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Special Note: Recent Market Volatility—And What Comes Next!

The market (as measured by the S&P 500) has now fallen ~9.0% from its highs approximately one month ago, and many popular growth stocks have fallen even more. For example, Tesla is down ~15.0%, Palantir is down ~25% and Super Micro Computer is down ~23.0%. This volatility has a lot of growth-stock investors very nervous, and wondering what to do. In this special note, we share some critically important information about what is very likely to happen next in the market. It’s worth the quick read.

Fear Creates Opportunity: Buyout Targets + 2 Top Growth Stocks

Markets ticked lower again this past week (especially for growthier stocks) and a lot of investors are now fearfully looking at their account balances and wondering if they should sell! However, in the contrarian spirit of the newly announced Splunk (SPLK) acquisition by Cisco (CSCO), we share a list of targets for the next big buyouts (yet to be announced), plus two attractive growth stocks now trading at lower prices.

100+ Big-Yield REITs: Terrible Performance, Few Attractive Opportunities

The following table includes data on over 100 big-yield REITs, sorted by REIT industries (and then market cap). And as you can see, recent performance has been mostly terrible with 2-year total returns very negative, and lots of REITs sitting near 52-week lows. The carnage has clearly been worse for some industries more than others, and short-interest remains high in certain areas (indicating lots of investors believe there is still more pain to come). In this quick note, we briefly review the REIT market by sub-industries and then highlight a very select few big-dividend REITs that appear attractive and worth considering for investment.

Income Equity Portfolio Updates (New Positions)

The Income Equity Portfolio Tracker Sheet has been updated for September, and there are a few new buys and sells (we highlight them in this note). As a reminder, the objective of the Income Equity Portfolio is “steady income and long-term capital appreciation” by investing in blue-chip companies with earnings growth potential, attractive valuations (multiple expansion opportunity) and prudent capital allocation (including reinvesting in the business, dividends, share repurchase and strong balance sheet management). Here are the latest updates.

Top Chip & Hardware Stocks Benefiting from AI and Cloud Migration

In this report, we review market sector performance. Technology continues to dominate, semiconductors in particular. We consider the themes behind the sector strength (e.g. Artificial Intelligence and the digitization of everything), and then dive into our top semiconductor (and related hardware) companies benefiting from the secular trends, including our current holdings.

Top 10 Growth Stocks (Attractive Entry Points)

A lot of top growth stocks have sold off hard over the last month, and a select few of them provide extremely attractive entry points right now. In this report we share data on over 100 top growth stocks, briefly review macroeconomic conditions, discuss several massively disruptive secular trends, and then count down our top 10 growth stock rankings. We believe the names on this list have dramatic upside potential in the quarters and years ahead. However, if you are not a growth stock investor, this report is absolutely not for you.

Top 10 Big-Yield CEFs, BDCs, Ranked

Income investors, focused primarily on generating big steady income, can still enjoy some price appreciation too. And now that interest rate volatility is decreasing, attractive high-income opportunities are increasingly emerging. In this report, we first share and discuss comparative data on over 100 big-yield closed-end funds (“CEFs”) and over 40 big-yield business development companies (“BDCs”), and then rank our top 10 favorites (with yields ranging from 6.0% to over 12.0%), starting with #10 and counting down to our very top ideas.

New Purchase: Disciplined Growth Portfolio Update

This is a quick note to let readers know we’ve added a new position to the Disciplined Growth Portfolio (it’s a business benefiting from two big secular trends: (1) The Great Cloud Migration and AI, and (2) Increasing Technology in the Automotive Industry). And we have also updated the Disciplined Growth Portfolio Tracker Sheet for July (there have been a few rebalances).

50 Top Growth Stocks: These 3 Worth Considering

Market fear has ticked up slightly over the last week as interest rate hikes are expected to resume and this could pour water on the red hot stock market rally so far this year, especially high-growth stocks. However, it’s our contention that this short-term noise won’t matter for select top growth stocks which will be driven higher by strong execution supported by incredible disruptive secular trends (including generative AI, the great cloud migration and the world’s insatiable desire for more efficient sources of energy). In this report, we share high-level data on the current state of the market, company-specific fundamental metrics on over 50 top growth stocks, and then review three specific stocks from the list that represent particular compelling businesses going forward.

More Gains For Stocks: Climbing a Wall of Worry

Stocks have posted strong gains over the past week, and are set to rise further (over the long-term) despite a wall of worry. The gains come on strong quarterly earnings results (from Artificial Intelligence stocks, in particular) and a resolution on the debt ceiling. There are so many great investment opportunities right now for patient and disciplined investors (both growth and income opportunities).

Top 20 Dividend Stocks, Ranked: Big Yields, Big Opportunities

In this report, we rank our top 20 dividend stocks. The rankings include a split between opportunities with very big yields (yields of 7.0% and up) and very attractive total returns (i.e. solid dividend payments plus significant price appreciation potential). We also highlight 7 dividend market themes that are critically important in the current environment (including: (1) BDCs > Banks, (2) Midstream Stocks > MLPs, (3) A Bird in Hand > Two in the Bush, (4) Falling Rates > Rising Rates, (5) Bond CEFs > Bonds, (6) Contrarian Income > Herd Income, and (7) Value vs Growth). Without further ado, let’s get into the themes and the rankings (starting with #20 and counting down to our top ideas).

5 Contrarian Dividend Stocks Set to Climb

The market has been climbing a wall of worry this year and the economy is teetering on an ugly recession. The fact that the yield curve is steeply inverted (see chart below) has contributed to recent bank failures (Silicon Valley and First Republic), and more things in the economy are going to break. That said, the stock market tends to recover well before the recession is over. In this report, we share five attractive dividend stocks that are particularly compelling from a contrarian standpoint considering the share prices are down, the dividends remain strong, and we expect both (share prices and dividends) to get even significantly better over time.

100 Tempting Big Yields: These 4 Worth Considering

If you are an income-focused investor, there are many big-yield strategies to choose from. However, not all of them may be right for you. In this report, we share updated data on a wide variety of big-yield opportunities, including over 100 big-yield REITs, CEFs, BDCs and more. Then we highlight four names from the list that are particularly interesting and worth considering. Specifically, we highlight three tempting big-yield opportunities that we are currently avoiding, followed by one very attractive big-yielder that we currently own.

US Bancorp: 5.7% Yield, Shares Down Big

Among S&P 100 stocks (see table below), US Bancorp (USB) has one of the biggest dividend yields, but some of the worst year-to-date performance. Like most banks, USB shares sold off hard when the recent Silicon Valley Bank failure was announced, but unlike most banks—shares of USB have NOT subsequently rebounded. In this quick note, we review USB’s recent earnings announcement and the recent USB short-seller report (from HoldCo Asset Management). We conclude with our opinion on whether it’s time to buy US Bank or if it’s time to sell.

Owl Rock: 40 Big-Yield BDCs, Compared

With BDC earnings season set to kick off this week (starting with Ares Capital on Tuesday pre-market), we’ll also be watching Owl Rock closely (set to announce two weeks later). One key metric to watch will be book value as the economy heads towards recession and write-downs could start to more significantly detract from the benefits of rising interest rates. This quick note shares data on 40 big-yield BDC, and digs into Owl Rock in more detail.

100 Hated Stocks: These 4 Worth Considering

If you like to purchase top businesses when their stocks are out of favor with the market, you may find this report interesting. We share data on 100 hated stocks divided into four very different groups: (1) Top Growth Stocks, Down Big; (2) Dividend Growth Stocks, On Sale; (3) Pandemic-Era IPOs, Now; (4) Big Yield CEFs, Discounted Prices. We then select (and review) one particularly attractive opportunity from each of the four groups. We conclude with a critically important takeaway for investors to keep in mind.