6 Diversified Dividend Picks for the Ultimate Retirement Portfolio

For many of us, having a solid dividend income is synonymous with having a safe and happy retirement. Whether you are an early retiree or a laggard income investor, one thing to look for is the safety of dividends. A company needs to have a history of dividend growth, as well as potential to increase dividends in the long term. To identify whether a stock fits into that criteria, one needs to look for not only the contemporary dividends, but the underlying fundamentals. Here is a diversified list of my favorite dividend stocks associated with strong business models that will continue to create profits:1) Intel (INTC) is one of the safest and cheapest large-cap dividend-growth companies on the market. Over the last 10 years, profits have been going up along with dividends. While the... more

6 Ideas for 'Buying Dividends'

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful. In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over... more

3 High Yield Stocks With Excellent Dividend Coverage

If you're looking for dividend income ideas, this list might offer an interesting starting point. To compile this list, we started with a universe of about 80 companies that have dividend yields higher than 4%, and payout ratios below 30%. We then calculated trailing twelve month (TTM) operating cash-flow per share, and TTM levered free cash flow per share, and identified the high yielding stocks that had the best dividend coverage. Of course, high yields often indicate higher levels of risk, so please be careful, and only use this list as a starting point for your own analysis. 1. USA Mobility, Inc. (USMO): Wireless Communications Industry. Market cap of $340.34M. Dividend yield at 6.5%, with a payout ratio of 20.16%. TTM... more

Overvaluation Can Severely Crimp Income for Dividend Growth Investors

In my most recent article titled The 'Magnificent Seven' Dividend Growth Stocks Overlooked by the Stock Market, there were two comments by readers that struck a nerve. To be clear, neither comment disturbed or offended me. Instead, they motivated me to go even deeper into the concept of the importance of valuation than I have in the past. The first comment was made by David Van Knapp, the number one opinion leader under the category Income Investing Strategies, and therefore, a highly regarded author on Seeking Alpha. In his comment he called me, and I quote, "Mr. Valuation." I took this as a great compliment, because I believe that valuation is one of the most important principles of investing, yet often overlooked and even ignored by many investors. The second comment was made by a... more

22 High Quality, Undervalued Dividend Stocks Worth Considering

With the market shrugging off the recent commodity collapse and making its way back to new highs, I thought it might be worth looking for high quality dividend stocks overlooked by the market. Starting with the Russell 1000, I screened for stocks with better than 3% dividend yield, EV / EBIT less than 10x, and Return on Capital greater than 10%. Only 22 stocks made the cut: Ticker Company Div. Yield EV / EBIT ROIC P / E YTD Return MO ALTRIA GROUP INC 6.17% 9.44 31.67% 13.95 11.58% RAI REYNOLDS AMERICA 5.80% 8.68 24.11% 9.61 17.89% EXC EXELON CORP 5.07% 8.12 14.64% 9.86 2.34% DO DIAMOND... more

Positive Returns and Social Dividends: 6-Month Check-In

Last November, I launched The Positive Returns and Social Dividends Portfolio as part of Fool.com's Rising Stars portfolio project. My portfolio is designed to take both financial returns and social benefits into account; conventional wisdom to the contrary, I believe that companies that take many different stakeholders into account don't necessarily damage their investment returns. This premise may have sounded like a potential feel-good money-loser, but thus far, that has not been the case.... more

Three Dividend-Paying Stocks You Can't Miss

Awww, cuddly little polar bears Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) has been around for a long time and you may be thinking, "Why should I invest in it? It's waaay past its fast-growth days, right?" Well, here's the thing, with one of the strongest brands in the world, this company's not going anywhere. Plus, it has pretty decent sales growth year over year. If that's not enough, it also pays a growing dividend. Coca-Cola Sales ($M) Sales Growth Dividends Per Share Dividend Growth 2010 $35,119 13.3% $1.76 7.3% 2009 $30,990 (3%) $1.64 7.9% 2008 $31,944 10.7% ... more

Why This Dividend Stock Broke My Heart, and How You Can Avoid My Misery

My uncle worked for Brown Shoe (NYSE: BWS) in the 1980s. I was a kid back then, and knew little about the market, but he purchased about 20 shares of his employer for me and my sister and cousins. I did know that the Brown Shoe dividend checks I got in the mail every quarter were incredible. As a kid in school, I needed money to buy junk food, Birch beer, baseball cards, and arcade games. I made money by doing the stuff kids do to make money: delivering newspapers, raking leaves, stacking wood. They were labor-intensive and didn't pay all that well. By contrast, those dividend checks were effortless.... more

The Top 5 Dividend Stocks Right Now

Ideally, you'll find the best of both worlds: a stock with a high yield, and payouts that company can sustain and grow. Such stocks will pay out the most cash to shareholders for long periods of time. When you identify dividend stocks with both factors, the returns can be tremendous. Consider the "top five dividend stocks" over the last five years -- i.e., the five stocks that yielded the most to lucky shareholders who bought five years ago:... more

15 Dividend Stocks Providing an Inflation Hedge

Investing in dividend growth stocks is not about buying a current high yield, but instead building a high yield-on-cost over time. One of the criticisms I am hearing more often is, "That low yield isn't even covering inflation." This is a very valid concern, if true. The way many low yielding stock yields compensate for inflation is by growing their dividend well in excess of the inflation rate. Below are several companies building an inflation hedge for their shareholders by increasing their cash dividends:United-Guardian Inc. (UG) researches, develops, manufactures, and markets cosmetic ingredients, personal and health care products, pharmaceuticals, and specialty industrial products. May 12th the company increased its semi-annual dividend 20% to $0.36 per share. The dividend is... more