Compass Minerals has had a speculative Dividend Safety Score since 2017, reflecting the firm's poor dividend coverage, elevated leverage, and various operational missteps. Management has kept the dividend frozen since early 2017. During this period, shares of Compass Minerals have lost 5%, including dividends, while the S&P 500 has gained more than 70%. But under [...]

Earlier this year, Leggett & Platt's dividend looked to possibly be in peril due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organic sales in the second quarter plunged 31% as stores closed and plants idled, and the firm was on the brink of breaching a financial covenant limiting its leverage. In May, Leggett worked with its banks to amend its [...]

Last spring, we downgraded V.F. Corp’s Dividend Safety Score from Safe to Borderline Safe. Mandated store closures and anxious shoppers led to a sharp decline in revenues across the industry.  The revival for retailers was uncertain as the severity and length of the pandemic was not clear.   V.F. Corp's cash flow no longer covered its dividend, leading us to wonder [...]

Shares of Walgreens fell nearly 10% on Tuesday following Amazon's introduction of its new online pharmacy service. Amazon Prime customers can now order prescriptions for home delivery within a couple of days. Amazon stocks most brand name and generic medications, works with most insurance plans, and will have pharmacists available 24/7 by phone. Besides trying to [...]

National Health Investors (NHI) has had an Unsafe Dividend Safety Score since May, reflecting the risks posed by its high exposure to senior housing (70% of rental revenue). While NHI does not operate any of its properties, providing some cash flow insulation as long as tenants continue paying rent, many of the REIT's senior housing tenants entered [...]

Simon's third-quarter earnings report released on November 9 showed that mall fundamentals remain weak. While the REIT collected 85% of its net billed rents, up from 72% in the prior quarter, Simon's sales were still down 25% year-over-year due to elevated levels of rent deferrals and abatements given to struggling tenants. Tenant bankruptcies and lease expirations also [...]

In June, Ventas cut its dividend by 43% in response to pandemic-driven headwinds impacting its senior housing business (about 50% of net operating income). Occupancy fell to historic lows as restrictions on community access prevented move-ins, and expenses spiked for labor and personal protective equipment. The end result was a dividend that was no longer expected to [...]

Pfizer announced on Monday its COVID-19 vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90% effective, and no serious safety concerns had been observed. The drugmaker and its German partner BioNTech are the first to release successful results from a major clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to Reuters. More data continues to be collected, but Pfizer expects [...]

Dominion made its dividend cut official this week, reducing its fourth-quarter payout by 33% after closing a deal to sell its natural gas transmission and storage business. As we discussed in early July when this news was announced, we are upgrading Dominion's Dividend Safety Score to Safe with the lower dividend now in place. Without its midstream business, Dominion [...]

AltaGas generates about 60% of its EBITDA from U.S. regulated gas utilities and the remaining 40% from an integrated midstream business in western Canada which connects natural gas liquids and natural gas to various markets. Source: AltaGas Investor Presentation The company in recent years went through a major transformation which culminated in a 56% dividend [...]

Altria's third-quarter earnings report highlighted the tobacco category's resiliency during the pandemic. With consumers spending less on gas and entertainment, plus having more opportunities to smoke while working from home, U.S. cigarette volumes increased last quarter for the first time in years. Similarly, Altria's volume declines continued moderating from a 7% loss in early 2019 to a [...]

Exxon maintained its dividend for the fourth quarter despite reporting another set of weak earnings results this morning. While Exxon's operating cash flow improved from $0 in the second quarter to $4.4 billion last quarter, the firm remained far from covering its capital expenditures ($3.8 billion) and dividend ($3.7 billion). Despite this ongoing cash flow deficit, management's [...]

Omnicom reported earnings on October 27. Organic revenue fell 12% as clients in struggling industries such as auto (10% of sales), retail (7%), travel and entertainment (5%), and energy (1%) reduced their marketing spending. Source: Omnicom Earnings Presentation Omnicom's sales decline was better than the company's 23% slump in the second quarter. But investors were disappointed by [...]

Valero reported earnings on October 22, recording its second straight quarterly loss as the refining industry continues to be upended by the pandemic. Valero's refineries process crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other products. With fewer people flying and driving during the virus outbreak, fuel demand remains around 15% below pre-crisis levels. Meanwhile, Valero's feedstock costs have [...]

Energy Transfer is the latest midstream MLP to slash its distribution, announcing yesterday evening that it will chop its payout in half. Management will get to explain their rationale for the distribution cut when Energy Transfer reports earnings on November 4, but this action was necessary to address the firm's fragile balance sheet. As we discussed in July, Energy [...]