Hunting for Yield With ETFs

With bond interest rates so low, many investors are looking for relatively safe places to park their cash while also earning a reasonable yield. Many stock-based exchange traded funds specialize in dividend-paying companies and sectors, and they may appeal to investors with a defensive mindset amid the uncertainty in global credit markets. The biggest and oldest ETF in this category is the $6.5 billion iShares Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend (NYSEArca: DVY). The other largest ETFs here include Vanguard Dividend Appreciation (NYSEArca: VIG), SPDR S&P Dividend (NYSEArca: SDY), WisdomTree Large Cap Dividend (NYSEArca: DLN) and PowerShares International Dividend Achievers (NYSEArca: PID). The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend has a 12-month yield of 3.4%. These income ETFs invest in... more

Pepco Holdings Declares Dividend

Pepco Holdings, Inc.’s (NYSE: POM) Board of Directors today declared a dividend on common stock of 27 cents per share payable September 30, 2011, to shareholders of record on September 12, 2011.... more

First National Bank Alaska Declares Dividend for Third Quarter

At the Board of Directors Meeting held July 27, 2011, and pending approval by the Comptroller of Currency, First National Bank Alaska (OTCBB: FBAK) declared a cash dividend of $12.50 per share, payable on September 15, 2011 to shareholders of record as of September 1, 2011.... more

Sanderson Farms, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend

Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Nasdaq: SAFM) today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.17 (seventeen cents) per share payable August 23, 2011, to stockholders of record on August 9, 2011.... more

Conoco Drills Analyst Estimates, Again!

Conoco's second-quarter report before the bell yesterday marked the first time in the past four quarters that its profits did not increase over the year-ago period. However, Conoco also benefited from one-time gains from the sale of assets last year, which helped boost earnings, so on a comparative basis this was another stellar report. For the quarter, Conoco reported revenue of $67 billion, which handily beat the consensus estimate of $60.3 billion, with earnings coming in at $2.41 per share, beating the consensus by $0.21. Favorable price realizations and better refining margins were the main drivers fueling Conoco's growth during the quarter.... more

A List of High Dividend S&P500 Mega-Caps

In a previous study, we showed that the average return of high dividend yielding stocks was 13.04% between 1927 and 2009. Dividend stocks beat the overall market by an average of 1.36% per year in that period. We like high dividend stocks and consider them as alternatives to 10-year Treasury bonds. High dividend stocks generally perform well and usually increase dividend payments over the succeeding five to 10 years. Like Ray Dalio, we are concerned about the Fed’s inflationary monetary policy and want to protect ourselves against inflation. One of the ways of doing this without assuming significant risks is investing in high dividend stocks. Below, we provide a list of top 40 S&P500 stocks by market cap and ranked them based on their annualized dividend yields (The sector... more

Vornado Declares Quarterly Dividends On Preferred Shares

VORNADO REALTY TRUST (NYSE: VNO) today announced that its Board of Trustees has declared the following quarterly preferred dividends:... more

Vornado Declares Quarterly $0.69 Dividend on Common Shares

VORNADO REALTY TRUST (NYSE: VNO) announced today that its Board of Trustees has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share payable on August 22, 2011 to common shareholders of record on August 10, 2011.... more

El Paso Electric Declares Dividend

The Board of Directors of El Paso Electric (NYSE: EE) today declared a quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of $0.22 per share. The dividend is payable on September 30, 2011 to shareholders of record on September 15, 2011.... more

These Small-Cap Stocks Have Double-Digit Yields

The relationship between risk and reward never changes. If you're seeking great riches -- in the form of juicy dividends -- then you're likely pursuing very speculative investments. On the flip side, seeking "safe" dividend payers likely means you're going to get a paltry payout.
But sometimes it's OK to shoulder a good deal of risk, especially if it's only a small part of your portfolio. As long as you stay current on what's going on at the company in which you have invested, you may be able to get out of the stock before the risk part of the equation comes back to bite.... more