13 Mega-Cap Dividend Stocks With Low P/E Ratios

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 yielding stocks and consider them as alternatives to 10 year Treasury bonds. Fixed-income investors have taken advantage of the dovish environment since the Fed intervened in the global financial turmoil by its loose monetary policy. Considering the fact that the recent disinflation period doesn’t last forever, we believe that the risky times are upon fixed-income investors. We think now may be the time for investors to switch from low-yielding bonds to higher-yielding stocks with attractive prices. Below, we prepared a list of 13 mega-cap US stocks... more

The Most Important Thing To Consider When Selecting A Dividend Stock

In selecting a dividend growth stock, investors look at many metrics and try to determine what the future holds for the company. Among those considered are free cash flow, debt levels, current yield, dividend growth rate and fair value. Not to diminish any of these, because they are all very important, but they are not the most important thing that we need to look for. Free cash flow helps define the viability of the business to generate sufficient cash to meet the operating expenses and replacement capital. A high debt level can be a drain on free cash flow, sometimes to the point the company can no longer afford to pay a dividend. Current yield defines the money we will earn today. If it is too low we may not be able to cover our living expenses. Inflation is inevitable, especially... more

Highest REIT Yields By Real Estate Sector

Real estate investment trusts - REITs - have been pretty good to investors so far this year. The largest REIT ETF's are up about 13 percent for the first half of 2011. Rising share prices will result in declining yields, and the average yield for real estate trusts is in the low 3 percent range. REIT investors looking for yield can do significantly better than the averages. Here are the current top yielding REIT stocks in the different sectors of commercial real estate. Healthcare: Sabra Healthcare REIT Inc. (Nasdaq: SBRA), with a 38 cent quarterly dividend, sports a current yield of 7.8 percent.  Sabra was spun off by Sun Healthcare (SUNH) late last year and initiated dividend payments in May of this year. Three other healthcare REITs are yielding over 7 percent. Apartments: Most of... more

Tips for Building a Sustainable Dividend Portfolio

One of the expressions that is being used increasingly in all types of discussions is sustainability. Wikipedia describes it as the capacity to endure, to remain diverse and productive over the long term.I think the concept is as relevant to personal finances as anything else. Why? Because as individuals, we have limited resources both in terms of time, money to invest, resources to buy, etc. It becomes key to successfully build a long term portfolio that can be productive over long periods of time without spending dozens of hours every week.Some of us, including myself, enjoy financial markets so much that we don’t mind spending time every week tracking what is happening, how it impacts the financial markets and our own portfolio. That is not the majority however as you can... more

11 Up and Coming Dividend Kings to Buy Now

Investment Underground took a look at 11 stocks that are dividend kings and have room to grow. Hasbro Inc. (HAS): Hasbro is a leader in the manufacturing, selling and designing of games and toys. Chances are most of your favorite childhood board games, action figures, or toys were made by Hasbro. They have many high profile brand names like Playskool, Nerf, My Little Pony, Transformers, G.I. Joe, Super Soaker, Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers. It is currently trading around $44.13 and has a market cap of $6.01 billion. On May 19, Hasbro approved a share buyback valued at $500 million. It also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30. This is another buyback in the company’s share repurchase plan that was laid out in 2005. Hasbro has a 2.5% annual dividend yield and a payout ratio is... more

27 Mega-Caps With Consistent Dividend Growth

High dividend yielding stocks are among the best options for defensive investors seeking some inflation protection. On the other hand, some stocks with relatively lower dividend yields may still be appealing to defensive investors because of their consistency. These stocks had long records of increasing dividend payments. Their dividend yields remained low due to larger increases in their stock prices. We think the stocks that were able to increase dividends in the last few years are attractive options for conservative investors that demand consistency and protection in the upcoming inflationary environment. We compiled a list of 27 mega-cap US stocks that achieved consistent dividend growth and paid high current dividend yield. The market data are sourced from Fidelity. All... more

Squeeze Ideas: 11 Low-Debt Dividend Stocks with Increasing Short Interest

When a stock becomes highly shorted, it may indicate a short squeeze opportunity. As there are fewer short sellers to sell the stock, any move up can trigger a short squeeze in which short sellers must close out their positions, which puts even more upward pressure on the stock price. From the perspective of an investor searching for dividend income, we wanted to search for potential short squeeze opportunities from dividend stocks.Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in analyst ratings over the last two years for the top six stocks mentioned below. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment Research.<p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p> We began by looking for dividend stocks (with dividend yields above 2% and sustainable payout ratios below 35%) that... more

This Dividend Stock Will Help You Retire

I'm so confident that my pick will outperform the market that, within the next two months, I'll own $4,000 worth of its stock. If, over the course of the next three years, I sell any shares, I'll donate $100 to charity. This is the fifth article in a series that I'm writing about my retirement portfolio, which I'm dubbing "The Cheesehead Portfolio" in honor of my home state of Wisconsin. If you wish to see my first four selections for the portfolio, check them out:... more

11 Solid Dividend Stocks With Excellent Growth Rates

Many investors, such as Warren Buffett, praise defensive investing. As Buffett’s mentor Benjamin Graham recommended, investing with a margin of safety can be highly preferable in especially inflationary environments. Defensive investors generally pick high dividend yielding stocks as alternatives to 10-year T-Bonds in order to seek protection against inflation. For such investors we prepared a list of 11 large-cap companies with high growth rates that pay fat dividend checks. The market data are sourced from Fidelity. All companies in this list have a market capitalization above $4 billion, five years EPS growth rate higher than 20%, and dividend yield of at least 4%. None of these stocks lost money to their investors during the past 12 months and they returned 37.71% (including... more

2 Insurance Dividends to Buy and 1 to Avoid

Insurance companies can often be purchased at a discount to other sectors despite the fact that they normally offer a steady stream of cash flow. Part of this stems from the idea that investors are discounting against the losses that could be incurred from future natural disasters. The other part of the story is that most investors really don't understand insurance companies. The goal here today is not to get to know every company out there, but to highlight two that have done a reasonable job at increasing shareholder value through dividends, while also pinpointing one that looks like a suckers bet.... more