Entries by Steve Birenberg

Large Cap Holds for July and Growth Still Looks Strong

There are no changes to the signals from Northlake’s Market Cap and Style models for July.  The Market Cap model is recommending large cap for the second consecutive month and the Style model favors large cap growth, as it has since November 2014.  Given the latest model readings, Northlake client positions following the models will […]

Swapping to Large Cap and Sticking with Growth

After six months favoring Mid Cap, Northlake’s Market Cap model shifted to a Large Cap recommendation for June.  As a result, Northlake client positions held in the S&P 400 Mid Cap (MDY) were sold and the proceeds were reinvested in the S&P 500 (SPY).  The Style model continues to recommend Growth over Value, as it […]

La Quinta Driving Towards Capital Returns

La Quinta Holdings (LQ) reported strong results for 1Q15, beating street expectations on revenue and adjusted EBITDA. LQ raised the low end of their adjusted EBITDA guidance, reflecting management’s confidence that results for the rest of the year will continue to be strong. Shares of LQ responded positively and reached a new 52-week high the […]

Business as Usual is Good Business at Comcast

It is back to business as usual at Comcast (CMCSK) and investors have no reason to not like that.  The now scuttled acquisition of Time Warner Cable is definitely a lost opportunity but Comcast retains many strengths.  We always viewed the acquisition as a “nice to have” as opposed to a “need to have.”  Comcast’s […]

ClubCorp Acquistions Paying Off

ClubCorp (MYCC) reported another boring but efficient quarter.  Headline results were boosted by the acquisition of Sequoia Golf last year but growth in same club revenue of 2.8% and same club EBITDA of 8.6% were at least as good as expected.  Membership also continues its steady march higher with consistent 1% gains annually.  Northlake was […]

Disney Remains Driven By Popular Content

Disney (DIS) reported another great quarter, comfortably beating analyst estimates.  The song remains much the same with the power of Disney’s content engine driving growth through the company’s theme parks, TV networks, consumer products, and film studio.  With a seemingly can’t miss lineup of franchise films including Avengers, Star Wars, Ant Man, and two Pixar […]

Transitional Quarter for Liberty Global

Liberty Global (LBTYK) reported a sloppy set of 1Q15 results mostly explained by difficult comparison based on one-time items.  Management reiterated all of its 2015 guidance for revenue, operating cash flow (OCF), free cash flow (FCF), and subscriber growth.  Nevertheless, these results clipped the stock by 3% and it seems likely that the shares will […]

Mid Cap and Large Cap Growth Remain the Favorites

Northlake’s Market Cap and Style models are sticking with their recommendations of mid cap and large cap growth.  As a result, client positions that follow the models will remain invested in the S&P 400 Mid Cap (MDY) and the Russell 1000 Growth (IWD) for at least another month. The Market Cap model moved very slightly […]