Dividends4Life: June 2010

Dividend Growth Stocks News

A Focus on Dividend Investing

Posted by D4L | Wednesday, June 30, 2010 | | 0 comments »

At the opening session on day two of the Morningstar Investment Conference in Chicago on Thursday, June 24, three dividend-focused mutual fund managers talked about what they called the great opportunities in dividend investing now, and pooh-poohed worries that higher taxes on dividends would lead companies to cut their payouts. Hersh Cohen, chief investment officer for Legg Mason’s Clearbridge Advisors, argued that a money manager who focuses on a company’s dividend “asks simple questions, but gets profound answers.”

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Using Yield to Evaluate Investments

Posted by D4L | Wednesday, June 30, 2010 | | 0 comments »

A core consideration for income investors is an investment's yield, which indicates the value of the payments you'll receive. Yield can be a useful tool in considering whether you'd rather try to generate future income from bonds or stocks, and whether its price is appropriate.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

For a dividend investor, there is not much worse than a stock that cuts or eliminates its dividend. Suddenly, the reason you purchased the stock no longer exists. Many dividend investors, myself included, have a hard and fast rule to immediately sell any stock held as income investment if it cuts its dividend. However, when a company freezes its dividend at the current rate, the decision is not as clear-cut. At this point you must look look at alternative investments, along with the company’s current yield and future outlook.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

High-Paying Dividend Stocks

Posted by D4L | Tuesday, June 29, 2010 | | 0 comments »

Dividend yield and growth are characteristics that typically do not co-exist in many stocks. However, there are characteristics of stocks that are considered unusual in historical terms but persist today. With one-year treasury yields slightly over 0.25% and five-year yields at about 2%, stocks yielding above these rates provide a higher expected return, and any stock that has expected growth prospects on top of that yield should be an investor's dream. As with all investments though, the risk involved with the business and industry needs to be considered along with the potential returns.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

We have all heard it… Stodgy, for old people, yawn, boring! These have all been used to describe dividend growth investing. As a dividend growth investor, I sometimes think our strategy is the most misunderstood.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Blue Chips to Buy With +5% Yields

Posted by D4L | Monday, June 28, 2010 | | 0 comments »

High yield dividend stocks are easier to find then you think. Income investors looking for safe dividend stocks to stash their retirement money in are already familiar with many blue chips that have hefty yields. It's just that when investors stop at the grocery store or pay their phone bill, they aren't thinking about how the big brands they're doing business with are actually good income investments.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Myths About Dividend Investing (DIV)

Posted by D4L | Sunday, June 27, 2010 | | 0 comments »

Some investors believe that rather than wait for a whole year to collect a 3%-4% dividend, you could make 3-4 % per day in the market trading volatile technology stocks. The fact of the matter is that few if any investors could accurately forecast stock market moves in order to profit from large daily swings in some of the most volatile stocks in the market today. Dividend payments on the other hand are much less volatile than stock prices, which is what makes them ideal for investors who plan to live off their investments. The stability of the payments makes them a reliable source of income in virtually any market, without having to sell a portion of one’s portfolios and exposing yourself to market fluctuations.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Good dividend returns can offer a variety of benefits to the stockholders. Reinvested dividends, for example, can build up the number of stocks held in a particular company, while dividend quarterly payouts can provide added income during retirement years.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

There is a lot of information on the web that covers how to select stocks, even dividend stocks. In this post I am going to take the negative angle and present what I feel to be three things that I, as a dividend investor, do not want to see in a dividend stock. In my view, if any of my own dividend stocks exhibit any of these traits then that is a red flag which I need to consider acting on.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

3 Famous Dividend Stocks

Posted by D4L | Saturday, June 26, 2010 | | 0 comments »

Great dividend picks are easier to find than you think. Retirees looking for safe places to stash their cash are already familiar with many blue chips that have hefty yields. It's just that when investors stop at the grocery store or pay their phone bill, they aren't thinking about how the big brands they're doing business with are actually good dividend payers.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

High-Paying Dividend Stocks

Posted by D4L | Friday, June 25, 2010 | | 0 comments »

Dividend yield and growth are characteristics that typically do not co-exist in many stocks. However, there are characteristics of stocks that are considered unusual in historical terms but persist today. With one-year treasury yields slightly over 0.25% and five-year yields at about 2%, stocks yielding above these rates provide a higher expected return, and any stock that has expected growth prospects on top of that yield should be an investor's dream. As with all investments though, the risk involved with the business and industry needs to be considered along with the potential returns.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Dividend Stocks Worth Your Time

Posted by D4L | Friday, June 25, 2010 | | 0 comments »

After 10 years of a flat stock market, there is a clamor for dividends in a fashion that would have been unthinkable a decade back. In the late 1990s, dividends were an afterthought. Now they’re a primary focus, even for younger growth-oriented investors who previously considered income investing passé.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

RPM International Inc. makes specialty coatings and products for the structural waterproofing and corrosion control markets, as well as products for the consumer, do-it-yourself and hobby markets.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Martin Hutchinson detailed how high-yield dividend stocks provide a remedy for market volatility. They generate a yield or capital gains when the market is flat or gently rising, and offer protection against a market decline.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Protection With Dividend Stocks

Posted by D4L | Wednesday, June 23, 2010 | | 0 comments »

It’s a fact: During weak markets, shares that pay dividends tend to hold up far better than their non-paying counterparts.In 2002, the S&P 500 broad stock market index fell 23 percent. Shares of non-payers in the index fell 30 percent. And the dividend-payers dropped just 11 percent. In 2008, the worst year for stocks since the Great Depression, the same general trend held yet again. Dividend stocks outperformed non-payers by roughly six percentage points.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Top Dow Dividend Stocks

Posted by D4L | Wednesday, June 23, 2010 | | 0 comments »

2010 has been fairly disappointing to investors following the huge market gains experienced in 2009. Sure the Dow Jones index is only down 1% for the year, but 18 of the 30 Dow components have posted losses in 2010. Standout performers from 2009, like Alcoa ( AA ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ), have delivered horrible returns to investors this year. Fortunately, the top Dow dividend stocks have outperformed the broader market. As we have pointed out before, the top Dow dividend stocks don't necessarily include the highest yielding stocks like Verizon or AT&T.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

This past week I have been vacationing more than 1,500 miles from my home. As with most vacations, I have not done much work this week. However, a quick check of my brokerage account shows that my dividend stocks have been very busy this week. It is nice to know my income portfolio never takes a day off. What’s even better is the portfolio is frequently getting a raise through higher cash dividend payments.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Myths about dividend stocks

Posted by D4L | Tuesday, June 22, 2010 | | 0 comments »

"You have to have a lot of guts to buy BP right now," said Basil Herzstein, a financial planner with Gallers Financial in Rockville, Md. But what about other dividend-paying stocks? Some say it's an ideal time to buy; others say banking on dividends right now is a bad idea.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

If income investing were as simple as picking the stock with the highest yield, everyone would be an expert. Most assume (rightfully so) that yield is heavily influenced by risk, but much more goes into determining yield.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Now Is The Time To Buy Dividend Stocks

Posted by D4L | Monday, June 21, 2010 | | 0 comments »

For dividend stock investors looking for regular paydays to add to their retirement funds, things have finally started to look up in 2010. High-yield dividend stocks are back in favor as companies add to their payouts and investors look for low-risk ways to supplement their retirement investment funds. Dividend stocks with high yields offer stability as well as a regular payout, making them the perfect investing strategy right now.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Dividend Stocks Beating Index Funds (DIV)

Posted by D4L | Sunday, June 20, 2010 | | 0 comments »

Many dividend investors pick stocks simply for their yield. This could be detrimental to investment returns, since most high yielding stocks are concentrated in few sectors and distribute almost all of their earnings. This leaves the dividend payment exposed to fluctuations in operating performance. Most successful dividend investors on the other hand tend to focus on companies that have solid fundamentals. Only such companies can afford to raise dividends consistently over the long run. Despite the importance of dividends however, investors should not forget about capital gains are important as well, particularly because they provide the other 50%-60% of annual total returns.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

When Dividends Matter

Posted by D4L | Sunday, June 20, 2010 | | 0 comments »

In bull markets, dividends become more or less irrelevant. When the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded above 14,000 in 2007, very few stocks had a dividend yield of more than 5%. Indeed, at the peak of the 1998-2000 bull market, the yield on the stock market as a whole dropped close to 1%. Investors in such periods are seeking the next excitement, which will provide short-term capital gains. In 2000, they were looking for such excitements mostly from tech companies; in 2007 they were looking for excitement mostly from leveraged positions, perhaps through private equity or hedge funds. Either way, dividend yields played little role.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Three Problems Dividend Investors Face (DIV)

Posted by D4L | Saturday, June 19, 2010 | | 0 comments »

Dividend investors are a unique and frankly, quite a passionate bunch! Those of us who have research the topic extensively and believe strongly in it’s benefits understand the impacts it can have on our own portfolios over the long-term. As such, I continue to invest in dividend stocks.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Tech Stocks for Dividend Lovers

Posted by D4L | Saturday, June 19, 2010 | | 0 comments »

The recent financial meltdown was replete with lessons for all types of investors. For dividend investors, though, one of the key lessons may have been the importance of diversification. Historically, the banking industry was a prime fishing hole for dividend lovers. But hefty losses during the panic led to dividend-slashing all over the industry. Income-oriented investors that overexposed themselves to banks may have suddenly found their portfolios' yields badly battered.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

As The Market Pours Dividends Reign

Posted by D4L | Friday, June 18, 2010 | | 0 comments »

The last few weeks of stock action have left an increasingly sour taste. Last week, stock prices dipped below lows reached during the so-called Flash Crash of early May. And there seems little relief from the pelting pessimism. But the retreat in prices has created some interesting investment possibilities. Shares of lots of good companies with decent cash positions are sporting historically high dividend yields. In a nervous market, a basket of dividend payers can be a shrewd way to position your portfolio to ride out the storm.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Stocks To Defend Your Portfolio

Posted by D4L | Friday, June 18, 2010 | | 0 comments »

Standard & Poor's research shows that consumer staples, utilities, and health-care stocks outperform the market 80%-90% of the time during recessions. As my Foolish colleagues Tim Hanson and Brian Richards point out, this outperformance owes to their reliability and healthy dividend policies.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

McDonald’s Corporation is the largest fast-food restaurant company in the world. Its restaurants serve a varied, yet limited, value-priced menu in more than 100 countries around the world.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

BP (BP) Suspends Dividend

Posted by D4L | Thursday, June 17, 2010 | | 0 comments »

Following a meeting with the President of the United States, the BP (BP) Board announces an agreed package of measures to meet its obligations as a responsible party arising from the Deepwater Horizon spill. Agreement was reached to create a $20bn claims fund over the next three and a half years on the following basis:

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Dividend Stocks to Buy After the Crash

Posted by D4L | Wednesday, June 16, 2010 | | 0 comments »

Stocks have tanked lately, but you already know that. Why they've tanked is important. And while there are many reasons (most random and unexplainable), a big one is fear that European fallout will slow economic growth here in the U.S.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Dividends: A Sign Of Financial Strength

Posted by D4L | Wednesday, June 16, 2010 | | 0 comments »

When a company pays a dividend, it’s a sign of financial strength. When a company has been paying dividends for decades, and raising its dividend regularly, you’ve got something really special. Today we’re looking for U.S. companies with exceptionally long records of dividend payments and dividend increases. These companies have history on their side.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

A vision is taking the time to contemplate and anticipate, in detail, what the future will bring. A financial vision needs to consider future earnings, savings and economic issues such as inflation. Then based on your vision, you formulate an action plan to ensure the best possible outcome given your unique circumstances. You can’t have a retirement plan until you have a retirement vision. It would seem to me that there are a lot or retirement plans out there but very few retirement visions.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

As the stock market continues to get more and more edgy, investors are starting to look for shelter from the coming storm. Although dividend stocks become even more attractive as stock prices fall, you need to understand going in that even stocks that make excellent long-term investments won't necessarily keep you from suffering short-term losses.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Using Dividend Stocks To Managing Risk

Posted by D4L | Monday, June 14, 2010 | | 0 comments »

When you purchase individual stocks, risk is inherit. Sometimes bad things sometimes happen to good stocks such as the Chicago Tylenol murders of 1982. This shook Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ), but eventually it prevailed. Sometimes it is difficult when a strong leader leaves a company and creates a void that just can’t be filled. Consider the performance of General Electric’s (GE) after Jack Welch retired and Microsoft’s (MSFT) after bill Gates began relinquishing his responsibilities. So how do you guard against these situations and disasters similar to what BP (BP) and their shareholders are currently facing?

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Stocks With Special Dividend Potential

Posted by D4L | Monday, June 14, 2010 | | 0 comments »

Special dividends are attractive to companies with cash to spare and high levels of inside ownership. A heavy insider presence is a factor right now because these payments represent a last chance to pocket some cash while paying a maximum of 15% in federal taxes. The 15% cap on taxation of dividend income -- part of the Bush Administration's set of tax cuts in 2003 -- is set to expire at the end of the year, and it would seem Congress has bigger fish to fry, such as the Gulf oil spill and financial reform, at the moment.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Dividend investing could be helpful for those investors who are trying to establish a viable income stream that would support their lifestyle in retirement. To get to that point however, investors have to give themselves several years of regular investing in income producing assets that they understand, before they generate enough in dividend income.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Stocks With Large And Growing Dividends

Posted by D4L | Sunday, June 13, 2010 | | 0 comments »

The S&P 500 index of large American companies has a yield of just over 2%. Fewer than one in 10 of its members pays more than 5%. Over two centuries ended 2002, however, U.S. shares offered an average dividend yield of 4.9%. The stock market's recent performance underscores the importance of dividends. The S&P 500 index currently trades close to its level of 12 years ago. An investor who goes a dozen years without price gains while using a 5% dividend yield to buy more shares ends up with a profit of more than 80%, thanks to the power of compounding payments.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

10 Investment Tips (DIV)

Posted by D4L | Saturday, June 12, 2010 | | 0 comments »

The nascent investors in this world of investment are always in search of useful saving tips. Being an amateur in the investment field, this article can act as the right vehicle that would help you to pave the right path with investment guidelines.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Dividend Cut Fears Sends BP to New Lows

Posted by D4L | Saturday, June 12, 2010 | | 0 comments »

BP (BP) continues to free-fall to new 52-week lows, despite getting the oil leak under control, as investors worry about a dividend cut and concerns that the worst case scenario, bankruptcy, may play out.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

I've had a lot of people telling me lately that cash is king. I don't want to pop anyone's illusions, but for my money cash is certainly not king. Indeed, cash is dust because the rate of return for cash these days is almost zero. So in a world where everything seems like it is coming apart, where can you go with confidence? I think there are many safe places where one can achieve a reasonably good long-term rate of return. The key words here are safe and long-term.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

How Long Will BP's Dividend Last?

Posted by D4L | Friday, June 11, 2010 | | 0 comments »

BP is yielding a sweet 8.6%, but before investors plunk down money and buy BP stock for the juicy dividend they may want to ponder if it will last. Dividend-hungry investors have long gravitated to oil stocks because oil companies throw off oodles of cash, but the costs of cleaning up BP's big spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which could run as high as $40 billion, could put the oil giant's dividend in jeopardy.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Volatility Shifts Focus To Dividend Stocks

Posted by D4L | Thursday, June 10, 2010 | | 0 comments »

Stocks that deliver a strong dividend yield are gaining favor among money managers, thanks to the increasingly volatile stock market. For good reason, said Rick Ashburn, the principal at Creekside Partners.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

T. Rowe Price Group Inc. operates one of the largest no-load mutual fund complexes in the United States.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Dabbling In Dividends

Posted by D4L | Wednesday, June 09, 2010 | | 0 comments »

Investors have long sought stocks with big dividends in troubled times. Now Swiss bank UBS offers up a palette of European companies which are offering above-market dividend yields but more importantly have "decent' dividend coverage in terms of earnings and free cash flow so there is less risk that the dividend will be cut.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Six Stocks for Living the Good Life

Posted by D4L | Wednesday, June 09, 2010 | | 0 comments »

The lowest-risk, most secure way to a great retirement is to invest in blue-chip stocks. One caveat before we get started: Blue chips are not the way to grab slam-dunk, overnight returns -- you won't be eating caviar and vacationing in Majorca by next week. But because they produce steadily rising payouts and are the most solid companies around, dividend-paying blue chips are the surest way to guarantee that you'll have income when you need it most.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

3 Stocks for 3% Income and Growth

Posted by D4L | Tuesday, June 08, 2010 | | 0 comments »

U.S. stocks sit midway between rich reward and punishment. If the economy continues to heal and, as Wall Street analysts predict, company profits hit a new record next year, then the Dow Jones Industrial Average can be expected to return to its former peak, too. That would make for a gain of 40% or so from today’s levels. If, however, recent signs of recovery turn out to have been an economic head-fake brought on by lavish stimulus programs, and the Dow plunges to its 2009 low, stock investors stand to lose about 35%.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

I am not a stock trader; I am a dividend and value based long-term buy-and-hold investor. When I add a stock to my dividend portfolio, it is my intention to hold the stock forever. I am not smart enough to time the daily gyrations of the stock market. When stock prices start dropping, our primal instinct of flight kicks in and we want to sell. In many cases that is the time to be buying.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

BP (BP) said it understands the importance of its dividend to stakeholders, but said future dividend payouts will be decided by the board. BP currently pays a $3.36 per share annual dividend, which has an attractive dividend yield of 7.8%.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

To succeed as a dividend growth investor you must identify and purchase stocks with sustainable dividend growth. Put another way, targeted companies must be both capable and willing to grow their dividends. Obviously, we can not look into the future and see who will and will not perform. However, there are critical bits of information that we can evaluate today that often foreshadow the company’s future behavior.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Dividend Investing In All Markets (DIV)

Posted by D4L | Sunday, June 06, 2010 | | 0 comments »

I read an article titled “Rising Markets are Bad for Dividends”. The premise of the article was that rising stock prices tend to bring yields down. As a result the best time to invest in dividend stocks is during market meltdowns. As a long term dividend investor, I disagree with several points of the article.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Warren Buffett is a Dividend Investor!

Posted by D4L | Sunday, June 06, 2010 | | 0 comments »

Sure, Buffett is known primarily as a value investor, but the Oracle of Omaha has made a career of finding businesses that pump out cash like oil from a well, a trait that makes them primed to be outstanding income stocks. Such cash-flow companies include high-quality insurers like GEICO or other well-run financials such as Wells Fargo and American Express.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________

Dividend investing With ADRs (DIV)

Posted by D4L | Saturday, June 05, 2010 | | 0 comments »

For those of you unfamiliar with the term ADRs, it stands for American depositary receipt. An ADR is a stock that trades in the United States but represents a specified number of shares in a foreign corporation. ADRs are bought and sold on American markets just like regular stocks, and are issued in the U.S. by a bank or brokerage company.

Read More...

________________________________________________________________