Stocks advanced each trading day of the week just ended, as the “Trump Rally” continues. The aftershocks from the just concluded election continue, as news continues to be generated by the evolving Trump administration picks, Democratic second-guessing, refusenik protests, plus a die-hard election result challenge supposedly championed by third party candidate Jill Stein. The rally may continue and expand into a substantial “Santa Claus Rally”, if the euphoria continues on through the holidays.

Upcoming stocks going ex-dividend this week are as follows, with ex-dividend date, yield, and frequency (if other than quarterly) indicated:

AGNC Investment (AGNC), 11/28/2016, 11.42%. AGNC pays monthly.

STAG Industrial (STAG), 11/28/2016, 5.97%. STAG pays monthly.

Enerplus (ERF), 11/28/2016, 1.10%. ERF pays $0.01 CAN monthly, which works out to $0.007 US monthly.

Prospect Capital (PSEC), 11/28/2016, 12.36%. PSEC pays monthly.

Barrick Gold (ABX), 11/28/2016. 0.55%.

Safety Insurance Group (SAFT), 11/29/2016, 3.95%.

Kellogg (K), 11/29/2016, 2.83%.

Coca Cola (KO), 11/29/2016, 3.40%.

McDonalds (MCD), 11/29/2016, 3.13%.

Realty Income (O), 11/29/2016, 4.32%. O pays monthly.

Waste Management (WM), 11/30/2016, 2.36%.

PepsiCo (PEP), 11/30/2016, 2.96%.

Triangle Capital (TCAP), 12/05/2016, 9.48%.

Earnings reported last week were PennantPark Investment (PNNT) and Seadrill (SDRL). Accompanying the earnings reports were negative developments in both cases; PNNT announced a dividend cut, from $0.28 to $0.18 per quarter, beginning with March 2017, and SDRL intimated that bankruptcy might be necessary to allow the firm to survive and reorder itself for the new normal of lower oil prices. For more earnings and other details on both, see the firm’s press releases, articles on the mainstream financial media, brokerage compilations, or my preferred resource, Seeking Alpha. As for the upcoming week, none of my stocks are scheduled to report.

Moving on to upgrades/downgrades from last week, there were a few:

HCP Inc. (HCP) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Mizuho.

Ventas (VTR) was downgraded from Buy to Neutral at Mizuho.

3M Co (MMM) was downgraded from Neutral to Sell at Goldman.

Greif (GEF) was downgraded from OutPerform to Market Perform at Wells Fargo, and from Neutral to UnderPerform at DA Davidson. GEF has had a terrific run, rising from the mid-20s to the mid-50s since March 2016.

Vodafone (VOD) was downgraded from OutPerform to Neutral at Exane BNP Paribas.

Duke Energy (DUK) was downgraded from Neutral to UnderPerform at BofA/Merrill.

Energy Transfer Partners L P (ETP) was downgraded from Buy to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus. ETP announced last week it would merge with Sunoco Logistics (SXL), and the merged entity would be managed by Energy Equity Partners L P (ETE) as GP.

Energy Equity Partners L P (ETE) was downgraded from Neutral to UnderPerform at Stifel Nicolaus.

Medical Properties Trust (MPW) was initiated at Equal Weight at Barclays.

Potlatch (PCH) was downgraded from Neutral to UnderPerform at BofA/Merrill.

Newmont Mining (NEM) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at BofA/Merrill.

Pan American Silver (PAAS) was upgraded from UnderPerform to Buy at BofA/Merrill.

PennantPark Investment (PNNT) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Ladenburg Thalmann.

Grief (GEF) was downgraded from Buy to Neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B) was initiated at Buy at UBS.

PennantPark Investment (PNNT) was downgraded from OutPerform to Market Perform at FBR & Co.

Energy Transfer Partners L P (ETP) was downgraded to Market Perform at BMO Capital.

Kimco Realty (KIM) was upgraded from Sector Perform to OutPerform at RBC Capital Markets.

We are just about down to the last month of the year, and new highs are being made daily on all the major averages. What’s not to like? Right now, not much, but one cannot help feeling that this honeymoon won’t last much longer. After eight years of Democratic sabotage of America, which followed what many believe was an equally disastrous eight years of Republican misrule, the deficit has exploded to fearsome levels, and our economic malaise shows little sign of improvement. While there is hope that help is on the way to right the ship, you have to wonder if it may be too late. One thing that we may learn in 2017 is that Dick “deficits don’t matter” Cheney was wrong on that issue, at least when they reach a certain size. Stay tuned, and be ready for anything. Don’t catch yourself whistling that old FDR campaign tune, “Happy Days Are Here Again”, it’s way too early to be celebrating, we are a long way from being in a sustainable situation.

JT

Stocks mostly just paced back and forth last week, eking out a slight gain by the end of the week. But the major three day advance from the previous week has held, at least so far. The ongoing political war has now shifted to Trump’s nominations, which, surprise, surprise, appear to be individuals who actually support the changes he campaigned on. Although we have a shortened week ahead, with the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, there are still dividends, earnings, and upgrades/downgrades to report on, as regards the universe of stocks I track. Note that I still report on discontinued stocks, i.e. my Tier4 group, for as long as they survive, even though I have given up on them, and regard them as investment mistakes I have made.

Upcoming stocks going ex-dividend this week are as follows, with ex-dividend date, yield, and frequency (if other than quarterly) indicated:

NextEra Energy (NEE), 11/22/2016, 3.03%.

Vodafone (VOD), 11/22/2016, 5.80%. VOD pays twice a year.

Pan American Silver (PAAS), 11/23/2016, 0.31%.

CenturyLink (CTL), 11/23/2016, 8.90%.

AGNC Investment (AGNC), 11/28/2016, 11.27%. AGNC pays monthly.

STAG Industrial (STAG), 11/28/2016, 11.27%. STAG pays monthly. No relationship to STAG Beer, which I believe is still marketed, even though I haven’t seen any in a long time.

Enerplus (ERF), 11/28/2016, 1.23%. ERF pays $0.01 CAN monthly, which works out to $0.007 US monthly. The original Canadian Trust survives, as a regular corporation, but the high yield is but a distant memory, kind of like STAG Brew.

Prospect Capital (PSEC), 11/28/2016, 12.66%. PSEC pays monthly.

Barrick Gold (ABX), 11/28/2016. 0.52%.

All four stocks listed last week as scheduled to report earnings did so as scheduled. In addition, another stock, JM Smucker (SJM), reported on 11/17/2016. My resource (E*Trade) had indicated SJM would not be reporting until 11/21/2016, but I see this week that SJM reported earlier, as indicated. See last week’s posting for the names of the other four stocks, and reporting dates. For earnings details on all five names, see the firm’s press releases, articles on the mainstream financial media, brokerage compilations, or my preferred resource, Seeking Alpha.

Only two of the stocks I track will be reporting this week, PennantPark Investment (PNNT) on 11/21/2016, and Seadrill (SDRL) on 11/22/2016.

Moving on to upgrades/downgrades from last week, there were a few:

ConAgra (CAG) was initiated at Neutral at UBS.

Nucor (NUE) was downgraded from Buy to Hold at Berenberg.

Phillip Morris (PM) was upgraded from OutPerform to Buy at CLSA.

Chevron (CVX) was upgraded from OutPerform to Buy at CLSA.

STAG Industrial (STAG) was upgraded from Hold to Buy at Jeffries.

ConocoPhillips (COP) was downgraded from OutPerform to UnderPerform at CLSA.

Colgate Palmolive (CL) was initiated at Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Procter & Gamble (PG) was initiated at Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Kimberly Clark (KMB) was initiated at Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

Enterprise Products Partners L P (EPD) was initiated at Buy at Ladenburg Thalmann.

Noble Corp PLC (NE) was downgraded from Neutral to UnderPerform at BofA/Merrill.

Pan American Silver (PAAS) was upgraded from Market Perform to OutPerform at BMO Capital.

Spectra Energy (SE) was terminated from coverage at Wells Fargo, ending at Market Perform. SE will be going away soon, having been acquired by a Canadian firm, Enbridge (ENB).

Sysco (SYY) was downgraded from OutPerform to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Valero (VLO) was upgraded from Hold to Buy at Tudor Pickering.

Freeport McMoran (FCX) was downgraded from Buy to Hold at Deutsche Bank.

MicroSoft (MSFT) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Goldman.

Kayne Anderson Energy Development Co (KED), which is actually a Closed-End Fund (CEF), was upgraded from Hold to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.

Cisco (CSCO) was resumed at Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) was reiterated at Market Perform at Telsey Advisory Group.

Exelon (EXC) was upgraded from Equal Weight to OverWeight at Morgan Stanley.

I suspect most people can do with a slow week about now, which hopefully we will have, with the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. As for “Black Friday” shopping, I wouldn’t go even if they were giving stuff away, which they most assuredly are not. It’s time for more important things, like college football!

JT

Volatility was extreme last week, with the Dow futures down 1000 points late Tuesday night as the electoral map started to turn red in places where it was not expected to. Then a surprising turnaround occurred during the day Wednesday, with the market gaining on that date and the next two days as well. It always amazes me how stocks can over-react to perceived changes that may or may not materialize, when even if they do, it may take years to have any effect on a given firm.

Undaunted by the volatility, here is this week’s list of the firms I follow going ex-dividend soon, with the ex-dividend date and annualized yield shown. Assume the payout is quarterly unless otherwise indicated.

Gladstone Investment (GAIN), 11/15/2016, 9.61%. GAIN pays monthly.

MicroSoft (MSFT), 11/15/2016, 2.66%.

Chevron (CVX), 11/16/2016, 4.01%.

3M Co (MMM), 11/16/2016, 2.55%.

Horizon Technology Finance (HRZN), 11/16/2016, 10.85%. HRZN pays monthly.

Duke Energy (DUK), 11/16/2016, 4.55%.

Southern Company (SO), 11/17/2016, 4.68%.

Main Street Capital (MAIN), 11/17/2016, 6.17%.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), 11/18/2016, 2.68%.

Valero Energy (VLO), 11/18/2016, 3.81%.

Last week, I listed six stocks I follow that would be reporting earnings in the week just ended, and all did so as scheduled. I missed one company, Amerigas Partners L P (APU), which reported on 11/9/2016. See last week’s posting for the names of the other six, and reporting dates. For earnings details, see the firm’s press releases, articles on the mainstream financial media, brokerage compilations, or my preferred resource, Seeking Alpha.

Earnings season is mostly over, with only a few stragglers bringing up the rear. This week, another five firms I track are scheduled to report:

Enerplus (ERF) and Pan American Silver (PAAS) on 11/14/2016.

Diebold (DBD) on 11/15/2016.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) on 11/16/2016.

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) on 11/17/2016.

The activity level of upgrades and downgrades slowed down a bit last week, I suppose because of the election. Ratings changes I have seen on stocks I track are listed below:

ConocoPhillips (COP) was upgraded from Hold to Buy at Edward Jones.

Waste Management (WM) was upgraded from Equal Weight to OverWeight at Barclays.

Sanofi (SNY) was initiated at Neutral at Goldman.

CenturyLink (CTL) was upgraded from Perform to OutPerform at Oppenheimer.

Energy Transfer Partners L P (ETP) and Energy Equity Partners L P (ETE) were both upgraded from Market Perform to OutPerform at Bernstein.

AT&T (T) was downgraded from OutPerform to Perform at Oppenheimer.

Windstream Holdings (WIN) was upgraded from Market Perform to OutPerform at Cowen & Co.

Sysco (SYY) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at BofA/Merrill.

NuStar (NS) was upgraded from Neutral to OverWeight at Piper Jaffray.

Nucor (NUE) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at BofA/Merrill.

ConAgra (CAG) was resumed at OverWeight at JP Morgan.

Horizon Technology Finance (HRZN) was downgraded to Sell at Compass Point.

MicroSoft (MSFT) was upgraded from UnderWeight to Neutral at Atlantic Equities.

Well, the election is over, finally. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed watching the mainstream media’s consternation as the results began to take shape. Even better were the clips of the dejected party-goers at Hillary’s campaign headquarters. As for the market impact, it has also been a surprise, as the financial press had predicted a market decline, possibly even a crash, if Trump won. While it looked like that might happen initially, the market reversed course during the day Wednesday, and continued on up the next two days. Still, there will definitely be more volatility in the coming days. Tom DeMark, noted market technician, has predicted that the “Trump rally” will only last a few more days, after which an 11% decline will occur. This is per an article on MarketWatch that showed up last week. Regardless of whether that pans out as predicted, it is clear that markets will be more volatile than before, for possibly several months. I plan to buy quality stocks that I’ve wanted to own for a long time if buy opportunities materialize, and if I experience unexpected, windfall-type gains, I will take them, and plan to buy back later upon a decline. In other words, instead of whining about how volatile the market has become, I will take advantage of it.

JT

Stocks continued the slide which began the previous week, declining every day of the week just ended. The pundits have blamed it on the election and a sense of unease at the level of discourse, rather than any discernable economic or international development. It cannot be blamed on earnings, which came in, as usual, better than expected, illustrating the benefit of low expectations. Maybe that is the problem, the electorate has unrealistically high expectations of the candidates our system can produce.

At least the one thing we can (usually) count on with the stocks I favor will continue, which is dividends. This week’s list of the firms I follow going ex-dividend soon is listed below, with the ex-dividend date and annualized yield shown.

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners (BWP), 11/8/2016, 2.48%.

Amerigas Partners L P (APU), 11/8/2016, 8.16%.

HCP Inc (HCP), 11/8/2016, 5.16%. HCP cut the dividend from $0.575 to $0.370. Even with this cut, the yield still is a relatively high 5.16%.

Entergy (ETR), 11/8/2016, 4.87%.

JM Smucker (SJM), 11/8/2016, 2.30%.

Pfizer (PFE), 11/8/2016, 4.01%.

Spectra Energy (SE), 11/8/2016, 4.07%.

American Electric Power (AEP), 11/8/2016, 3.75%.

Emerson Electric (EMR), 11/8/2016, 3.85%.

ExxonMobil (XOM), 11/8/2016, 3.59%.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B), 11/8/2016, 7.02%.

Hercules Capital (HTGC), 11/9/2016, 9.55%.

Spectra Energy Partners L P (SEP), 11/9/2016, 6.52%.

United Parcel Service (UPS), 11/9/2016, 2.90%.

Buckeye Partners L P (BPL), 11/10/2016, 7.66%.

Fifth Street Finance (FSC), 11/10/2016, 14.04%. FSC pays monthly.

Exelon (EXC), 11/10/2016, 3.88%.

Of fifty-two stocks I listed last week as scheduled to report during the week just ended, forty-six did so as scheduled. See last week’s posting for the names. For earnings details, see the firm’s press releases, articles on the mainstream financial media, brokerage compilations, or my preferred resource, Seeking Alpha. As for the six which did not report as scheduled, four are delayed to this week and next, while two reported last week, just not on the day I indicated. Specifically:

CenturyLink (CTL) reported on 10/31/2016, not on 11/2/2016 as indicated.

Safety Insurance Group (SAFT) reported on 11/1/2016, not on 11/3/2016 as indicated.

Energy Transfer Partners L P (ETP) and Energy Transfer Equity L P (ETE) both moved from 11/2/2016 to 11/9/2016.

Prospect Capital (PSEC) moved from 11/3/2016 to 11/8/2016.

Pan American Silver (PAAS) moved from 11/1/2016 to 11/14/2016.

With these changes, the current week earnings line-up for stocks I track is as follows:

11/7/2016

Sysco (SYY) and Winstream Holdings (WIN).

11/8/2016

Prospect Capital (PSEC) and Apollo Investment (AINV).

11/9/2016

Energy Transfer Partners L P (ETP) and Energy Transfer Equity L P (ETE).

The discrepancies between earnings season expectations and results provides fodder for analysts’ upgrades and downgrades, and thus we have a number of changes in ratings on stocks I follow to report:

Memorial Production Partners L P (MEMP) was downgraded from Hold to Sell at Stifel Nicolaus, and from OutPerform to Market Perform at FBR &Co.

Chevron (CVX) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at Goldman.

Waste Management (WM) was upgraded from Neutral to Buy at BofA/Merrill.

ExxonMobil (XOM) was downgraded from Buy to Neutral at Goldman.

Chevron (CVX) was upgraded from Equal Weight to OverWeight at Morgan Stanley.

Waste Management was initiated at Sell at Goldman.

Memorial Production Partners L P (MEMP) was terminated from coverage at Goldman, left at Sell.

Frontier Communications (FTR) was downgraded from Buy to Hold at Deutsche Bank, and from OutPerform to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

HCP Inc (HCP) was upgraded from Sell to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Norfolk Southern (NSC) was upgraded from Hold to Buy at Argus Research.

Nucor (NUE) was upgraded from Hold to Buy at Berenberg.

Pfizer (PFE) was downgraded from Buy to Hold at Argus Research.

Eni SpA (E) was downgraded from Neutral to UnderWeight at JP Morgan.

Total S A (TOT) was downgraded from OverWeight to Neutral at JP Morgan.

Norfolk Southern (NSC) was initiated at Buy at Deutsche Bank.

United Parcel Service (UPS) was initiated at Hold at Deutsche Bank.

Horizon Technology (HRZN) was downgraded from Buy to Neutral at National Securities. HRZN dropped precipitously from $13 to $10 last week as the monthly dividend was reduced from $0.115 to $0.100, beginning in January. After the price drop, the yield is still a sky-high 11.97%.

Newmont Mining (NEM) was upgraded from Neutral to OverWeight at JP Morgan.

NuStar Energy L P (NS) was downgraded to UnderPerform at Credit Suisse.

ONEOK Partners L P (OKS) was downgraded from Buy to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.

Transocean (RIG) was upgraded from Hold to Buy at Canaccord Genuity.

HCP Inc (HCP) was upgraded from UnderPerform to Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets.

Statoil (STO) was upgraded from UnderPerform to Sector Perform at RBC Capital Markets.

Calumet Specialty Products Partners L P (CLMT) was upgraded from UnderPerform to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Alliant Energy (LNT) was initiated at Neutral at Guggenheim.

SCANA (SCG) was initiated at Buy at Guggenheim.

Triangle Capital (TCAP) was downgraded to Neutral at Hilliard Lyons.

Along with everyone else, I’m more than ready for the election to be over, even as I dread the results and the aftermath. The “establishment” definitely suffered a fright, as the Trumpster threatened to disrupt the game, but it appears that the depressing electoral map (and math) will deliver the nation to America’s number one crime family once again. We can only take heart from the example of Richard Nixon, who was gone less than two years after the most resounding electoral victory since FDR, for basically trying to cover up the misdeeds of his underlings. Supposedly, the market will drop another 10% if Trump wins, since Hillary is Wall Street’s candidate. That doesn’t seem likely, unless the polls are wrong.

Stay thirsty, my friends. We will definitely need solace, no matter what happens.

JT