This week’s note includes updates on our companies, as earnings season is about a week away. Leading off the earnings reports is Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) on Thursday, October 12, followed by Wells Fargo & Co (WFC) the next day. Nokia (NOK) reports on Wednesday, October 18, with the deluge starting the following week with as many as 12 companies reporting.
Friday, October 6, 2023 Subscribers-Only Podcast:
Covering recent news and analysis for our portfolio companies and other topics relevant to value/contrarian investors.
Today’s podcast is about 10 minutes and covers:
- Comments on recommended companies
- Wells Fargo & Co (WFC) – Unveils innovative lending program. Sells $2 billion of private equity investments.
- Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) – Raises prices on streaming service.
- Viatris (VTRS) – Reaches agreements on remaining divestitures.
- Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) – More governance improvements.
- Macy’s (M) – Lower shipping costs, expanding roll-out of small-format stores.
- Newell Brands (NWL) – Reaches agreement with SEC.
- Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) – Said to be considering for CEO the former head of Cigna’s Evernorth business.
- Elsewhere in the market
- Belief vs. Reality
- Final note
- Chicago Cubs – extrapolating the past sometimes works.
| Market Cap | Recommendation | Symbol | Rec. Issue | Price at Rec. | Current Price * | Current Yield | Rating and Price Target |
| Small cap | Gannett Company | GCI | Aug 2017 | 9.22 | 2.51 | - | Buy (9) |
| Small cap | Duluth Holdings | DLTH | Feb 2020 | 8.68 | 5.60 | - | Buy (20) |
| Small cap | Dril-Quip | DRQ | May 2021 | 28.28 | 25.30 | - | Buy (44) |
| Small cap | L.B. Foster | FSTR | Jul 2023 | 13.60 | 18.86 | - | Buy (44) |
| Small cap | Kopin Corp | KOPN | Aug 2023 | 2.03 | 1.17 | - | Suspended |
| Small cap | Ammo, Inc. | POWW | Oct 2023 | 1.99 | 1.97 | - | Buy (3.50) |
| Mid cap | Mattel | MAT | May 2015 | 28.43 | 20.73 | - | Buy (38) |
| Mid cap | Adient plc | ADNT | Oct 2018 | 39.77 | 35.06 | - | Buy (55) |
| Mid cap | Xerox Holdings | XRX | Dec 2020 | 21.91 | 15.32 | 6.5% | Buy (33) |
| Mid cap | Viatris | VTRS | Feb 2021 | 17.43 | 9.69 | 5.0% | Buy (26) |
| Mid cap | TreeHouse Foods | THS | Oct 2021 | 39.43 | 41.80 | - | Buy (60) |
| Mid cap | Kaman Corporation | KAMN | Nov 2021 | 37.41 | 19.21 | 4.2% | Buy (57) |
| Mid cap | The Western Union Co. | WU | Dec 2021 | 16.40 | 13.11 | 7.2% | Buy (25) |
| Mid cap | Brookfield Re | BNRE | Jan 2022 | 61.32 | 30.18 | 1.9% | Buy (93) |
| Mid cap | Polaris | PII | Feb 2022 | 105.78 | 97.16 | - | Buy (160) |
| Mid cap | Goodyear Tire & Rubber | GT | Mar 2022 | 16.01 | 11.56 | - | Buy (24.50) |
| Mid cap | Janus Henderson Group | JHG | Jun 2022 | 27.17 | 24.23 | 6.4% | Buy (67) |
| Mid cap | Six Flags Entertainment | SIX | Dec 2022 | 22.60 | 21.37 | - | Buy (35) |
| Mid cap | Kohl’s Corporation | KSS | Mar 2023 | 32.43 | 18.66 | 10.7% | Buy (50) |
| Mid cap | Frontier Group Holdings | ULCC | Apr 2023 | 9.49 | 4.71 | - | Buy (15) |
| Mid cap | Advance Auto Parts | AAP | Sep 2023 | 64.08 | 52.96 | 7.6% | Buy (98) |
| Large cap | General Electric | GE | Jul 2007 | 304.96 | 108.72 | 0.3% | Buy (160) |
| Large cap | Nokia Corporation | NOK | Mar 2015 | 8.02 | 3.54 | 2.6% | Buy (12) |
| Large cap | Macy’s | M | Jul 2016 | 33.61 | 11.11 | 6.0% | Buy (25) |
| Large cap | Newell Brands | NWL | Jun 2018 | 24.78 | 7.59 | 3.7% | Buy (39) |
| Large cap | Vodafone Group plc | VOD | Dec 2018 | 21.24 | 9.43 | 10.8% | Buy (32) |
| Large cap | Berkshire Hathaway | BRK.B | Apr 2020 | 183.18 | 345.06 | - | HOLD |
| Large cap | Wells Fargo & Company | WFC | Jun 2020 | 27.22 | 39.30 | 3.6% | Buy (64) |
| Large cap | Western Digital Corporation | WDC | Oct 2020 | 38.47 | 46.11 | - | Buy (78) |
| Large cap | Elanco Animal Health | ELAN | Apr 2021 | 27.85 | 9.76 | - | Buy (44) |
| Large cap | Walgreens Boots Alliance | WBA | Aug 2021 | 46.53 | 22.18 | 8.6% | Buy (70) |
| Large cap | Volkswagen AG | VWAGY | Aug 2022 | 19.76 | 12.62 | 7.3% | Buy (70) |
| Large cap | Warner Bros Discovery | WBD | Sep 2022 | 13.13 | 10.09 | - | Buy (20) |
| Large cap | Capital One Financial | COF | Nov 2022 | 96.25 | 92.11 | 2.6% | Buy (150) |
| Large cap | Bayer AG | BAYRY | Feb 2023 | 15.41 | 11.58 | 4.7% | Buy (24) |
| Large cap | Tyson Foods | TSN | Jun 2023 | 52.01 | 48.17 | 4.0% | Buy (78) |
Disclosure: The chief analyst of the Cabot Turnaround Letter personally holds shares of every Rated recommendation. The chief analyst may purchase securities discussed in the “Purchase Recommendation” section or sell securities discussed in the “Sell Recommendation” section but not before the fourth day after the recommendation has been emailed to subscribers. However, the chief analyst may purchase or sell securities mentioned in other parts of the Cabot Turnaround Letter at any time. Please feel free to share your ideas and suggestions for the podcast and the letter with an email to either me at bruce@cabotwealth.com or to our friendly customer support team at support@cabotwealth.com. Due to the time and space limits we may not be able to cover every topic, but we will work to cover as much as possible or respond by email.
