The Opener

Microsoft Earnings: Temporary or Permanent Slowdown?

Microsoft announced earnings Tuesday after the close, and the shares are reacting negatively. The company beat earnings expectations and topped revenue estimates, but provided weak guidance. Is this a sign of bigger fundamental problems for Microsoft or just a temporary blip on the long-term radar?

Diversified Blue Chip REIT: Despite Big Risks, 6% Yield Is Attractive

When it comes to big-dividend REITs, the one we review in this report is a stalwart favorite. Having increased its annual dividend (paid quarterly) for over ten years straight, and now trading down 20% in the last month, investors are wondering if they should initiate a position (or even buy more shares). In this report, we review the business and then consider the current valuation versus two big risks. We conclude with our strong opinion on investing.

Big Dividends: Top 10 Healthiest (6% Yields and Up)

With the market in disarray this year (stemming from inflation, central bank policy changes and now the threat of an ugly recession) a lot of investors are increasingly looking to dividend stocks for safety. With that trend in mind, we are sharing the 10 most “financially healthy” big dividends (yields of 6% and up). We conclude with our strong opinion on how you should, and should not, be playing this current market environment.

Attractive High-Growth BDC: 12.0% Yield, Compelling Price

If you are an income-focused investor, the BDC we review in this report may be interesting to you. It has a unique business strategy and a compelling 12.0% distribution yield. We dig into the details (including the nuances of the strategy, valuation, the current market environment, dividend safety and risks), and then conclude with our strong opinion on investing.

Attractive Cybersecurity Stock: High Growth, Profitable, On Sale

The cybersecurity business we review in this report is attractive for a variety of reasons, including its high growth, large total addressable market and attractive valuation. In particular, the shares have sold off hard as the low-interest-rate bubble has burst, but unlike other “pandemic darlings” this one is actually very profitable and generates powerful cash flow (therefore it won’t face the same growth-capital-raising challenges as others that will be paralyzed by higher borrowing rates, lower stock prices for new share issuances, and a slowed economy). Its valuation multiple has been crushed, but its business and earnings keep growing—and likely will for many years to come. We currently own shares.

No, US Treasuries Do Not Still Yield Close to 0.0%

An almost constant refrain from frustrated income-focused investors and savers alike over the last few years is that interest rates have been close to zero. And now with all the talk of inflation and rising rates, some investors have failed to notice that shorter-term US treasury bills and notes (which are guaranteed by the US government) are now offering somewhat compelling yields. This quick note shares a few important details.

S&P 500: Blood In The Streets, 3 Big Risks, 3 Dividend-Growth Stocks

Rarely has there been a market where both stocks and bonds have fallen so hard at the same time. And if you’ve tried to hide in cash, well inflation is crushing you too. From an investor standpoint, there is blood in the streets, and things can still get much worse, especially considering the precipitous technical level of the S&P 500, the rising S&P 500 Fear Index, the dangerous S&P 500 style reversion trend and the Fed’s extreme focus on battling inflation. In this report, we share our take on the current unsettling position of the S&P 500, three big risks to be aware of, and three dividend-growth stocks worth considering. We conclude with an important takeaway and our strong opinion on investing in this market.

High-Growth, Mid-Cap, Cloud-Data Company, Attractively Priced

The company we review in this report provides high-capacity storage for data centers using software and hardware technologies that are extremely well rated by customers. What’s more, the company is growing rapidly, and will continue to do so, as the digital revolution and migration to the cloud (data centers) are the biggest secular trends in the world today. We like the shares because they are positioned to benefit from many years of high growth and because they currently trade at an attractive price.

Fed Rate Hikes To Impact Top Big-Dividend BDCs

With the Fed set to raise interest rates another 75 basis points on Wednesday (following its 2-day open market committee meeting which kicks off today), it’s worthwhile to revisit big-dividend BDC and how they are impacted by rising rates. This note shares data on how many of the most popular publicly-traded BDCs are impacted differently by rising rates depending on the structure of their balance sheets (floating-versus-fixed-rate assets and liabilities, as well as leverage levels). We also highlight a few of our favorite BDCs (two we own and one we are considering) that yield 9.1%, 10.0% and 10.2%, respectively.

When the Market Falls, Just Keep Buying More (Of This Attractive +6% Yielder)

When the market falls, just keep buying more. That’s one of the best strategies a long-term investor can follow, and one of the best ways to implement it is through the attractive closed-end fund (“CEF”) we review in this report. It currently trades at a compelling 14% discount to its net asset value (“NAV”), and it guarantees at least a 6% distribution yield each year. What’s more, it has been paying big distributions to investors for over 80 years straight, and it has an impressive long-term track record of outperforming the S&P 500 (net of fees). We review all the details in this report, and then conclude with our strong opinion on investing.

150 High-Income CEFs: Ranking Our Top 7

Closed-End Funds, or CEFs, can be an income-focused investor favorite because of their big steady distribution payments to investors (often yielding in excess of 6% to 10%, frequently paid monthly). However, not all CEFs are created equally (in fact they can be widely different). In this report, we offer up a quick review of what a CEFs is, we share current data on over 150 high-income CEFs (including strategies, leverage, yield, distribution frequency and discount/ premium versus net asset value), and then finally conclude with a ranking of our top 7 CEFs that are particularly attractive right now and worth considering for investment (if you are an income-focused investor).

Attractive Industrial REIT: 4.4% Yield, Discounted Price

Industrial REITs have sold off particularly hard this year, but one name in particular is attractive if you can handle its strategy and risks relative to industrial REIT peers. In this report, we review this particular REIT’s business, industry outlook, valuation, dividend and risks. We conclude with our opinion on investing in this 4.4% dividend yielder.

Are You Panicking Over This Morning's CPI Number?

So the much anticipated monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation number was released this morning. The year-over-year number ticked slightly higher (even though gas prices are down) and the market is selling off hard. Here are four ways to keep the media’s unrelenting sensationalized fearmongering in check as you stay focused on your investment goals.

Top Software Stocks: Massive Growth, Lower Valuations, Inflation Catalysts Ahead

Here are 85 high-growth software stocks, sorted by market cap. As a group they have performed very badly this year (as the fed raises rates to fight inflation), but as you can see there is a very noticeable difference in valuation between the 10 largest and the 10 smallest. This includes price-to-sales ratios (the large caps have much higher multiples), price versus 52-week range (the large caps have fallen a lot less) and more. In this note, we share a few points about this group, and discuss the upcoming CPI number as a catalyst.

Exciting Long-Term Opportunities: New Market Paradigm

This month’s Blue Harbinger Thinker is now available. In this report, we share our thoughts on current market conditions and how we believe investors should be playing it. We also share updated performance and holdings for our Income Equity and Disciplined Growth portfolios, a few top investment ideas, and then we conclude with a few important takeaways and links to more investment opportunities that we hope you will find useful.

50 Hated Pandemic Stocks, These 3 Are Worth Considering

After the initial pandemic shock in 2020, certain high-growth stocks performed well. Extremely well. Bolstered by extraordinarily low interest rates and a new crowd of “work-from-homers” (with newfound time to “invest”) it seemed the sky was the limit. Until it wasn’t. Flash forward to now, the market has fallen sharply this year (especially high-growth stocks), and there is no short supply of reasons to stay bearish. Very bearish. In this report, we share data on 50 high-growth stocks that have crashed, run through a list of compelling reasons (data points) to stay bearish, and then discuss the merits of three interesting high-growth stocks from the list that have crashed particularly hard, with a special focus on pandemic darling, Palantir (PLTR). We conclude with some important takeaways and our very strong opinion about investing in Palantir and investing in this market in general.