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Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:BMW) Looks Like A Good Stock, And It’s Going Ex-Dividend Soon

Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it’s exciting to see Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:BMW) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company’s books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. It is important to be aware of the ex-dividend date because any trade on the stock needs to have been settled on or before the record date. Accordingly, Bayerische Motoren Werke investors that purchase the stock on or after the 12th of May will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 16th of May.

The company’s next dividend payment will be €8.50 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of €8.50 to shareholders. Based on the last year’s worth of payments, Bayerische Motoren Werke stock has a trailing yield of around 7.9% on the current share price of €107.54. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it’s also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn’t going to kill our golden goose! As a result, readers should always check whether Bayerische Motoren Werke has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

Check out our latest analysis for Bayerische Motoren Werke

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable – hardly an ideal situation. Bayerische Motoren Werke paid a comfortable 49% of its profit last year. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. The good news is that it paid out just 22% of its free cash flow in the last year.

It’s encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don’t drop precipitously.

Click here to see the company’s payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it’s easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If a business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company can see its value fall precipitously. With that in mind, we’re encouraged by the steady growth at Bayerische Motoren Werke, with earnings per share up 6.0% on average over the last five years. Management has been reinvested more than half of the company’s earnings within the business, and the company has been able to grow earnings with this retained capital. Organizations that reinvest heavily in themselves typically get stronger over time, which can bring attractive benefits such as stronger earnings and dividends.

Another key way to measure a company’s dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Bayerische Motoren Werke has delivered 14% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years. It’s encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.

The Bottom Line

Has Bayerische Motoren Werke got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share have been growing moderately, and Bayerische Motoren Werke is paying out less than half its earnings and cash flow as dividends, which is an attractive combination as it suggests the company is investing in growth. We would prefer to see earnings growing faster, but the best dividend stocks over the long term typically combine significant earnings per share growth with a low payout ratio, and Bayerische Motoren Werke is halfway there. It’s a promising combination that should mark this company worthy of closer attention.

With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. For example, we’ve found 4 warning signs for Bayerische Motoren Werke (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that deserves your attention before investing in the shares.

Generally, we wouldn’t recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see. Here’s a curated list of interesting stocks that are strong dividend payers.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Groves coffee house gets new owners, expands to Orange County – Port Arthur News

Groves coffee house gets new owners, expands to Orange County

Published 12:22 am Friday, April 7, 2023

: One of the drinks offered at Sundara. (Courtesy photo)

GROVES — Paul Borel was a long time customer of Sundara Coffee House & Grill before he became the owner.

Borel would go to the Groves shop daily for what he described as the best coffee he’s ever had, which was created by original owners Herb and Cindy Kreutzer.

The business changed hands and later, when a different owner considered closing Sundara, Borel made an offer.

“It’s been a part of the Groves community for years,” Borel said. “I’m born and raised in Groves and wanted to keep it alive. I have nothing but admiration for Herb and Cindy, and I want to keep their legacy going.”

Borel also worried about the dedicated employees, saying he couldn’t let them lose their jobs.

Sundara serves freshly made baked items. (Courtesy photo)

The allure of the roast

Borel is enamored with the coffee that the Kreutzers serve, and he continues to serve it.

“Herb and Cindy did some extensive research and they came up with a special blend of three different beans from Mexico, Columbia and Brazil and they experimented with a roasting company until they found the exact way to roast the beans,” he said.

“It is specific to Sundara, and Sundara is the only place you can have it. It is a unique flavour; once you taste it you won’t want coffee from anywhere else. I really believe that. I would go every day before I was the owner.

Adrian Todd, Sundara’s general manager, has a long history of working in the restaurant business and is capable of juggling the necessary duties, as well as acting as a barista, cooking and running supplies to the Orangefield location.

He said the most popular drink is the caramel frappe.

Todd said it is similar to what one might get at another coffee shop nearby.

“But it’s made with love, that’s what I like to say,” Todd said.

He is in the process of developing a drink specifically for the City of Groves. Todd did some research and learned from Groves’ ties to pecans.

“A pecan praline frappe,” he said of what the Groves-inspired drink would be. “I did some surveys beforehand and asked folks if they would buy it, and they found it enticing. I have people still pressing me to know when (I will do it.)”

atmosphere

Todd said the atmosphere at Sundara is community driven, even if there is a well-known coffee chain business down the street.

“This is the place where folks can run into their neighbors, run into their friends and sit outside and talk,” Todd said. “I spent 20 years in San Antonio in the restaurant business. Coffee shops like this have always been special to me because that’s where I would hang out in San Antonio, where I would go.”

Todd isn’t looking to reinvent the wheel at Sundara. He wanted to keep the original legacy alive and breathe some fresh air into the shop, he said.

Sundara’s Orangefield location is at 6381 FM 1442 — the corner of FM 105 and FM 1442. (Courtesy photo)

Orangefield

The Orangefield location at 6381 FM 1442 — the corner of FM 105 and FM 1442 — opened in December and, currently, serves the coffees with a few exceptions.

Borel said they send soups and baked goods to Orangefield which are cooked in the Groves location.

He said the public reaction has been overwhelming.

“It’s amazing the support we’ve gotten, the likes and responses we got,” Borel said.

Like the Groves community, the Orangefield community welcomed Sundara with open arms, he said.

Future

Borel is looking to become more involved in the community and collaborate with other local businesses. He’s already on that path with a Sundara loyalty card that, after a certain amount of purchases, the card bearer can get a free car wash at a local business.

Employees of that business are then able to get discounts on their purchases at the coffee house.

Borel looks to add more businesses to the card, he said.

The future of the Orangefield location includes the possibility of adding a kitchen, he added.

PRESS DIGEST-New York Times business news

March 28 (Reuters) – The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

– US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and two of its senior executives on Monday, alleging that in wooing business from American investors, they had chosen to “knowingly disregard” laws governing certain US financial markets .

– Lyft Inc said on Monday founders Logan Green and John Zimmer would step down as CEO and president, with board member David Risher taking on the top role as the ride-hailing firm struggling to keep up with bigger rival Uber.

– US regional lender First Citizens BancShares scooped up the assets of failed peer Silicon Valley Bank, in a vote of confidence for the battered banking sector that prompted a rally in bank shares.

– Shawn Fain won the race for United Auto Workers president, narrowly defeating incumbent head Ray Curry in a shakeup for the Detroit-based labor union.

– Fox News Media of Fox Corp has fired producer Abby Grossberg who last week accused the network of discrimination and of coercing her into providing misleading testimony in a blockbuster defamation case.

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)

What Happens When You Don’t Fund Your Trust?

After you work with your estate planning attorney to draft a carefully tailored estate plan, it is usually your responsibility to “fund” the trust.

We can help you stay on top of the latest news that affects your everyday life. Subscribe to stay up to date. (To subscribe to our blog click here).

What does funding the trust mean?

Funding the trust is simply transferring assets into your trust.

If you have a trust, you will want to put your assets into the trust, by retitling bank accounts, re-designating beneficiaries of life insurance, etc. We walk our clients through the process, but we usually recommend that the clients make the transfers themselves.

If clients fail to make the transfers or fail to title them correctly, the assets will not be a part of the trust.

This means that the assets outside of the trust will still need to go through the probate court. Any assets in your name alone will require probate administration.

Probate administration is costly and can be time consuming. Avoiding probate is one of the main reasons people love using trusts. To fail to fund your trust is unfortunate, in that you will have taken the time to draft your trust, paid for your trust, and then your assets will still have to accrue the costs of probate.

Further, if the assets are not in your trust, they will not follow your wishes that you set out in the trust.

If you are overwhelmed by funding your trust, work with your attorney.

We help our clients understand the funding process and know exactly what they need to do to complete the funding. However, if our clients do not wish to fund their own trusts, we offer funding services.

It is essential to know that your trust is a living document that requires care during your life to get the full benefits of your trust. You need to ensure it is updated to reflect your wishes and assets, and that it is fully funded.

Once you have gone through the process of funding it initially, additional assets are easy to transfer in as you will know what to do and will only need to perform transfers as your assets increase.

Let us know if you have questions about your estate plan or funding your trust.

Contact us today to help you get the right documents in place or to update your current estate plan. We will plan so that you don’t have to worry about your future.

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Nike sues Lululemon over alleged footwear patent infringement – Business News

Nike sues Lululemon

Glen Korstrom / Business in Vancouver – Jan 31, 2023 / 11:56 am | Stories: 409129

Photo: Rob Kruyt

Lululemon’s flagship store in Metro Vancouver is at the corner of Robson and Burrard streets

Multiple media outlets are reporting that global sportswear giant Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE) is again suing Vancouver-based leisurewear retailer Lululemon (Nasdaq:LULU) for alleged patent infringements.

Reuters reported that Nike today filed documents in Manhattan federal court that said it has suffered economic harm and irreparable injury from Lululemon’s sale of its Blissfeel, Chargefeel Low, Chargefeel Mid and Strongfeel footwear.

Nike has not yet released a public statement on the legal conflict.

Lululemon sent BIV an email to say, “Nike’s claims are unjustified, and we look forward to proving our case in court.”

Reuters said Nike’s lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, and that it alleges that the Oregon-based company’s three patents on issue concern textile and other elements, including one addressing how the footwear will perform when force is applied.

This is the second consecutive January in which Nike has taken court action against Lululemon. Media reports in January 2022 noted that Nike filed documents in the US District Court in Manhattan that accused Lululemon of infringing six patents because its Mirror technology, which lets users target specific levels of exertion, as well as compete with others, and record personal performance, infringe on Nike intellectual property.

Lululemon in July 2020 spent US$500 million to buy Mirror – a New-York-based, in-home fitness company.

Mirror’s marquee product is a device that appears to be a standard mirror, unless it is turned on.

Users activate their Mirror to enjoy augmented reality. A fitness instructor could appear – wearing Lululemon clothing, and ready to guide the user through a workout.

The Mirror could also show videos that include Lululemon representatives, or community events.

Nike is said to be seeking triple damages among other remedies for Lululemon’s alleged willful infringement of patents related to its Mirror product.

Is Your Practice Fraudulently Billing?

Most of our clients would obviously answer ‘no’, however, some providers are submitting bills incorrectly and could be subjecting themselves to hefty fines.

We can help you stay on top of the latest news that affects your everyday life. Subscribe to stay up to date. (To subscribe to our blog click here).

Recently, a Florida Cardiology group and 10 of its physicians agreed to pay $2 million to settle False Claims Act allegations.

According to the settlement, the group submitted inflated claims to Medicare and Medicaid and billed for services while they were outside of the United States.

Whistleblowers were involved in bringing this scheme to light.

While your healthcare practice might not be as brazen in violations, this serves as a good reminder to perform regular internal audits and review your billing.

Many of our practices think that their billing is perfect, however, there are often issues when we perform an audit of their billing.

Obviously, it is essential to make sure that you are not upcoding. It is also important to make sure you are not underbilling or misrepresenting services.

It is always important to remember, if it’s not in the chart, it didn’t happen – as far as billing is concerned.

Make sure that your policies and procedures are up to date and your compliance plan is active.

Your employees need to be trained regularly and know what to do to report their concerns internally.

If employees do not feel that their concerns are taken seriously, this is when they become whistleblowers.

It is important to routinely reassess your Electronic Medical Record template, to make sure that it is not causing any issues with your patient records.

We help our clients to update their compliance plan, audit and mitigate potential issues and train staff to make sure that they are not in violation of any federal law.

If you have questions or need help with your healthcare practice, employee training, or security, contact Rickard & Associates today.

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Do you need help updating your Business Associate Agreement or negotiating contracts with third-party vendors? We can help. To contact us about your Business Associate Agreement, your vendor contracts or your other legal needs, call us today.

Sheetz’s ‘smile policy’ for convenience store workers may not have teeth

Sheetz, the Pennsylvania-born convenience store chain, is reviewing an employee rule known as the “smile policy” after business news site Insider made inquiries about it.

The policy states that “applicants with obvious missing, broken, or badly discolored teeth (unrelated to a disability) are not qualified for employment with Sheetz.”

Sheetz spokesperson Nick Ruffner, reached for comment Wednesday, acknowledged the policy and said it “will continue to be under review.”

“Throughout our history to date we have embraced an appearance policy, because we know how important a smile is to the customer experience when serving hospitality. However, we are always reviewing our standing policies to make sure they best deliver on our values and our commitment to our customers and employees,” Ruffner said.

The policy is “unusual and problematic,” Philadelphia employment lawyer Eric Meyer, of law firm FisherBroyles, said Wednesday. If the rule has an unequal impact on certain groups of workers it could be unlawful, he said, unless Sheetz can prove a legitimate business reason.

“Even taking into account the carve-out for people with disabilities … it could have the impact of discriminating against certain protected classes,” Meyer said. “There may be particular protected classes that have less access to dentists.”

For existing employees showing dental problems, the policy says, the issue should be resolved typically within 90 days.

“In the event that a current employee develops a dental problem that would limit their ability to display a pleasant, full, and complete smile, we cannot permit this situation to go on indefinitely,” it says, according to Insider. “In cases like this, the employee and store management, to include the District Manager and Employee Relations as necessary, will work to come up with a mutually agreed upon resolution.”

Sheetz, a family-owned chain based in Altoona, Pa., operates 669 stores throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and North Carolina, and employs more than 23,500 people, according to the company’s website.

It’s also won rankings as a top workplace when it was No. 33 on Fortune magazine’s 2022 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, touting tuition assistance, 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave for new mothers, and other benefits offered to workers.

There are about 300 Sheetz locations in Pennsylvania, but none in Philadelphia. The closest locations to the city are in Morgantown and Reading, Pa., about 40 miles away.

Sheetz’s most noticeable presence in the Philadelphia region is in debate among Pennsylvania natives over which is better: Sheetz or Wawa, the similarly family-owned convenience store chain born in Delaware County. Some have even called for Sheetz to take over the retail spaces vacated by Wawa in Center City last year. A spokesperson for Wawa did not respond to a request for comment on Sheetz’s smile policy.

Meyer said employers generally should consider the business purpose when they’re writing appearance-based rules in the employee handbook.

“An appearance policy doesn’t really correlate with whether people are going to go to Sheetz, versus Wawa, versus Royal Farms,” he said.

a trial over his tweets about Tesla

MICHAEL LIEDTKE Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — While still grappling with the fallout from a company he did take private, billionaire Elon Musk is now facing a trial over a company he didn’t.

Long before Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion in October, he had set his sights on Tesla, the electric automaker where he continues to serve as CEO and from which he derives most of his wealth and fame.

Musk claimed in an Aug. 7, 2018 tweet that he had lined up the financing to pay for a $72 billion buyout of Tesla, which he then amplified with a follow-up statement that made a deal seem imminent.

But the buyout never materialized and now Musk will have to explain his actions under oath in a federal court in San Francisco. The trial, which began on Tuesday with jury selection, was triggered by a class-action lawsuit on behalf of investors who owned Tesla stock for a 10-day period in August 2018.

Musk’s tweets back then fueled a rally in Tesla’s stock price that abruptly ended a week later, after it became apparent that he didn’t have the funding for a buyout after all. That resulted in him scrapping his plan to take the automaker private, culminating in a $40 million settlement with US securities regulators that also required him to step down as the company’s chairman.

Musk has since contended he entered that settlement under pressure and maintained he believes he had locked up financial backing for a Tesla buyout during meetings with representatives from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

The trial’s outcome may hinge on the jury’s interpretation of Musk’s motive for tweets that US District Judge Edward Chen has already decided was a falsehood.

Chen dealt Musk another setback on Friday, when he rejected Musk’s bid to transfer the trial to a federal court in Texas, where Tesla moved its headquarters in 2021. Musk had argued that negative coverage of his Twitter purchase had poisoned the jury pool in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Musk’s leadership of Twitter — where he has gutted the staff and released internal documents highlighting censorship of users and Twitter’s hand-in-glove relationship with federal agencies — has proven unpopular among Tesla’s current stockholders, who are worried he has been devoting less time steering the automaker at a time of intensifying competition. Those concerns contributed to a 65% percent decline in Tesla’s stock last year that wiped out more than $700 billion in shareholder wealth — far more than the $14 billion swing in fortune that occurred between the company’s high and low stock prices during the Aug. 7-17, 2018 period covered in the class-action lawsuit.

The lawsuit is based on the premise that Tesla’s shares wouldn’t have traded at such a wide range if Musk hadn’t dangled the prospect of buying the company for $420 per share. Tesla’s stock has split twice since then, making that $420 price worth $28 on an adjusted basis now. The shares closed last week at $122.40, down from its November 2021 split-adjusted peak of $414.50.

After Musk dropped the idea of a Tesla buyout, the company overcame a production problem, resulting in a rapid upturn in car sales that caused its stock to soar and minted Musk as the world’s richest person until he bought Twitter. Musk dropped from the top spot on the wealth list after the stock market’s backlash to his handling of Twitter.

The trial is likely to provide insights into Musk’s management style, given the witness list includes some of Tesla’s current and former top executives and board members, including luminaries such as Larry Ellison, Oracle co-founder, as well as James Murdoch, the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch. The drama may also shed light on Musk’s relationship with his brother, Kimbal, who is on the list of potential witnesses who may be called during a trial scheduled to continue through Feb. 1.