Norman Tweed's  Instablog

Today Ross Stores reported an earnings beat and renewed increases in earnings projections.

http://seekingalpha.com/news-article/6500091-ross-stores-reports-april-same-store-sales-gain-of-7-increases-first-quarter-earnings-per-share-estimate

They seem to be in a rising sector rotation and should surpass last falls price of $70.

I believe the global apparel market is picking up in the discount portion of the industry. This stock is up 22.26% so far this year. It may be cyclical, but it has done well for me over the years. I drip it and am happy with the returns.

Disclosure: I am long ROST.

The reason that Nucor is a Dividend Champion with 40 years of increasing dividends is the use of the special dividend during times of great earnings. The following is a list of dividends and special dividends from their website:

(click to enlarge)

Disclosure: I am long NUE.

It's been a long hot summer here in Bumpass, Virginia. Both my gardens burned up in the heat and the Dehrecho wind storm at the beginning of july took out a large hickory tree (36" diameter), which flattened 5 other threes when it fell. After a month's cutting and splitting, my daughter has this coming winter's wood stove fuel.

Things are getting hot at United On Line (UNTD), too. In the Q2 earnings call Wednesday August 1, 2012 it was announced that the company would split into two publicly traded companies, United On Line and FTD florists. "the proposed spinoff of the FTD segment and the expected benefits thereof, the review of strategic alternatives for other businesses, a review of monetization opportunities for our patent portfolio, newly planned business initiatives, products, services, features, applications and functionality, expected benefits from our acquisitions, strategies and marketing programs. among other things, are forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events to differ -- actual results or events to differ materially from those described or implied in the forward-looking statements." Today, August 2, 2012 in a down market, UNTD is up 23.3% nearing the close.

I have owned this stock since 2003 and have watched the dividend get cut in half and the principal cut by 2/3rds. I have held it for the 10% yield. To me this news is wonderful! In the conference call they stated that earnings were up for the quarter.

"Wednesday 4:53 PM United Online (UNTD) +7.1% AH after announcing it will spin offits FTD online flower delivery unit into a separate, publicly-traded company. United has also posted its Q2 results: EPS of $0.18 beat by $0.05, and revenue of $231.9M (-9% Y/Y) was roughly in-line. Q3 revenue guidance is also in-line. FTD accounted for 72% of United's Q2 sales - the division's revenue fell 5% Y/Y. "

My question from the title still stands. It appears that the market believes that value will be unlocked. I will follow events and report as they unfold. It should especially be noted that stocks like UNTD are speculations, especially when there is significant news and quick price run up. I seldom purchase small cap stocks anymore and only retain this one for the high dividend yield. Investors should do their own due diligence before making any investment.

Disclosure: I am long UNTD.