IQT Newsletter content is designed to provide extensive statistical and fundamental data for our more sophisticated subscribers. These items once mastered can provide insight into the stability of earnings, dividend safety, and even
potential downside risk and upside potential. A brief summary of each table section and its significance is included below:
In this column each row begins with the company name. Adjacent to the company name you may read a bold capital G or a bold lower case g. In our lexicon the “G” stands for growth, which we define as a remarkable 10% average annual dividend growth over the past 12 years. The distinction between a G and a g is that the small case indicates that while the company fulfills the 10%/12 year test, its 3 and 5 year trends do not.
The “U, R, O, D” that appears to the right of the stock name simply represents the first letter of the current category, e.g. Undervalued, Rising Trend, Overvalued and Declining Trend.
Price- the current price.
Dividend- the current annual cash dividend.
Yield- the current yield represented as a percent - (dividend/price) X 100.
Yield is more than a statistic; it represents the annual return on a share that an investor can expect in the form of dividends. High yields can translate into income and a safety cushion to comfort investors (even when the price may drop slightly). There are no black and white guidelines on what yields are acceptable. A good way to get an approximate idea is to look at other companies operating in the same sector; there should be an obvious rough range. A yield that is unusually high may indicate a company has a problem and is being sold off. Likewise, a very low yield will be a good indication that a company is being over-purchased and doesn't have a lot of remaining value or upside.
Pts Dn- Points down, or dollar amount down to the Undervalue price. A negative number indicates how many points the stock is below its theoretical Undervalue price.
% Down - Represents the percentage points to the Undervalue price. This is also sometimes referred to as “theoretical downside risk.”
Undervalue Lo Pr - This is the low price (Undervalue price) that the stock will reach when undervalued based on its historical high yield profile.
Hi Yld- This is the historical yield at Undervalue (or high yield).
Pts Up- Points up, or dollar amount up to the Overvalue price.
% Up- Represents the percentage points to the Overvalue price. This is also sometimes referred to as “theoretical upside potential.” Higher upside potentials should naturally translate into higher long-term gains.
Overvalue Hi Pr- This is the high price (Overvalue price) that the stock will reach when overvalued based on the current dividend and its historical low yield profile.
Lo Yld- This is the historical yield at Overvalue (or low yield).
S&P- This is the current S&P Earnings and Dividend Quality Ranking, a widely recognized benchmark of corporate quality.
Rankings in the A- or higher range are preferable as they represent a history of high earnings and dividend quality.
52 wk lo- This is the lowest price the stock has reached within the last 52 weeks.
52 wk hi- This is the highest price the stock has reached within the last 52 weeks. Bk val- This is the current book value (sometimes also called net asset value).
Book value is the value of a share based on the company's total assets minus liabilities (debt etc.) Ideally the share price should be less than 2 times the current book value of a company.
12-Mo Earn- This figure represents the trailing 12 months earnings per share.
P/E- This is the price-to-earnings ratio (price/earnings). For the purposes of our newsletter, a figure of 15 or below is preferable.
Payout- This figure represents the Payout Ratio: the percentage of earnings paid out in the form of a cash dividend. A lower payout helps to insure a safe dividend and thus our Undervalue price. Under ordinary circumstances a payout for an industrial company should be between 30% and 60%. A 75% payout ratio is acceptable for utilities due to their different capital structure.
Div In Dgr - A stock is flagged as having a Dividend in Danger when its payout meets or exceeds 100% of the trailing twelve months earnings, i.e. earnings do not cover the dividend currently being paid out.
L/T Debt- This figure represents the long-term-debt to equity. A smaller amount of debt adds a certain degree of security to a company's position and assurance that its business has been successful. Look for a debt close to 50% or below (75% for utilities).
BC- This figure represents how many of our BlueChip criteria (listed on the top of pg. 2) the stock currently meets.
TIC- This figure represents the current ticker symbol.
An important part of value investing is to identify value through the use of fundamental statistics such as those mentioned above. Over our forty plus years of experience, we have found these fundamental statistics to be a good starting point for the value minded investor that is researching investment considerations. Many of our subscribers tell us that they combine these fundamental statistics with their own proprietary screens. We invite readers to experiment and use whatever works for them!
The Investment Outlook can be found in each issue, and is where our Editor presents his thoughts on the general state of the markets, a specific stock or industry, or a discussion about value identification and our methodology.
Since assuming the helm as Managing Editor in 2002, Kelley Wright has penned the majority of commentaries, which have ranged far and wide afield. Whether didactic, philosophical or with a touch of whimsy, Kelley most definitely has never been one at a loss for words.
The Lucky 13 appears in the January issue of the newsletter and shows 13 stocks we think can outperform the market.
In short, The Lucky 13 has been extremely successful and not surprisingly, quite popular. While not every stock in each Lucky 13 portfolio has been a winner, there have been sufficient winners in each group to produce 15 years of positive total returns, twelve of which have exceeded 10%.
Whether you are looking to build a portfolio from scratch, are partially invested and looking to add new positions, or are fully invested and merely in need of some affirmation and hand holding, The Timely Ten presents our top ten recommendations as of each issue.
Short of utilizing the personal investment management services of our sister company, IQ Trends Private Client Asset Management, this is as close to real time as you can get.
In each issue, with the exception of the first of the quarter, IQ Trends publishes four of our proprietary charts. These charts range from new entries into the Service, new entries into the Undervalued category or modified Profiles of Dividend Yield, companies in the Timely Ten, or companies that exhibit characteristics that show promise.
As a value added benefit to our subscribers, IQ Trends now allows access our archive of proprietary charts. No longer will subscribers have to wait for their favorite company to fall into one of the above mentioned categories for its chart to be published.
We love to hear from our subscribers so reach out any time. Kelley will answer your emails and calls personally. Send to subscribers@iqtrends.com.
