Consolidated Edison: Dividend Dynamo or Blowup?

Dividend investing is a tried-and-true strategy for generating strong, steady returns in economies both good and bad. But as corporate America's slew of dividend cuts and suspensions over the past few years has demonstrated, it's not enough simply to buy a high yield. You also need to make sure those payouts are sustainable.
Let's examine how Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) stacks up. In this series, we consider four critical factors investors should examine in every dividend stock. We'll then tie it all together to look at whether Consolidated Edison is a dividend dynamo or a disaster in the making.... more

Accenture: Dividend Dynamo or Blowup?

Dividend investing is a tried-and-true strategy for generating strong, steady returns in economies both good and bad. But as corporate America's slew of dividend cuts and suspensions over the past few years has demonstrated, it's not enough simply to buy a high yield. You also need to make sure those payouts are sustainable.
Let's examine how Accenture (NYSE: ACN) stacks up. In this series, we consider four critical factors investors should examine in every dividend stock. We'll then tie it all together to look at whether Accenture is a dividend dynamo or a disaster in the making.... more

Medtronic: Dividend Dynamo or Blowup?

Dividend investing is a tried-and-true strategy for generating strong, steady returns in economies both good and bad. But as corporate America's slew of dividend cuts and suspensions over the past few years has demonstrated, it's not enough simply to buy a high yield. You also need to make sure those payouts are sustainable.
Let's examine how Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) stacks up. In this series, we consider four critical factors investors should examine in every dividend stock. We'll then tie it all together to look at whether Medtronic is a dividend dynamo or a disaster in the making.... more

Eaton: Dividend Dynamo or Blowup?

Dividend investing is a tried-and-true strategy for generating strong, steady returns in economies both good and bad. But as corporate America's slew of dividend cuts and suspensions over the past few years has demonstrated, it's not enough simply to buy a high yield. You also need to make sure those payouts are sustainable.
Let's examine how Eaton (NYSE: ETN) stacks up. In this series, we consider four critical factors investors should examine in every dividend stock. We'll then tie it all together to look at whether Eaton is a dividend dynamo or a disaster in the making.... more

Comparing Dividend Stocks: REITs, RICs, POCs And UTEs

More and more attention is being focused on dividend stocks as low fixed income interest rates keep setting new records and investors search desperately for alternatives. In analyzing dividend stocks, it is important to be aware of certain tax and regulatory considerations that affect the performance of various equities. As to the tax issue, the author is not a tax accountant or tax attorney and the article is not intended to provide advice to any reader concerning the preparation or filing of a tax return or concerning tax planning. With respect to the detailed tax issues arising from investments, readers are advised to consult with a tax professional. Probably the most important distinction with respect to different types of dividend stocks involves special provisions of the Internal... more

The Brink’s Company Board of Directors Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend

The board of directors of The Brink’s Company (NYSE: BCO) declared a regular quarterly dividend of 10 cents per share on its common stock. The dividend is payable on March 1, 2012, to shareholders of record on February 1, 2012.... more

5 High-Yield REITs With Growing Dividends

Have you ever looked at your pay stub, sighed, and wished you didn't have to pay taxes? After the government gets a hold of out paycheck, what's left seems so small compared to the pretax annual salary quoted to us by our employers. The good news is some don't have to pay taxes, and it is legal. Consider this... Way back in the 1960's the U.S. Congress created Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) as a way to make investing in large-scale, income-producing real estate accessible to all investors. To qualify as a REIT, the trust must comply with IRS rules. These rules include: 1. Distribute annually 90%+ of its taxable income as dividends 2. Invest 75%+ of its total assets in real estate and 3. Derive 75%+ of gross income from real estate So what does the trust get in... more

How To Build A Core Portfolio Of Strong Dividend Stocks

This article is the first of a series that will detail a step by step approach of building and managing a core portfolio of strong dividend stocks. We have written several articles on tactical asset allocation strategies using ETFs. We believe they are a very good complement to more value-oriented strategies like the one we outline here. It is always wise to diversify not only the assets you hold but also your strategies. Step 1 - Screening dividend-paying stocks to identify a list of candidates Here is the approach we use to create a stock screening whose purpose is to provide a list of stocks that could form a solid core portfolio of dividend paying... more

10 Dividend Picks From Jeremy Siegel

Jeremy Siegel is the Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Siegel developed the "S&P 10 investment strategy", which invests in the 10 highest yielding stocks among S&P 500 companies. The strategy has proven to generate superior returns over-time. According to Siegel, the strategy outperformed the Dow 10 over 1958 to 2003. If one had invested $1000 in these high yielding stocks of the S&P 500 index at the end of 1957, he/she would have over $811,000 in 2003, beating the Dow 10 by over 1% per year. Below we compiled a list of the top 10 S&P 500 stocks with the highest dividend yields. Company Ticker Dividend Yield 52-week Return Frontier Communications (FTR) 14.73% -39.76% R.R.... more

PPG Directors Announce Quarterly Dividend of 57 Cents Per Share

The board of directors of PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG) today declared a regular quarterly dividend of 57 cents per share, payable March 12 to shareholders of record Feb. 17.... more