Top Dividend Stocks for the Ultimate Retirement Portfolio

In a recent article, we introduced the discounted earnings model. According to this model, one of the best fair value estimation methods was to discount the future earnings for a 5-to-7 year period. However, there is one thing that we also need to consider: Fat dividend checks.
For many of us, living on dividends and/or having a lined-up cash-flow from dividends is essential. A strong retirement account requires solid and stable dividend income. Therefore, we analyzed the top yield U.S.-based companies that are engaged in basic materials, consumer goods, healthcare, services and technology sectors. The financial stocks are excluded from this analysis, since there is so much volatility regarding both their share prices and dividend payments.
The compiled list consists of 32 companies that paid fat dividend checks in 2010. Last year, these companies generated a dividend yield of at least 5%. They also have a minimum market cap of... Read more