If you’re confused by this, you’re not the only one. Let’s take a look at what happened, why the share price went up on bad results, and whether I should be adding the stock to my portfolio.

A rising share price after a record loss

Hammerson is a real estate investment trust. This means the business buys properties, rents them out, and then returns 90% of its earnings to shareholders via a dividend. In the case of Hammerson, the properties that it invests in are shopping centres.

With the lockdown restrictions preventing non-essential stores from opening, many shopping centres and malls were predominantly deserted last year. And due to the reduced footfall, store owners struggled to keep up with lease payments.

Consequently, Hammerson’s rent collection dropped to 76%, new leases fell by 35%, and the overall occupancy level dropped from 97.2% to 94.3%. Combining all these factors led to the company reporting a £1.7bn loss for 2020.

Needless to say, those are pretty terrible results. So why did the Hammerson share price increase by 20%?

Reasons to be optimistic

The UK government recently unveiled its plans to ease lockdown restrictions. Under the proposed roadmap, non-essential stores will be able to re-open their doors as of April 12. This is fantastic news for Hammerson, store owners and the economy in general.

What’s more, economists at Deutsche Bank have estimated that more than £160bn of excess savings currently sit in bank accounts. This excess has built up from the simple fact that the usual consumer spending destinations have all been closed for months. An estimated 5%-10% of these savings are expected to be spent shortly after restrictions are lifted, leading to a significant increase in the UK’s GDP.

The pandemic has definitely created chaos for Hammerson’s business as well as its share price. However, it has successfully kept up with its expenses and even raised £800m in 2020 by rights issues and selling some of its properties. Another encouraging sign is that the management team has announced its intention to re-establish the stock’s dividend and pay a special dividend as well. If approved by shareholders at the annual general meeting in May, the combined dividend payments will be equal to 2.2p per share, which at today’s price of 38p, is a yield of 5.7%.

Hammerson share price: time to buy?

The worst does seem to have passed for Hammerson. At least that’s what I think. But it still has challenges ahead. For example, many retailers are in danger of going under post-pandemic and Hammerson may continue to see its occupancy levels drop.

However, assuming that everything goes smoothly and tenants are once again able to meet their rental fees, I believe the Hammerson share price will recover in 2021.

Having said that, I’m not particularly interested in adding the stock to my portfolio. Shopping centres have seen a slow decline in footfall even before the pandemic hit. As e-commerce becomes more prominent and delivery infrastructures more developed, I believe this downward trend will continue over the long-term. And with it, the Hammerson share price.

The post Will the Hammerson share price recover in 2021? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

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Zaven Boyrazian does not own shares in Hammerson. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

As last year’s fare, I served up Game Digital at a share price of 54p (now 23p), Mothercare (at 70p, now 16p) and Debenhams (33.5p, now 3.9p). Despite the hefty falls in their shares, I still see these three turkeys as stocks to avoid today. I remain unconvinced by their business models and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to hear bad news on Christmas trading from any of them.

However, following the worst November footfall figures since the 2008 recession, it’s looking like December is also shaping up to be a shocker for the high street. As such, we could see a whole host of names reporting disappointing Christmas trading come their traditional January updates. Here are four more retailers I’m happy to avoid.

30 years of hurt

Marks & Spencer (LSE: MKS) may be a fixture of the high street and a stalwart of the FTSE 100, but it’s a stock I’ve been bearish on for a long time. As I discussed in an article devoted to the company, I’m not convinced M&S can ever deliver long-term sustainable profit growth and rising shareholder value. I see it as a business that if it didn’t exist, you wouldn’t invent it.

Various management teams have tried different transformation strategies to get it on a path to sustainable growth. Indeed, the company seems to have been perpetually in transformation mode for decades. Erratic dividends and a share price at a level first hit some 30 years ago are hardly compensated for by annual shareholder perks of one 10%-off voucher, one M&S Cafe voucher and a selection of spend & save vouchers.

Now struggling

Next (LSE: NXT) had been a hugely successful retailer and delivered terrific value for long-term shareholders, but has struggled in the last couple of years. Online growth continues to run at a good pace, but the company has been suffering with declining store revenue.

With personal debt in the UK at unprecedented levels, there are signs consumers are finally starting to make a long-overdue cutback in their discretionary spending. I think this could show up in Next’s Christmas trading update on 3 January. My other concern is that the company has reported a leading indicator for increasing bad debt in its £1.1bn customer debtor book, although we may not hear more on this until the annual results in March.

While I see Next as a stronger business than M&S, I’m happy to sit on the sidelines, at least until I’ve seen how Christmas trading went and how the debtor book is looking.

Big-ticket retailers

Of course, bigger-ticket retailers are likely to be particularly vulnerable to any slowdown in discretionary consumer spending. These include Dixons Carphone, the computers, TVs, phones, and white goods group, and DFS Furniture.

I’m not only concerned by the impact on this pair of a fall in discretionary spending. I’m disconcerted that Dixons has announced plans to ramp up its debtor book and that DFS’s business model relies heavily on being able to offer customers credit via third party financing.

The post 7 stocks (including 2 FTSE 100 giants) that Christmas could crush appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

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G A Chester has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

There’s a galaxy of reasons why the miners, oil producers and tobacco manufacturers could all find themselves on the defensive next year and possibly beyond. Brexit isn’t one of them, but it is an issue that could cause the following income shares in the under-pressure retail sector to collapse in the New Year.

The signs are worrying

Unless you’ve been in a cave for the past few months, you’ll know all about the extreme stress that the retail sector has been under. Rampant competition, both on the high street and online, has long been a problem for the country’s smallest and biggest retailers, but the collapse in consumer confidence caused by the UK’s possible withdrawal from the European Union has thrown a tanker full of fuel onto the fire.

The controversial chief executive of Sports Direct Mike Ashley gave a sobering assessment of the sector in a letter to Debenhams head Sergio Bucher last week. Commenting that “November was the worst November for retailers in living memory,” he went on to suggest that conditions may remain difficult as “there isn’t any good news out there.”

Recent trading data has given plenty of credibility to his dire commentary too. Last week a report co-commissioned by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard showed that footfall across Britain’s high streets, shopping centres and retail parks plummeted 3.2% last month, the biggest November drop since the footfall report started in 2009.

A symptom of Black Friday and its ubiquity online that dents interest in the physical realm, sure. But there’s no disguising that the shocking figures are a reflection of the rising pressures on shoppers’ spending power which threatens to spill into the New Year and potentially well beyond.

As BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson commented: “It has been a difficult year for many retailers and the outlook remains challenging as Brexit uncertainty grows. Retailers will be following the upcoming parliamentary vote closely and hoping Parliament can secure a transition period to allow businesses time to adapt to life outside the EU. Without this transition, consumers face higher prices and less choice on their shopping trips.”

Avoid these hazards

In the current environment it’d take a braver man than me to pile into some of the Footsie’s quoted retailers regardless of their gigantic dividend forecasts.

Let’s look at Marks & Spencer, for one. It’s a share that offers a gigantic 7.1% forward dividend yield, but it’s still not a tempting destination for me at the moment. The competitive pressures that have long hammered demand for its clothing lines have spread more recently to its food operations, and the situation is likely to get worse as broader economic conditions intensify and uncertainty persists.

Speaking of which, the rising popularity of value food retailers Aldi and Lidl would also force me to disregard J Sainsbury and Morrisons and their inflation-beating 3.9% and 3% prospective yields, as well as Tesco’s recently-resurrected dividend policy. The German chains are likely to see footfall booming at the expense of their Footsie rivals as their expansion plans come to fruition and shoppers are forced to increasingly count the pennies.

The post Danger ahead! I think these FTSE 100 dividend stocks will prove investment traps in 2019 appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

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Royston Wild has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Tesco. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

Ready to fall further?

At first sight, £1.2bn cap homewares retailer Dunelm (LSE: DNLM) looks an enticing investment proposition: decent operating margins, a history of great returns on capital employed and excellent free cashflow. With total sales across the group rising 11.4% over Q3 to £255m and a 4.2% dividend yield on offer, what’s not to like?

Delve a little deeper into the numbers in April’s trading update however, and things look less rosy. While online sales are positively thriving — up 20.5% to £55.4m over the last three quarters — the company’s substantial 159-store estate is quickly becoming a burden.

Like-for-like sales at its sites dipped 4.3% over Q3 to just under £191m, continuing a trend that has been apparent since the start of the current financial year. When the figures from the last three quarters (or 39 weeks) are combined, like-for-like sales are down 3.5% or a little below £21m.

Given the seemingly unstoppable migration of shoppers online, I therefore find the company’s decision to continue opening new sites concerning due to the not-insignificant overheads these generate. Dunelm opened two news stores in the last quarter and is “legally committed” to another five.

While some costs relating to maintaining existing stores are to be expected, I’d far prefer the company to concentrate resources on developing its online offering, particularly given its recent acquisition of Worldstores — the UK’s largest home and garden online retailer. With levels of debt continuing to rise (£117m in April), the strategy of continuing to expand its bricks and mortar estate looks increasingly risky.

On balance, I’m not convinced that shares in Dunelm’s are worth holding on to, even if management remains confident that the company will continue to outperform its peers. A valuation of 13 times earnings following a 38% fall in the stock price over the last year may attract contrarians but I suspect things are only likely to get worse over the rest of the year.

Off your bike?

Bike and car parts retailer Halfords (LSE: HFD) is another company I’d consider ditching sooner rather than later and not simply due to the rather sluggish performance of its shares since last year’s shock referendum vote.

A quick look at the company’s financials gives me the evidence I need to justify giving the stock a wide berth. Operating margins, returns on capital and free cashflow have all been falling over the last few years while levels of net debt at the end of the last financial year (£86m) were 80% higher than the year before.  

With earnings predicted to barely grow over the next couple of years and consumers likely to delay big-ticket purchases, I fear for the dividend. As many income investors will know, a large but stagnant yield points to a company treading water. At 5% and barely moving, Halford’s bi-annual payouts could quickly become unsustainable if economic jitters persist.

At 12 times forecast earnings, shares in the Redditch-based business look deceptively cheap, in my opinion, and are best avoided in the short-to-medium term. 

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Paul Summers has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

Tesco shocked the market with its first profit warning in 20 years on 12 January 2012. Almost five years on, the company’s shares are still languishing at about half the price they were trading at before that fateful day.

Which retailers could have chilling Christmas news for investors this year?

Three-time turkey

In its previous stock market incarnation, video games specialist Game Digital (LSE: GMD) had a bad Christmas 2011. As a result, debt covenants were in danger of being breached, key suppliers pulled the plug due to concerns over the company’s creditworthiness and before the end of March it was in administration.

Game was salvaged by private equity and refloated on the stock market at 200p in June 2014. The shares did well initially but then came Christmas. A profit warning on 14 January 2015 saw the shares crash 30% from 348p to 242p. Last Christmas, the company didn’t even get through to January. The profit warning arrived on 23 December and the shares plummeted 38% from 206p to 128p.

Will Game manage to dodge the curse of Christmas this year? Looking on the optimistic side, the earnings forecast for the company’s financial year to July 2017 is a lowly 4.9p, compared with 8.9p it posted last year and 18.7p the year before. So, it would really have to plumb the depths to warn on profits this year. Having said that, while noting an encouraging line-up of new games and console releases “over our peak period and the next 12 months,” Game’s board “retains a cautious outlook” due to “the prevailing trading conditions.”

Given the outlook and Game’s Christmas trading record, a current share price of 60p and a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) of 12.2 don’t look all that appealing to me. Still, at least the company has a much stronger balance sheet (net cash of £38.5m) than many on the high street: for example, Debenhams has net debt of £279m.

Christmas clobber?

Fashion chain Next (LSE: NXT) doesn’t have the routinely dismal Christmas record of Game, which made its poor showing last Christmas all the more disconcerting. A 5 January trading update saw the shares fall 5% to 6,860p, although they’d already been in decline from a high of over 8,000p in early December.

Unusually warm weather in November and December was only partly to blame for lower than expected full-price sales. There was a potentially more serious issue for Next’s longer term prospects in management’s suggestion that “the online competitive environment is getting tougher as industry-wide service propositions catch up with the Next Directory.”

Could the glory days be over? It’s difficult to know, but certainly the company is finding trading conditions tougher than some smaller fashion players, such as Ted Baker, and online-only upstarts, such as Boohoo.

At a share price of 5,100p, Next is on an attractive forward P/E of 11.6. But prudent investors may want to wait for the January update, and perhaps the full-year results, for clues as to whether the company is merely going through a sticky patch or whether its longer-term prospects have fundamentally changed.

The post Could these retail stocks be destroyed by Christmas? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

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However, early indications are that while some retailers are in for a tough time, others could prosper. Indeed, the blanket sell-off could have offered up some bargain buys.

Shoe Zone (LSE: SHOE) and Carpetright (LSE: CPR) both released trading updates this morning. Could either, or both of these companies be Brexit bargains?

Down at heel?

Shoe Zone’s shares jumped 12% in early trading after the company said it had “traded well” in the second half of its financial year ended 1 October, which includes the key back-to-school period. Significantly, chief executive Nick Davis added: “We have seen little impact from the EU Referendum.”

Like most retailers with large bricks-and-mortar estates, Shoe Zone has a programme of rationalising its portfolio by weeding out smaller lossmaking stores. As a result, management expects revenue for the year to be down 4% at £160m, but “pre-tax profit for the period to be broadly in line with expectations and marginally ahead of the prior year.”

I reckon top-line growth will resume in the coming year. The group is trialling an out-of-town format with a wide range of third party brands and says “the early signs are very encouraging”. Meanwhile, its core offering at the value end of the market could benefit from trading down, if there’s consumer belt-tightening from Brexit. Indeed, I recently used the store myself for the first time, contributing £17.99 to the company’s revenue with the purchase of a pair of black leather Oxford shoes.

At a share price of 160p, Shoe Zone is trading in value territory on a trailing P/E of 10 with a 6.1% dividend yield. And with net cash on the balance sheet of £15m, representing 30p a share, I reckon this stock could be a canny buy.

Floored by Brexit?

Carpetright’s shares fell 3% when the market opened, but have recovered to 195p, which is little changed from yesterday’s close.

The company reported a 2.9% decline in UK like-for-like sales for its half-year to 22 October. In contrast to Shoe Zone, net store closures aren’t improving profitability. The margin outlook has deteriorated, with the company now expecting a decline in gross profit percentage of between 150 and 200 basis points. “Competitive market conditions” is one factor and “increased sourcing costs resulting from the devaluation of sterling” is another.

Meanwhile, in Europe, the company said trading was “a little ahead of our expectations.” Like-for-like sales improved 0.9% (at local currency) and management has maintained full-year guidance of an increase in gross profit percentage of between 100 and 150 basis points. As a result, for the group as a whole, “full-year profit expectations are unchanged.”

Carpetright trades on a similar P/E to Shoe Zone but currently offers no dividend as it tries to turn around its business. Sterling weakness since the referendum is clearly having an adverse impact on the company, and carpets and beds are always a much tougher sell than shoes when consumers are feeling the pinch. For these reasons, Carpetright doesn’t appeal to me as an investment at this stage.

The post Should you buy these two retailers after their Brexit updates? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

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G A Chester has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

Understand this and you’ll understand the new consumer economy in the UK and around the world. The supermarket sector is divided between the premium retailers such as Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury, and the value retailers such as Aldi, Poundland and B&M (LSE:BME).

Tesco is in retail’s squeezed middle

And those that are in the middle, such as Tesco (LSE:TSCO), Morrisons and Asda, are being squeezed from both sides. In a deflationary world where manufacturers in China and India are churning out an endless supply of consumer products, we’re facing a race to the bottom in the low-cost sector.

What’s more, we now have too many supermarkets in this country, as retailers have found the habit of building out-of-town superstore after out-of-town superstore too difficult to give up. If every retailer is building new supermarkets, and hardly any are being closed down, is it any surprise if competition is the fiercest it has ever been?

Tesco, faced with this situation, has had to decide whether to preserve sales, or preserve earnings. It has gone for the former option. In order to maintain its sales level, it has had to cut prices, and this has meant that a company that used to make multibillion pound profits is only just breaking even.

In 2014 Tesco made £1.9bn of net profit. In 2016 this had fallen to just £216m. That’s why, even though the share price has been tumbling, the trailing P/E ratio is an expensive 27, with no dividend being paid out.

B&M is growing sales and profits… fast

Contrast this with one of the most successful value retailers of the moment, B&M. In 2014 it made a net loss of £19m. In 2016 this had turned into a net profit of £125m. And this has been accompanied by a rapid growth in sales, with £1.3bn of turnover in 2014, increasing to £2bn in 2016. B&M’s shares are on a better value trailing P/E ratio of 19, with a dividend yield of 1.54%.

Browse the aisles of B&M today and you’ll see a broad range of cheap and cheerful products that remind me of Tesco in the 1980s. Cash-strapped shoppers are accepting that these no frills products are all that they need.

Meanwhile, if you shop in Waitrose, you’ll find an incredible variety of delicious and high quality fare that caters to consumers who are happy to spend that little bit more.

That’s why I view companies like Marks & Spencer and B&M European Retail as potential buys, whereas I’ll continue to avoid Tesco and Morrisons.

The post Tesco plc, B&M European Value Retail SA and the race to the bottom in retail appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

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Prabhat Sakya has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

So in this article I list three of my top consumer picks: one is a mainstream retailer, one is a premium fashion brand, and one is an electrical retailer. All three are my consumer kings.

Next

Next (LSE: NXT) is perhaps Britain’s greatest retail success story. Over the past decade the share has been on an incredible bull run, but the last year Next has seen its share price tumble.

Yet, as far as I can see this is still one of the world’s most impressive retailers, and as well as its very strong position in the UK, it’s expanding rapidly overseas, and particularly into emerging markets.

That’s why this is the ideal time to buy into this firm. What’s more, renowned fund manager Neil Woodford agrees, and has recently invested in the business.

Earnings are consistent and are still trending upwards, albeit more gradually. Yet Next is good value, at a current P/E ratio of 12.04, and pays out a 2.85% dividend yield.

Burberry

That characteristic Burberry check, in shades of beige, is what many people still think of when you mention Burberry (LSE: BRBY). But check out the website and you’ll find a broad range of high-end clothes and accessories that are a fresh take on British fashion and show how Burberry has transformed itself.

Like Next, Burberry has trended higher and higher, but has fallen back recently. Yet this is a company that’s still a very consistent cash generator. And the share price falls mean this is the perfect time for canny contrarians to invest.

At the height of the bull run, I would have said that Burberry was too expensive to buy into, but now the P/E ratio is 14.18, with a dividend yield of 3.34%. The income is well covered by profits and I expect it to gradually be increased over time.

Dixons Carphone

The shake-out of retail companies has left Dixons Carphone (LSE: DC.) as one of the big winners. Since the dark days of the Great Recession, this company has been turned around. For me personally, it’s now the go-to retailer if you want to buy a smartphone, computer, laptop, fridge or dishwasher.

It basically covers the whole of the electronic retail space in the UK. And what’s more, all the naysayers who thought that bricks-and-mortar retail was going to be beaten all ends up by the internet have been proved wrong. I think Dixons Carphone very often thumps Amazon on price, as well as quality.

The company has moved upmarket and its products are basically the best that you can find in the market today. I tipped the firm three years ago, and since then the share price has doubled. But I think there’s more to come from this business.

Earnings continue to trend upwards, and the 2016 P/E ratio is a reasonable 14.36, with a dividend yield of 2.37%.

The post Are Next plc, Burberry plc and Dixons Carphone plc 3 consumer kings? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

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Shopper shivers

Up until last week, shares in retail giant NEXT (LSE: NXT) were broadly flat for the month of March. But a disastrous trading update last Thursday changed all that, the stock collapsing more than 15% on the day.

NEXT advised that “the year ahead may well be the toughest we have faced since 2008,” adding that “it may well feel like walking up the down escalator, with a great deal of effort required to stand still.”

Chief executive Lord Wolfson has warned that consumer spending patterns are not as encouraging as they were just six months ago as real earnings growth has slowed. Consequently NEXT expects sales in the year to January 2017 to range between a 1% fall and 4% rise — the company had anticipated growth of 1% to 6% as recently as January.

I have long been bullish about NEXT, given its terrific brand power, not to mention the exceptional online presence of its NEXT Directory service. But last week’s warning has caused me to reconsider my positive take on the firm, while the result of June’s ‘Brexit’ referendum could present further obstacles such as rising labour costs.

The City expects NEXT to record a 4% earnings uptick in the current period, resulting in a P/E rating of 12.5 times. This is a reasonable reading on paper, but given the rising challenges facing the retailer, I believe risk-averse investors would be better shopping elsewhere.

Don’t bet on it!

Betting house William Hill (LSE: WMH) also suffered the effects of evaporating investor confidence last week, an 11% decline on Tuesday putting it firmly ‘in the red’ for March.

William Hill shocked the market by advising that it now expects operating profit in 2016 to register between £260m and £280m. This compares with profits of £291.4m last year.

The bookies explained that “the worst Cheltenham results in recent history” was a major contributor to the poor performance of recent weeks, along with “an acceleration in the number of time-outs and automatic self-exclusions” used by online gamblers.

The latter is a particularly worry for William Hill — the company expects profits at its Online division to be dented to the tune of £20m-£25m in 2016 alone, and rather worryingly notes that “the trend is still evolving.”

The City is expecting earnings at William Hill to flatline in 2016, resulting in a P/E rating of 13.3 times. Again, this number can hardly be considered expensive. But I believe the bookmaker could struggle to meet current forecasts given the rising challenges for its internet operations.

Go for gold?

A stagnating gold price has seen precious metals digger Centamin’s (LSE: CEY) share price trend lower again in March, the business falling 5% since the end of February.

While wider macroeconomic worries have boosted gold prices since the start of the year — the so-called ‘safe haven’ asset touched 14-month highs of $1,280 per ounce earlier this month — the prospect  of a resurgent US dollar threatens to push metal prices lower again, in my opinion.

Indeed, strong datasets from the States in recent days has raised expectations of additional Federal Reserve rate hikes in the coming months, even if Fed chief Janet Yellen struck a more cautious tone at yesterday’s meeting.

The number crunchers expect Centamin to punch an 8% earnings improvement in 2016, resulting in a P/E rating of 15.4 times. Still, I believe this reading is a tad heady given the danger of gold prices sinking heavily once more, a scenario that could put paid to any expected earnings recovery.

The post Can March’s Losers NEXT plc (-18%), William Hill plc (-21%) & Centamin PLC (-5%) Finish With A Flourish? appeared first on The Twelfth Magpie.

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• With a 7% yield, is this dividend share a no-brainer?
• The CMC Markets share price is smashing the FTSE 100 in 2026. Is there an opportunity here?
• With a yield of 6.8% and a P/E ratio of 12.1, is this a dirt cheap FTSE 250 stock to consider?
• Will SpaceX, Nvidia, or Alphabet be the first $10trn stock?

Royston Wild has no position in any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.