and drink items. The global coffee powerhouse was founded in 1971 and is based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks has a market cap of $90.09 billion and pays a dividend yield of 2.13%. With a high price-to-sales ratio of 3.81 and a price-to-book ratio of 71.29, its stock trades at 28.25 times forward earnings. The company enjoys a 3-year revenue growth rate of 7.54% and an even better 5-year revenue growth rate of 10.02%. Starbucks has managed to increase its revenue each fiscal year over the past decade.
You might also consider investing in Coffee Holding (JVA), a company that makes, roasts, packages, markets, and distributes roasted and blended coffee for private labeled accounts and its own brands. Its products can be divided into three product categories: wholesale green coffee, branded coffee, and private label coffee. The company was founded in 1971 and is currently headquartered in Staten Island, New York. Coffee Holding has a market cap of $18.1 million and does not pay a dividend. Its stock has an excellent price-to-sales ratio of 0.22 and a price-to-book ratio of 0.71. As of its most recent quarter, Coffee Holding has $2.65 million in total cash and $7.6 million in total debt. The company has a 3-year revenue growth rate 3.08% but a negative 5-year revenue growth rate of -4.50%.
Another option is Farmer Brothers Company (FARM), a coffee foodservice company that makes, wholesales, and distributes coffee, tea, and hundreds of other foodservice items to retailers and foodservice providers. Its customers include hotels, offices, restaurants, convenience stores, and other establishments. Founded in 1912 and based in Northlake, Texas, Farmer Brothers Company has a market cap of $123.08 million and does not pay a dividend. The stock has an excellent price-to-sales ratio of 0.22 and a price-to-book ratio of 0.83. As of its most recent quarter, Farmer Bros has $26.39 million in total cash and $105.91 million in total debt. The company enjoys a 3-year revenue growth rate of 3.06% and a 5-year revenue growth rate of 2.44%.
Spot Coffee (SPP) is a Canadian company that designs, builds, and operates coffee cafés throughout Canada and the United States. These cafés sell coffee, sandwiches, pastries, salads, and many other food and drink items. Most of the company’s revenue comes from sales at these cafés, licensing and franchise fees, and the wholesale of roasted coffee beans. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Buffalo, New York, Spot Coffee has a market cap of $4.71 million and pays a dividend yield of 3.07%. Its stock has an excellent price-to-sales ratio of 0.53. As of its most recent quarter, the company has $6.89 million in total debt. Spot Coffee has a negative 3-year revenue growth rate of -4.22% but a better 5-year revenue growth rate of 1.44%.
Finally, you might consider Youngevity International Inc. (YGYI), a company that develops and distributes nutritional products and commercial coffee. It operates in two segments, Direct Selling and Commercial Coffee, but generates most of its revenue from the Direct Selling segment. It offers a wide variety of products including gourmet coffee, skincare and cosmetic products, nutritional supplements, sports and energy drinks, fashion accessories, digital products, and organic food. Youngevity was founded in 1996 and is based in Chula Vista, California. The company has a market cap of $24.26 million and does not pay a dividend. The stock has an excellent price-to-sales ratio of 0.13 and has a price-to-book ratio of 0.43. As of its most recent quarter, Youngevity has $7.27 million in total cash and $24.42 million in total debt. The company enjoys a 3-year revenue growth rate of 1.23% and a much better 5-year revenue growth rate of 13.66%.
Maybe a coffee stock will wake up your portfolio.
Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above stocks at the time the article was written.
The following is a short list of some of the many stocks going ex dividend during the next month.
Many traders and investors use the stock trading technique called ‘Buying Dividends,’ also commonly referred to as ‘Dividend Capture.’ This is the strategy of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend.
This technique generally works in bull markets and flat or choppy markets, but you need to avoid the strategy during bear markets. In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can’t sell the stock until after the ex date.
The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend in the near future. The list contains many dividend paying companies, lots with market caps over $500 million, and many with yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, the periodic dividend amount.
| Schlumberger N.V. (SLB) | 9/1/2020 | 0.125 | 2.66% |
| Home Depot, Inc. (HD) | 9/2/2020 | 1.50 | 2.14% |
| H&R Block, Inc. (HRB) | 9/10/2020 | 0.26 | 7.25% |
| Coca-Cola Company (KO) | 9/14/2020 | 0.41 | 3.46% |
| Portland General Electric (POR) | 9/24/20 | 0.407 | 3.96% |
| Yamana Gold Inc. (AUY) | 9/29/2020 | 0.018 | 1.14% |
The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found HERE . (If you have been to the page before, and the latest link doesn’t show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out some of the other high yield stock lists HERE . Most of the lists are free.
Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.
Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.
Record date: the day when you must be on the company’s books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks at two business days before the record date.
Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.
Don’t forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.
Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written; affiliate links.
| CEF | Symbol | Discount | Yield | Dividend |
| Foxby | FXBY | -38% | 0.5% | Annually |
| Herzfeld Carribean Basin | CUBA | -26% | 16.7% | Quarterly |
| Central Securities | CET | -18% | 1.4% | Semi-Annually |
| General American Investors | GAM | -18% | 1.1% | Annually |
| Eagle Capital Growth | GRF | -17% | 7.7% | Annually |
| Boulder Growth & Income | BIF | -16% | 4.0% | Quarterly |
| Royce Micro-Cap Trust | RMT | -16% | 7.4% | Quarterly |
| Miller/Howard High Income Equity | HIE | -14% | 7.2% | Monthly |
| Adams Diversified Equity | ADX | -14% | 1.2% | Quarterly |
| Sprott Focus Trust | FUND | -14% | 6.8% | Quarterly |
| Gabelli Dividend & Income | GDV | -13% | 6.8% | Monthly |
| Royce Value Trust | RVT | -13% | 7.5% | Quarterly |
Vlast month, we published a list of books that Warren Buffett recommends about himself.
At last year’s Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, Buffett actually provided such a list. Here are more books that he recommends about himself.
The Oracle & Omaha, How Warren Buffet and His Hometown Shaped Each Other
Tap Dancing to Work: Warren Buffett on Practically Everything, 1966-2013
Warren Buffett on Business: Principles from the Sage of Omaha
Warren Buffett Speaks: Wit and Wisdom from the World’s Greatest Investor
Enjoy your summer reading!!!
If you need one more coronavirus face mask, there is one being made by the Israeli jewelry company Yvel that is selling for $1.5 million.
This one-of-a-kind mask is being made with 18 karat gold and adorned with 3,600 black and white diamonds.
It will be made to the specification of N-99 filtering.
The man is being made at the request of a businessman in the United States, who wants it completed by the end of the year and wants it to be the most expensive mask ever.
by Nkem Iregbulem
Since the start of the global coronavirus pandemic, various U.S. biotechnology companies have entered the race to develop COVID-19 therapies and vaccines. To aid and accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine, the U.S. government initiated a public-private partnership called Operation Warp Speed. This partnership hopes to deliver 300 million doses of a successful vaccine by January of next year. To achieve this goal, Operation Warp Speed selected eight companies with promising vaccine candidates to receive government funding — namely, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca-University of Oxford, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Merck, Vaxart, Inovio, and Novavax.
Investing in biotechnology companies with a foot in the vaccine race may be financially worthwhile if certain candidates prove successful in their efforts to develop a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. In fact, the stock prices for many of these companies fighting against the coronavirus pandemic are already trading near record highs. Your options include Moderna (MRNA), Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO), Novavax (NVAX), Vaxart (VXRT), and Sorrento (SRNE). All of these stocks are traded on the NASDAQ exchange.
Your first option is Moderna (MRNA), a biotech company primarily focused on discovering and developing therapeutics and vaccines based on messenger RNA, or mRNA. These technologies are designed to handle infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, autoimmune and cardiovascular disease. In January of this year, Moderna announced it had started developing its own COVID-19 vaccine, named mRNA-1273. In late July, the company’s vaccine candidate entered Phase 3 trials with the launch of a 30,000-subject trial. This progress puts Moderna ahead of many other companies in the race for the vaccine. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Massachusetts, Moderna has a market cap of $27.51 billion and does not pay a dividend. Its stock has a price-to-sales ratio of 474.82 and a price-to-book ratio of 16.76. As of its most recent quarter, Moderna has $1.22 billion in total cash and $151.84 million in total debt. With its revenue decreasing each fiscal year since 2018, the company faces a negative 3-year revenue growth rate of -17.80%.
Another vaccine stock to pay attention to is Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO), a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, and commercializes synthetic DNA medicines and vaccines to treat and protect against HPV-associated diseases, infectious diseases, and cancers. The company is developing its very own DNA-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate, INO-4800. Inovio’s INO-4800 is currently in Phase 1 trials in the U.S., and a Phase 2/3 trial is expected to begin this summer. Founded in 1983 and based in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, Inovio has a market cap of $3.07 billion and does not pay a dividend. Its stock has a high price-to-sales ratio of 786.00 and price-to-book ratio of 16.67. As of its most recent quarter, Inovio has $270 million in total cash and $98.52 million in total debt. Inovio has seen decreasing revenue each fiscal year since 2017, contributing to its negative 3-year revenue growth rate of -51.19%.
You might also consider Novavax (NVAX) — founded in 1987 and headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The late-stage biotechnology company focuses on discovering, developing, and commercializing vaccines to prevent a wide variety of infectious diseases. Some of its current vaccine candidates are geared towards influenza and RSV. In January, it announced its intention to develop a vaccine — called NVX-CoV2373 — to treat coronavirus. Novavax has a market cap of $9.15 billion and does not pay a dividend. Its stock trades at 34.13 times forward earnings and has a high price-to-sales ratio of 238.50. As of its most recent quarter, the company has $237.36 million in total cash and $331.87 million in total debt. Novavax has a negative 5-year revenue growth rate of -9.45% but a better 3-year revenue growth rate of 6.72%.
Vaxart (VXRT) is another biotech company in the race for a coronavirus vaccine. Founded in 2004 and based in South San Francisco, the clinical-stage company discovers, develops, and commercializes orally administered recumbent vaccines to treat infected patients around the world. This past January, Vaxart announced the development of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate: a tablet vaccine. Its other candidates include influenza, norovirus, and RSV vaccines.The company has a market cap of $992.76 million and does not pay a dividend. Its stock has a high price-to-sales ratio of 44.56 and a price-to-book ratio of 32.74. As of its most recent quarter, Vaxart has $29.86 million in total cash and $2.13 million in total debt. The company faces a negative 5-year revenue growth rate of -29.71% but enjoys a 3-year revenue growth rate of 1.69%.
Finally, you might also consider Sorrento (SRNE), a clinical-stage biotechnology company that focuses on developing immunotherapies for cancers, autoimmune, inflammatory, and neurodegenerative diseases. The company has teamed up with Mount Sinai Health System to develop an antibody therapy — named COVI-SHIELD — to target the COVID-19 infection. This product would deliver three antibodies that would serve as a “protective shield” against the virus. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in San Diego, Sorrento has a market cap of $2.05 billion and does not pay a dividend. It trades at 1.71 times forward earnings. Its stock has a high price-to-sales ratio of 46.05 and a price-to-book ratio of 20.28. As of its most recent quarter, the company has $21.9 million in total cash and $255.01 million in total debt. Sorrento enjoys a 5-year revenue growth rate of 52.39% and an even better 3-year revenue growth rate of 56.81%.
Let’s hope we get a vaccine and cure soon.
Disclosure: Author owns MRNA.
