8 High-Yield Energy Stocks Growing Dividends

From the time the first fire was discovered until now, energy has played a critical role in the development of modern man. As our society develops we require an increasingly larger amount of energy. We rely on companies in the Energy Sector to supply our needs.The Energy Sector includes businesses engaged in the production and sale of energy products. This includes extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution. As the world's population increases and third-world countries continue to develop, there will be more intense demand on our finite supply of energy.We have seen this imbalance manifest itself in the form of higher gasoline and diesel prices, which has resulted in upward price pressure on products or raw materials that have to be transported - which is nearly all of them.This... more

The Safest Dividends in the S&P 500

If you're a longtime Dividend Opportunities subscriber, you might remember an issue back in November where I hunted down the safest dividend in the S&P 500 (SPY). The response to the article was overwhelming. So I decided to provide an update to my newest readers -- taking the same rigorous metrics I applied before to discover where the safest dividend in the S&P is today. Thankfully, the draconian cuts we saw in 2008-2009 are history. Believe it or not, these cuts added up to $52 billion in lost income during 2009 -- and this was for just the cuts from stocks in the S&P 500. To put this figure in perspective, losing $52 billion would put Warren Buffett into bankruptcy. Today the news looks much brighter. Among the 7,000 companies that report dividend information to Standard &... more

2 Conglomerate Dividends to Buy and 1 to Avoid

The only downside to the conglomerate sector is its lack of choices. With so few companies operating under multiple business sectors, we have to be pickier than ever in choosing high-quality dividend-paying companies, otherwise we risk getting stuck with a jumbled mess of a company. After researching the group, a few names stand out as solid candidates to provide steady dividend income while also offering the potential for long-term price appreciation. On the flipside, one highly loved Motley Fool CAPS name could turn out to be a bane to investors' portfolios. United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) -- trust itUnited Technologies is a do-it-all for the technology, manufacturing, and aerospace industries. The company operates out of six business segments:... more

The Extraordinary Power of Dividends: Clorox Edition

"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

My Ideal Dividend Portfolio: Mostly REITs Coupled With High-Yielding Blue Chip Stocks

I consider the day I retire from my nine-to-five job and live off of dividend checks the highest pinnacle of investing success. To that end, I am actively building an income portfolio that will eventually allow me to retire comfortably. For weeks I have been reading articles on Seeking Alpha trying to find ideas regarding the stocks that should comprise a solid investment portfolio, and I have been surprised by the core stocks recommended by other authors because of the low yields these stocks offer. Most articles suggest investing in blue-chips with a history of raising dividends; however, I propose that the core of an investment portfolio should be comprised of the highest yielding dividend instruments. Let’s analyze Colgate-Palmolive (CL) as an example. This company has raised... more

8 Dividend Champs to Pick Up During Market Turmoil

They say that trying to call a bottom on a swing is like trying to catch a falling knife, in that it's nearly impossible not to get cut. The debt ceiling fiasco and all of the subsequent repercussions have left the market in free fall, to the tune of over 6 percent in two weeks.All of the trouble with the economy could certainly turn investors off of stocks, but where could you turn? Treasuries have gotten rocked, commodities have not yet rebounded off the highs a few months ago, cash is no longer safe, and you cannot be 100% in gold. That is why it is a great opportunity to pick up large cap dividend stocks with a history of increasing annually. It would be tough to find any stock that hasn’t taken a haircut over the last fortnight. This is so even though the market experienced a pretty... more

Creating an Aggressive Dividend Portfolio: The First 11 Names

Original: Creating an Aggressive Dynamic Dividend PortfolioThe creation of an aggressive dividend portfolio can do wonders for your stock market interest and your pocket book. Often times however, a high-yield stock offers a high yield because of obvious risks or concerns. If one uses discipline to separate the wheat from the chaff, the approach can offer regular high-yield dividends. In this article I'll go through a few names to put extra cash in versus the 0% interest in my Interactive Brokers brokerage account! Aggressive Dynamic Dividend Goal Portfolio I want 10 names, or more, for this portfolio. The yield is important, but I want a high-yield portfolio with an average yield in excess of 8% per year. This is a dynamic portfolio, so names will be added and subtracted over the next... more

4 Highly Undervalued Stocks With Rising Dividends, Falling Payout Ratios

The payout ratio (or dividends/earnings) indicates how much of a company’s earnings are paid back to shareholders in the form of dividends. Very high payout ratios are considered unsustainable and a threat to a company’s dividend yield.We ran a screen on highly undervalued companies, with lower TTM P/E, TTM P/CF, and PEG than their industry peers. We screened these companies for those seeing significant increases in dividend per share, while also seeing a decrease in the payout ratio.This implies an increase in earnings and an increase in dividends, without sacrificing the sustainability of the dividend yield. Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in analyst ratings over the last two years for the stocks mentioned below. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment... more

5 High Yielding Stocks With Lofty Growth Expectations

It's always nice to add some yield to your portfolio. Nothing beats watching a stock you're already earning 4-6% on continually grow earnings to get you to a 12% total return. The cherry on top is if that stock continually grows its dividend without affecting their payout ratio too greatly. I did my best to find five stocks that may be able to provide you these types of results: Southern Copper (SCCO) - Please do some due diligence on this one. The new political regime in Peru may result in the copper mines being nationalized and/or taxes being raised sharply. The risk in Southern Copper is definitely apparent. My feeling, however, is that the worst case scenario doesn't play out and the big dividend softens the risk while we wait and find out. The current dividend is a very nice 6.68%,... more

3 Leading Asian Dividend Stocks to Watch

As with Latin America a few days ago, I am continuing my analysis of international dividend opportunities with the best income plays in Asia. The Asian markets may experience some slowdown due to measures such as rate increases in China and India that are intended to hold back inflation. However, in the long run, the Asian countries can provide long term growth and higher yields. Below are three of Asia's leading companies that have yields above 2%.Tata Motors (TTM) - Tata Motors is the leading automobile producer in India. Priced at $2,500 the Tata Nano is the cheapest car in the world and has opened up the opportunity of driving to many lower to middle class Indians. They also own the Jaguar and Land Rover brands that drive international sales. Tata's dividend yield is solid, but is the... more