9 One-Shot Dividend Plays

Dividend stocks are known to be safe investments for the long-term. That is why, high-dividend stocks should be an integral part of the ultimate retirement portfolio. For short-term investors, high-yield stocks can also prove to be profitable trades. One unconventional strategy is called “dividend capture.” Experience shows that buying stocks just before record date, pocketing it, and selling soon after it reaches ex-dividend prices can be really profitable. Timing is essential in dividend capture strategy. Almost all U.S. companies pay quarterly dividends. Therefore, one needs to look overseas to find one-shot, high dividends. Here is a list of one-shot dividend companies paying regular, yet fat dividends: Alto Palermo S.A. (APSA): APSA is one of the largest real estate... more

Investing in High Dividend Financial Stocks

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 deliver higher current yields and usually increase dividend payments over the next 5-10 years. Like Jim Rogers and 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. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of this strategy we compiled a list of top 30 U.S. Financial Stocks (the sector... more

5 High Yielding Israeli Stocks

Looking for yield? Look to Israel -- a prosperous, democratic country, known for its innovative, high-tech companies. When the Great Recession hit worldwide in 2008, Israel largely escaped. Why? Israeli banks had avoided toxic debt and the Israeli government wisely stimulated with tax cuts -- not money printing. Yes, I know what you are thinking. Why invest in the most reviled (at least by its neighbors) country in the Middle East? Good question . . . stay with me . . . we will revisit the issue. Consider these 5 high yielders:Cellcom Israel Ltd. (CEL) Israel's largest cellular communication company has a market cap of $3.1 billion and a trailing P/E of 8.4. The company has a generous 11% dividend. Growth in cell phone revenue in Israel comes, not from market penetration (there are... more

Dividend Scan: HUM, PKBK, SAH, AKS, COH, FWRD, ELNK, HON, FO

Amid the upward swing of the U.S. market, several companies declared their future dividend plans. Some notable dividend developments are discussed here. Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) announced a quarterly cash dividend of 25 cents per share, payable on July 28, 2011. Shares of the company gained 6.16 percent, or $4.48, to trade at $77.16. Parke Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: PKBK) declared a 10 percent stock dividend, payable on May 20, 2011 to stockholders of record on May 10, 2011. Sonic Automotive Inc. (NYSE: SAH) approved a quarterly dividend of $0.025 per share, payable in cash on July 15, 2011 to shareholders of record on June 15, 2011. Shares of the company slipped 0.81 percent, or 11 cents, to trade at $13.46. AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) announced a quarterly cash dividend of... more

The Most Promising Dividends in Oilfield Services

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

4 Dividend Paying Bargain Buys With Substantial Growth Potential

These four stocks have above industry average profit margins and above industry average return on equity. They also pay an annual dividend and have PEG ratios of less than 1. The PEG ratio is a broadly used indicator of a stock's prospective worth. It is preferred by numerous analysts over the price/earnings ratio because it also accounts for growth. Similar to the P/E ratio, a lower PEG means that the stock is more undervalued. Many financiers use 1 as the cut off point for PEG ratios. A PEG of 1 or less is believed to be favorable. These are bullish indicators regarding a stock's possible future performance. Nonetheless, this is only the first step in finding winners for your portfolio. Now that we have cut the wheat from the chaff, let’s take a closer look to distinguish the driving... more

Avoiding Dividend Cuts: Insights From the Number Crunchers

“Learn to see in another's calamity the ills which you should avoid.” Publilius Syrus For investors with a dividend strategy, dividend cuts are skunks at the party, stinking up everything from current income and future income growth, to total return, reinvestment risk and future stock-picking confidence. Calamity indeed. Not long ago, SA initiated a superb forum, moderated by David Van Knapp, inviting readers to air their choices for the next dividend skunks. It is a firing line of informed opinions, practical experience and good old-fashioned arguing. Recently, David Fish began shipping the firing line more ammo: dividend growers that delayed their hikes beyond the normal anniversary date. And soon enough, Dividend Achiever Hudson City Bancorp (HCBK), one of 10 or so stocks... more

Top 12 Industrial Titans Paying Substantial Dividends

The profitability of industrial producers is directly correlated with that of other sectors. These companies play an essential role in the development of new technologies as well as services. Consequently, the performance of large-cap industrials is a solid indicator of the strength of the U.S. economy. Here is a list of the top 12 U.S.-based industrial titans with a minimum market cap of $10 billion which offer a minimum yield of 2%. Data is derived from Finviz: Boeing Co. (BA): As the world’s most-known aerospace company, Boeing produces commercial airplanes, military aircraft, network & space systems, global services & support, and Boeing Capital Corporation. Boeing’s market capitalization is $55.60 billion and its P/E ratio is 16.95, while forward P/E ratio is... more

42 Companies Expected to Increase Dividends in the Next 8 Weeks

In compiling the Dividend Champions list I get to see which companies are nearing the anniversaries of their previous dividend increases. Since most of these firms raise their payout about the same time every year, I can say with some confidence that they are likely to do so again. New Format This is the second article in the new twice-monthly format, which extends the forward look to a period of about eight weeks. The first appeared on April 13th and can be found here. Seven of the companies mentioned in that article have announced dividend increases, including the 55th consecutive annual increase by Procter & Gamble (PG) and the 10th straight by Southern Company (SO), which graduated to Contender status. As expected, the new twice-monthly format leads to some carry-over in the... more

The Street's 10 Dividend Stocks Challenged by Seeking Alpha Readers

We continue to examine different portfolios to see what we can learn and use to further our investment portfolios.Many working people put off their retirement investing -- just one more year until it has becomes a "hair on fire" problem. The problem is that we can easily be overwhelmed and shut down. The way to solve this is to focus on what works in the long term -- that is what long term investing is all about -- and allow that to filter out what may work in the short term but won't stand the test of time.We recently published a review The Street's 10 Dividend Stocks which came under fire from a number of SeekingAlpha readers. The dividend stocks that were in the plan were: Hewlett Packard (HPQ) Fifth Third Bancorp (SLW) Oracle (ORCL) Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) Qualcomm (QCOM) ... more