Do you remember when you used to collect hockey & baseball cards?
I used to be a big hockey card collector when I was 12. Each fall, I was very excited to buy my Upper Deck card box and open 40 or so hockey card packs. I enjoyed the fact that I could get all the info I wanted on my favorite players on a single card. I had an action picture, important stats and a short bio telling me about the hockey player’s past. I could then easily compare one player to another using their cards.
I was discussing the good old times with one of my friends lately, and this conversation popped an idea into my head:
How about creating cards for stocks?
When you think about; I spend so much time looking financial statements, calculating ratios and thinking about how a company can or can’t sustain its dividend in the future. I put all this research into stock analyses, portfolios and newsletter. I realize that sometimes, this is overwhelming for readers. I’m far from being the only source of information and noticed that most investors subscribe to and read several websites. At one point, you can spend your whole day reading about other people’s opinion on stocks and never make a single trade.
How can you simplify research without discounting sound due diligence?
In our quest to simplify and make stock research efficient, there is a risk that you miss crucial information to manage your portfolio. While too much information is like not enough, finding the right balance is not an easy task. This is why I worked on creating a Dividend Stock Card that will provide the best summary of whether this is a strong company or not to add to your holdings.
The “In Action” Picture
As is the case for sport cards; an image speaks for itself. This is why we start each stock card with a graph showing four important metrics over a period of 5 years:
Dividend Payout Ratio
Dividend Paid
EPS diluted (annual)
Revenue (Annual)
As you can see, you get a feel for the company’s performance in a blink of an eye.
The Company’s Stats
Once you have seen the in-action picture, you turn the card around and look for more stats. This is what I did including a metric section with easy to follow numbers:
Here again, the image combined with raw data is a strong tool to analyze past numbers efficiently. But we know there are lots more than stats to value a stock.
Company’s Bio
Instead of writing a general bio about each company, I separated this section into two sub-sections. The first one explains why the company is doing well and gives more information about the economic moat. Then, I resume the overall strengths of the company that will bring additional growth for the investors.
While this is a very short resume of a more complete analysis it gives you a pretty good idea why I like or dislike the company. Now that you have a better understanding of where the company is heading in the future, the last part of the stock card is probably the most important….
Stock Valuation
I wish Upper Deck provided me with a player’s valuation method at that time. That would have been very interesting to compare the player’s salary compared to other players or how much he gives back to the company. This is what I did with my stock card ending with a valuation grid:
The valuation section gives you the fair value price according to a double stage dividend discount model. It’s a good starting point to see if the stock should be put on your watch list, or bought in your portfolio the next morning.
All this Data Fits in One Page!
Yup! This wasn’t easy and I had to make many sacrifices to finally come up with the most informative stock card in a single page for you to look at and even print. Each stock card is in pdf format and can be viewed on any computer, tablet and even smartphones. If you print them, they fit perfectly on a single page. Here’s an example of what it looks like:
The Dividend Guy Blog’s Newsletter Subscribers Will Get 5 of them for Free
Unfortunately, these stock cards won’t be published on the Dividend Guy Blog. This is another exclusive content for Dividend Stocks Rock members. I’m currently in the process of creating between 60 and 70 stock cards that will be available on Dividend Stocks Rock shortly. My goal is to create at least 100 stock cards before then end of the year. Therefore, investors will benefit from all our research compacted in one pagers. In order to give you a better idea of what the stock cards look like, I’ll be sending an email next Monday to my newsletter subscribers giving them 5 stock cards. Then, each month, I’ll be sending one stock card for free to newsletter subscribers. This should help you to better manage your portfolio and help you follow stocks on a potential watch list.
What do you think of this new feature? Is there any data I have miss to complete the project?
