Energy Transfer Partners: Dividend Dynamo or the Next Blowup?

Let's examine how Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE: ETP) stacks up in four critical areas to determine whether it's a dividend dynamo or a disaster in the making. 1. YieldFirst and foremost, dividend investors like a large forward yield. But if a yield gets too high, it may reflect investors' doubts about the payout's sustainability. If investors had confidence in the stock, they'd be buying it, driving up the share price and shrinking the yield.... more

Weyerhaeuser: Dividend Dynamo or the Next Blowup?

Let's examine how Weyerhaeuser (NYSE: WY) stacks up in four critical areas to determine whether it's a dividend dynamo or a disaster in the making. 1. YieldFirst and foremost, dividend investors like a large forward yield. But if a yield gets too high, it may reflect investors' doubts about the payout's sustainability. If investors had confidence in the stock, they'd be buying it, driving up the share price and shrinking the yield.... more

10 Oversold, Dividend Stocks Backed By Impressive Profitability

Dividends are a great way to improve portfolio returns when volatility is making it easier to squeeze water out of a rock than getting a decent return in the markets. When looking at dividend stocks, one metric to always review is a firm’s net profit margin. Dividend stocks that can keep a healthy net margin and expand it over time should be rewarded with share price growth along with making dividends more reliable. We ran a screen for dividend stocks that have retraced at least 20% from their 52-week highs and have strong profitability (net margin TTM>15%). The list is ranked from lowest to highest by net margin TTM.... more

The Extraordinary Power of Rockwell Automation's Dividends

"Dividends?" he asked. "I'm trying to make my clients wealthy. You don't do that waiting for tiny checks in the mailbox every quarter." Even then, I had enough horse sense to know he was wrong. Paying attention to dividends is exactly how you become wealthy over time.... more

This High-Yield Dividend Portfolio Will Beat the Market

Six months ago, I invested my cold hard cash into 10 high-yield dividend stocks I believe will beat the market. Let's see the results so far: [..]
Over the past week, the S&P 500 fell 6.54%. As the market fell, our portfolio outperformance rose, moving from beating the market by 11.89% to beating the market by 16.51%. While outperformance is always good, it should be taken with a grain of salt. We're investing for the long term, and it's only been six months. I firmly believe the results will bear us out.

Movers and shakers
Of our stocks, the biggest mover in the portfolio the past week was France Telecom, which fell 5%. Our other big telecom giant Vodafone also fell 3.43%.

Money!... more

Monsanto: Dividend Dynamo or the Next Blowup?

Let's examine how Monsanto (NYSE: MON) stacks up in four critical areas to determine whether it's a dividend dynamo or a disaster in the making. 1. YieldFirst and foremost, dividend investors like a large forward yield. But if a yield gets too high, it may reflect investors' doubts about the payout's sustainability. If investors had confidence in the stock, they'd be buying it, driving up the share price and shrinking the yield.... more

Veolia Environment: Dividend Dynamo or Blowup?

Let's examine how Veolia Environment (NYSE: VE) stacks up in four critical areas to determine whether it's a dividend dynamo or a disaster in the making. 1. YieldFirst and foremost, dividend investors like a large forward yield. But if a yield gets too high, it may reflect investors' doubts about the payout's sustainability. If investors had confidence in the stock, they'd be buying it, driving up the share price and shrinking the yield.... more

6 Cheap, Safe Dividend Stocks Now On Sale

There’s no secret that Warren Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) never paid a dividend to its shareholders. Ironically, he usually buys companies with a long history of dividend payments. This is the reason he does not mind if there’s pessimism in the market. His insurance is the dividend he receives from these companies. Here is my analysis of solid companies with a good track record of dividend increases: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) WMT is the kind of stock to hold during a recession. The demand for discount retailers will be higher as consumers would prefer buying inexpensive items. The company is also a hedge against a falling dollar as more than 40% of its sales are outside the US. This figure will most likely continue in the future. It is currently... more

30 Dividend Monsters That Hedge Funds Love The Most

We love high dividend stocks and consider them as one of the best options for conservative investors. We don’t like Fed’s inflationary monetary policy and Federal government’s huge budget deficits. We think high dividend yielding stocks will perform much better than the 10-year treasuries over the next 10 years. One of the ways of picking the best dividend stocks is to invest in what prominent hedge funds like. Insider Monkey tracks more than 300 hedge funds that mostly use fundamental analysis to make investment decisions. We look for at least a 4% dividend yield and $5 Billion in market cap. Here are the 30 dividend monsters that hedge funds love the most: Company Name Symbol Dividend Yield No. Hedge Fund Holding PFIZER INC PFE 4.5... more

Dividend Report Card: Home Depot

The Dividend Report Card wasn't designed as a buy or sell signal but rather as a tool to gauge the health of a company's dividend. For a full explanation of each category, click here for a tutorial. Today's pupil is Home Depot (NYSE: HD) , which posts a 3.1% yield. The last time we looked at it in February, it scored a "B." Let's see if it's improved its score this time around.... more