On July 20, Chevron agreed to acquire independent oil and gas producer Noble Energy for $5 billion in an all-stock deal. Chevron will also assume Noble's debt of about $8 billion. We don't expect this deal to materially affect Chevron's dividend profile and are maintaining the firm's Safe Dividend Safety Score. The downturn in energy markets seemed likely to [...]
On Monday, STORE reported that as of July 17 it had received 85% of rent due this month. That's up from 71% in April, 68% in May, and 78% in June. The improved collection rate was driven by higher rent collected from tenants in the restaurant (14% of rent), education (7%), and furniture (6%) sectors. About 40% [...]
Walgreens Boots Alliance reported earnings on July 9, providing a closer look at the pandemic's impact on its business. From March through May, Walgreens' sales actually increased slightly but the firm's adjusted EPS fell 43%. In its core Retail Pharmacy USA segment (about 75% of profits last year), same-store sales grew 3% as consumers continued snapping up [...]
On May 8, we published a note discussing the fragile state of Energy Transfer's Borderline Safe Dividend Safety Score. While the firm's distribution is expected to remain covered by cash flow, we were concerned about lower pipeline volumes and counter-party credit risk resulting from weak oil and gas prices.These issues could materially impact Energy Transfer's ability to deleverage, threatening [...]
On Sunday, Duke Energy and its building partner Dominion Energy announced plans to scrap construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) following years of delays, cost overruns, and regulatory headaches. Duke Energy owned 47% of this $8 billion natural gas pipeline project and expects to record a multibillion-dollar charge this year as a result of the cancellation. [...]
On Sunday, Dominion announced plans to sell its natural gas transmission and storage business to Berkshire Hathaway in a $9.7 billion deal. This division generated nearly 25% of Dominion's operating earnings. Driven primarily by the loss of ongoing cash flow once the sale closes later this year, Dominion expects to "rebase" (i.e. cut) its dividend by about [...]
Founded in 1901 after striking oil in Persia, London-based British Petroleum (BP) is one of the largest integrated oil and gas companies in the world today with operations in over 70 countries. Impressively, BP's daily output of 3.7 million barrels of oil exceeds the yield of all but a handful of nations. Like other oil giants, BP [...]
Another quarter, another disappointment. That's been 3M's (MMM) story for much of the past two years, and the trend continued earlier this week. 3M reported fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday, sending its shares falling by about 6%. The company's stock price is nearly unchanged since 2015, and 3M's dividend yield sits near its highest level since the financial [...]
Chevron (CVX) was born from the discovery in 1879 of an oilfield near Los Angeles that yielded 25 barrels of oil per day. Today, Chevron is one of the largest oil companies in the world and produces nearly 3 million oil-equivalent barrels each day. The firm's upstream operations (77% of 2018 earnings) explores for, produces, and transports [...]
America's first enclosed mall was built in 1956, and the nation hasn't looked back. About 1,500 malls were built in the U.S. from 1956 through 2005, providing hubs for social gathering and shopping throughout America's booming suburbs. By 1975, malls accounted for 50% of U.S. retail dollars spent, representing an impressive 13% of GDP. So much property was developed [...]
On January 21, Boeing (BA) announced it does not expect regulators to approve the return of the grounded 737 MAX aircraft until mid-2020, erasing hopes of a first-quarter recertification. Boeing, under new CEO Dave Calhoun, now appears to be taking a more conservative approach to both its relationship with global regulators and its communications with Wall Street. [...]
Founded in 1833, Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B) is one of the world's largest integrated oil companies with operations in over 70 countries. In addition to exploring for and extracting crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids, Royal Dutch Shell owns a number of refineries, distribution terminals, and LNG tankers.Shell organizes its business into three [...]
Public Storage (PSA) was founded in 1972 by two California business men who invested $50,000 in a single storage unit initially to generate temporary income. PSA, America’s largest self-storage REIT, now owns close to 2,500 storage rental properties in 38 states and seven European countries. Approximately 81% of the REIT's properties are in the U.S. and [...]
Formed in 1870 as part of business magnate John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil empire, Exxon Mobil (XOM) is one of the world’s oldest oil companies. The firm has evolved from a regional refiner and distributor of kerosene used in lamps to the largest publicly traded petroleum and petrochemical enterprise in the world. The firm's products [...]
CVS Health (CVS) was founded in 1963 with three Consumer Value Stores located in Lowell, Massachusetts. It has grown into the second largest drugstore company in the US with close to 10,000 retail locations. CVS is also one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers and health insurance providers, positioning itself as a uniquely diversified and [...]