Although most investors hate bearish stock market activity, value investors – like yours truly -relish them. Moreover, bearish market activity becomes especially welcome after extended periods of high valuation like we have been experiencing since calendar year 2014. High valuations make it very difficult for value investors to find attractive common stock investments.

Nothing clears the pallet of a diehard value investor better than a good old-fashioned bear market. In calendar year 2018 – and especially December 2018 – we were given what I would call a bear market. However, not all bear markets are the same.

The primary objective of this article is to help the reader put this recent bad market in perspective and simultaneously provide lessons in valuation and how to think about stock prices. There have been many sage pieces of wisdom that have been provided to investors by investing greats.

In part 2B of my current series on building and diversifying a dividend growth portfolio I presented 20 dividend growth stocks. However, in the FAST Graph analyze out loud video I only covered 11 of the 20 companies, one for each of the major sectors. As a result, I have had requests to provide a FAST Graph analyze out loud video on the remaining 9 companies.

Introduction This current series of articles could be summarized as a review of ways to construct and diversify a common stock portfolio. In part 1 found here I discussed various viewpoints on how many stocks a portfolio should hold. In Part 2A found here I presented and discussed Peter Lynch’s 6 general categories of stocks.

On October 23, 2015 I wrote an article titled “Retirees: I Did Not Buy IBM to Sell; It’s about the Dividend Income Stupid.” At the time I published the article, I was long International Business Machine (IBM) and remain long today. With the article I attempted to illustrate why I was including IBM in retirement portfolios.

In part 1 of this series titled “How Many Stocks Should I Own?” found here, I focused primarily on how many stocks an investor might need to hold in a stock portfolio for adequate diversification. In this part 2, my focus will shift to category selections.

One of the most commonly asked questions I receive from investors is: how many stocks should I put in my portfolio? This is a widely debated subject that is most commonly referred to as concentrated versus widely diversified portfolio construction.

All investing is not done with the same objectives or goals in mind. This applies to investing in common stocks just as it does to investing in real estate, commodities, fixed income vehicles, fine art or collectibles – and any other investment that comes to mind. There are times when investors are looking for maximum total return, which is often automatically associated with buying a stock.

We remain in one of the longest bull markets in history. Generally, with bull markets stocks tend to become highly valued. Additionally, we also continue to find ourselves in a low interest rate environment based on historical standards.

One of my favorite Warren Buffett quotes is “investing is most intelligent when it is most businesslike.” The reason this quote resonates so much with me is because I believe it represents the essence of value investing.

I believe that two of the most important investing principles that prudent investors should embrace are valuation and time in the market. Consequently, the title of this article is mildly misleading, because both concepts are extremely important towards achieving long-term investing success. In other words, I believe attempting to argue the importance of one over the other is a waste of time and energy.

In my most recent article a reader made a comment where a question was asked that I believe deserved a good answer. The following excerpt of the comment really reached out to me because this person claims to have been asking this question for 5 years without receiving a good answer.

It is quite easy to get caught up, and quite hard to avoid getting caught up in a great bull market like the one we are currently in. However, it’s important to remind ourselves that: “everybody is a genius in a bull market.”

China has rapidly become the second largest economy in the world – second only to the United States, and by some calculations the largest. As a result, China also has some of the fastest-growing publicly traded companies on the planet.

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM), Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), Baidu (NasdaqGS:BIDU), JD.com (NasdaqGS:JD), Weibo Corp (NasdaqGS:WB), 58.com (NYSE:WUBA), Yirendai (NYSE:YRD).

Introduction The greater fool theory is an investing metaphor that suggests that if you pay more for a stock than it is worth (intrinsic value indicates) that you are only doing this on the basis that a fool greater than you will come along and willingly pay you more.

Value investing is a proven long-term investing strategy that produces above-average results at below-average risk – if engaged in properly. However, there are four primary advantages to investing in undervalued dividend growth stocks that facilitate strong long-term performance while simultaneously lowering risk.

Owens & Minor Inc. reported earnings yesterday and simultaneously revised their 2018 earnings outlook lower. As fate would have it, I produced an article and a video where I highlighted 12 undervalued dividend growth research candidates which included Owens & Minor.

Introduction Relative to historical norms the overall stock market as measured by the S&P 500 is overvalued with the current blended P/E ratio of 19.2. Historically, the S&P 500 would be considered fairly-valued when its P/E ratio was between 15 to 16.

It almost every article I have ever published, I talk about valuation in one manner or another. So much so, that readers have dubbed me Mr. Valuation. The primary reason I am so obsessed about valuation is because I believe it is one of the most important and yet mostly ignored and overlooked concepts in the investing world.

Microsoft (MSFT) reported strong 4^th quarter and fiscal year 2018 earnings. The company’s earnings per share beat the analyst estimates by $.05 and their revenue of $30.09 billion beat analyst estimates by $860 million. All in all, it was a great quarter and investors initially responded positively in after-hours trading.

At the request of one of our subscribers to our YouTube channel I offer the following analyze out loud video on the growth stock Electronic Arts, Inc (EA). In the long run, earnings determine market price and the rate of change of earnings growth will determine a company’s valuation past, present and future.

Coke is one of the most, if not the most, recognized brands in the world. As a stock, The Coca-Cola Company (KO) is a blue-chip Dividend Aristocrat that has increased its dividend for 56 consecutive years. The company is A+ rated by S&P Capital IQ, offers a current dividend yield of 3.6% and a market cap of more than $184 billion. Even though nothing that I’ve said so far is likely to be news to most people, there is a reason for me mentioning these things.

PepsiCo (PEP) is a Dividend Aristocrat, Champion and blue-chip stalwart that has increased its dividend for 46 consecutive years. Therefore, it should be no surprise that just as we saw with Procter & Gamble in part 5, this blue-chip stalwart has traditionally commanded a higher valuation (earnings multiple) than the average stock.

To put Procter & Gamble’s current valuation into perspective, this blue-chip can be purchased today with a 3.7% current dividend yield which is hovering around the highest it has been over the past two decades. Furthermore, Procter & Gamble appears attractively valued over virtually every rational valuation metric that prudent value investors might consider.

This is the fourth of what will be a long-running series highlighting dividend growth stocks that have technically entered bear market territory. Many investors define a bear market as when prices fall at least 20%. After coming out of the true bear market inspired by the Great Recession, stocks have generally been enjoying a very strong and long-lasting bull market.

Regular readers of my work will attest to the fact that I am an avid proponent of valuation. So much so, that I cannot recall writing an article where I didn’t discuss the importance of only investing in a stock when it was fairly-valued, or better yet – undervalued.

In part 1 found here of this multi-part series I discussed how several blue-chip dividend growth stocks have already entered a bear market. Therefore, I thought it would be helpful to provide FAST Graphs analyze out loud videos on several dividend growth stocks that have corrected from high valuation levels to more reasonable levels.

For quite some time I have been complaining that most best-of-breed dividend growth stocks were overvalued. Frankly, for the most part I continue to hold that opinion. On the other hand, I am also starting to see what I’ll call a stealth bear market for many dividend growth stocks.

Overview AAA rated Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has produced one of the most impeccable and consistent long-term records of fundamental results and growth. No matter whether you are measuring earnings, cash flows or dividends, you will be hard-pressed to find any company in any industry with a more consistent and complete record of operating excellence...

This is the fifth of a five-part series presenting 50 dividend growth stocks that I have screened for current fair value. With this article, I will be covering 10 additional dividend growth research candidates with moderate to higher yields in addition to the initial 40 that I presented...

This is the fourth of a five-part series presenting 50 dividend growth stocks that I have screened for current fair value. With this article, I will be covering 10 additional dividend growth research candidates with moderate to higher yields...

This is the third of a five-part series presenting 50 dividend growth stocks that I have screened for current fair value. With this article I will be covering 10 additional dividend growth research candidates with moderate to higher yields in addition to the initial 20 that I presented...

This is the second of a five-part series presenting 50 dividend growth stocks that I have screened for current fair value. With this article I will be covering 10 additional dividend growth research candidates.

The Great Recession of 2008 – which ended in the spring of 2009 – brought on one of the greatest and longest bull markets in modern history. For true value-oriented dividend growth investors, the recession created a virtual cornucopia of excellent dividend growth stock investment opportunities that existed until the end of August 2013.

Over the last couple of years lithium producers and miners have enjoyed a parabolic jump in their stock prices and market caps. As I will later illustrate, much of the gains for lithium related companies have come as a result of the “hype” surrounding electric automobile development.

Introduction Walmart’s stock price took a bath early last week, and there are a lot of opinions regarding where the stock price now sits. The catalyst was their 4th quarter and fiscal year-end 2018 annual report (note: Walmart has a January 31 fiscal year end).

There is the old adage: “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Well, I have been a “card-carrying” and fully committed value investor for more than 45 years now. I think that qualifies me as an “old” value investing dog.

In his best-selling book “One up on Wall Street” Peter Lynch included this subtitle on his cover: “How to use what you already know to make money in the stock market.” And later in the book he talks about “the power of common knowledge.” Stating it over simplistically, Peter Lynch often talked about getting his best ideas from observing his family’s shopping habits.

Recently, I have had several requests to write an article about Owens & Minor Inc (OMI). I had not looked at this company in a while, and boy oh, boy, was I surprised at what I found.

For many years now, investing in healthcare related stocks has presented me with a conundrum of sorts. Demographic forces, primarily the graying of America (and the world for that matter), suggests powerful future growth potential and demand for healthcare related products and services. On the other hand, healthcare and its costs have long been a political hotbed.

Every year I take the holidays off in order to reflect on what I have accomplished for the year, but more importantly, to think deeply about and contemplate what I might do better in the upcoming New Year. This process has provided me with numerous inspirations over the years, and this particular year was no exception.

As a value investor, I am totally cognizant of the reality that attractively valued bargains are hard to find in a strong bull market. Moreover, as an experienced value investor I clearly understand that low valuations in a raging bull market are usually associated with issues and challenges sometimes real, sometimes imaginary. The key to success is to identify when current problems are temporary, thereby creating long-term opportunity.

Aflac (AFL) is a Dividend Aristocrat that has increased its dividend for 35 consecutive years. However, it is only one of seven Dividend Aristocrats that I consider attractively valued in light of the current bull market. Therefore, this will be the first in a series of seven articles where I will cover these seven attractively valued Dividend Aristocrats.

This article is an update to my original article on Celgene (CELG) published on June 22, 2017. Celgene reported their financial results yesterday October 26, 2017, and although the quarter was good, lowered guidance crushed the stock price. In my opinion, some of the sag in price was justified, but for the most part an overreaction.

This is the final installment of the five-part series where I examined the past operating histories and valuations of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks. With this 5 Part series I attempted to cover the 30 Dow stocks in order of highest valuations to lowest.

Thus far, with the first 3 parts of this five-part series, we’ve examined 60% (18 of 30) of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. What we found so far were that the majority of these constituents are currently overvalued or at least fully valued. Finally, with this Part 4, we will examine 6 additional Dow constituents that appear fairly valued with blended P/E ratios of 14-16.

In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series I covered 12 of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks that I considered the most expensive of the index. With this part 3 I will be looking at 6 additional Dow stocks that for the most part I would consider fully valued to only moderately overvalued.