6 Dividend Stocks Cramer Likes

I recently wrote an article about Jim Cramer’s Lightning Round, analyzing his picks from a fundamental perspective. After seeing that it drew quite a bit of attention, I decided to write about Cramer regularly from now on. Cramer is the most popular face on The Street. Therefore, it is worth investigating his stock picks further. I will try to write about both his shows Lightning Round and Mad Money. Here, is a fundamental analysis of the stocks mentioned in Cramer’s Mad Money on July 5.Cramer says that in economic recoveries, while the other businesses start speeding, the early-cycle businesses like housing and automobiles outperform. He suggests diversified industrial players. Here, are two suggestions to buy: 3M Company (MMM): 3M returned 18% in a year, and Cramer is bullish about... more

Hedged Dividend Strategies: Buy the Stock, Short the Index

Today, the average retiree who is no longer working is stuck between a rock and a hard place. He is told by investment advisors to overweight bonds over stocks due to his limited number of years to recover from any dramatic stock market plunge.Yet safe investments in bonds are producing returns that are at best break even with inflation and at worst inexorably losing ground. Many retirees feel the government official measure of inflation does not accurately reflect the inflation they experience in the costs of food, transportation and medical services. If you believe the folks over at ShadowStats.com, real inflation - measured in the way the US government used to measure inflation - is actually running in double digits already: Around 11% instead of the 3-4% the government cites.Whatever... more

In Search of High Dividend Yields (An Industry by Industry Survey)

Many investors recognize that Electric Utilities and Tobacco tend to be good places to look for solid companies with strong dividend yields. However, there are some other promising industries for dividend investors as well. While knowing the top yielding stock in a given industry is an interesting starting point, it is probably more valuable to know which industries have significant numbers of dividend paying companies and also which industries tend to provide above average dividend yields. This article will try to answer those questions. The methodology for this analysis was to pull all dividend yielding stocks using data from Zacks.com. Unfortunately, Zacks.com provides a dividend yield based upon the most recent quarterly dividend payment annualized. Yahoo!Finance also uses this... more

Roundtable: Best Dividends in Health Care

Fool contributor Brian Orelli: Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) will lose top-selling Plavix to generic competition in 2012, causing earnings to drop substantially. But in the long-term battle of pipeline versus patent cliff, it sure looks like the pipeline will come out the winner. The company expects 2013 earnings to drop to as little as $1.95 per share, a level just below what it managed last year. But that guidance was from before a couple of stellar wins: approval of melanoma drug Yervoy and positive clinical trial results for cardiovascular drug Eliquis, which it'll market with Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) . Behind those, the pipeline looks pretty solid, and Bristol-Myers has $6.8 billion that it can use to in-license drugs to help replace the missing Plavix revenue.... more

8 Low-Debt Dividend Stocks With Bullish Short Trends

Company debt is a wedge between company cash flows and dividends to shareholders. Because debtholders are always paid before shareholders, high company debt can threaten the existence of a company’s dividend. Therefore, if you are looking for dividend stocks, pay attention to the amount of debt the company is holding. With this idea in mind, we screened for dividend stocks paying yields above 2% and sustainable payout ratios below 35%. We searched this universe for stocks that have seen significant decreases in shares shorted month-over-month, a bullish change in outlook.... more

The Raise That Fuels These Big Dividends

Annaly expects to raise $2.1 billion this time (gross of expenses and before underwriter options), after raising $1.3 billion in January and again in February. That's a total of $4.7 billion for a $14.7 billion company. Normally, when you see a company this hot for capital in such a short period of time, it's a big red flag; such businesses usually aren't dealing from a position of strength. Recall the big banks' efforts to raise capital during and immediately after the financial crisis.... more

The Most Promising Dividends in Insurance Brokers

Yields and growth rates and payout ratios, oh my!Before we get to those companies, though, you should understand just why you'd want to own dividend payers. These stocks can contribute a huge chunk of growth to your portfolio in good times, and bolster it during market downturns. As my colleague Matt Koppenheffer has noted: "Between 2000 and 2009, the average dividend-adjusted return on stocks with market caps above $5 billion and a trailing yield of 2.5% or better was a whopping 114%. Compare that to a 19% drop for the S&P 500."... more

Keep Your Dividends on Track with Rail Freight

In Warren Buffett's most recent letter to Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK-B) stockholders he writes glowingly of his company's latest acquisition: the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad. Buffett touts rail's inherent advantage over its main competitor, trucking. Namely, freight transported by rail is three times more fuel efficient than by truck. With the cost of fuel becoming a major expense in almost every facet of business these days, it is worth taking a look at rail freight in a new light, not as a last century anachronism, but as an industry reborn. The ability to move one ton of freight almost 500 miles while using just one gallon of fuel means more than fuel-cost savings. The more freight that is moved by train (and the less by truck) means reduced dependence on foreign oil,... more

Investing in S&P 500 Dividend Challengers: Part 1

Defensive investors regularly seek high quality dividend stocks to achieve sustainable returns even in bear markets. The S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index, which tracks 42 blue-chip S&P 500 companies that have increased their dividends at least 25 consecutive years, is one alternative for many dividend investors. On the other, David Fish’s U.S. Dividend Champions list has also become very appealing to some dividend investors that look for a starting point in their research. Dave Fish compiles a complete list of all US stocks that have increased their dividend payout for at least 25 consecutive years. In addition, the author presents two separate sub -lists as nominees for future Dividend Champions: “Dividend Contenders” that have increased their payouts for 10-24 years and... more

ConocoPhillips Announces Quarterly Dividend

ConocoPhillips [NYSE:COP] today announced a quarterly dividend of 66 cents per share, payable September 1, 2011, to stockholders of record at the close of business on July 25, 2011.... more