Dividends Make A Comeback In 2011
Beck and Randall, AP Business , Be a Dividend Millionaire: A Proven, Low-Risk Approach That Will Generate Income for the Long Term (AP) -- U.S. companies increased their dividends by a record amount in the first quarter. Since the start of the year, 117 companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index said they would raise or start paying dividends. That amounts to a record increase of $16.6 billion, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P. Just 78 companies raised their dividends in the same period a year ago. The surge in dividends reflects a turning point in the long recovery from the financial meltdown in 2008. In the months that followed, companies were frozen by fear. In many cases, the answer was to slash or eliminate dividends and do what many... more
1 Company Announced A Higher Dividend, 7 To Pay Higher Dividends In April
A stock with a high yield doesn't mean much if the dividend is cut or eliminated, and the stock price declines significantly. Sometimes it is desirable to accept higher risk for a higher yield. Other times we may be accepting higher risk and are not being adequately compensated for the additional risk. One measure of dividend sustainability is the ability of management to consistently raise their dividends each year. This week only one company announced raised the dividend growth bar one year by increasing its cash dividends paid: International Paper (IP) is a global paper and packaging company with manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. March 29th the company increased its quarterly dividend 40% to $0.2625/share. The dividend... more
13 Highest Yielding Stocks in Warren Buffett's Portfolio
At Investment Underground, we're always searching for yield. After our recent study of top income producing stocks in George Soros' portfolio, we decided to take a look at Buffett next. Below are the 13 highest yielding stocks in Berkshire's (BRK-A)(BRK-B) portfolio in order form highest to lowest, plus some commentary on each … Glaxo Smith Kline PLC (GSK): Along with investing gurus Bill Nygren and Joel Greenblatt, Buffett holds 1,510,500 shares of GSK, making it one of his smaller positions (.11% of Berkshire's portfolio). The pharmaceutical giant is currently trading at a 37.11 P/E ratio, and offers a $2.46 (6.50%) dividend. With almost $4 billion in cash on hand, GSK has more than enough gun powder to get involved with new biotech partnerships and shorten its development cycle.... more
7 Companies Paying Higher Dividends in April, Plus 1 Raising Its Annual Payout
A stock with a high yield doesn’t mean much if the dividend is cut or eliminated, and the stock price declines significantly. Sometimes it is desirable to accept higher risk for a higher yield. Other times we may be accepting higher risk and are not being adequately compensated for the additional risk. One measure of dividend sustainability is the ability of management to consistently raise their dividends each year. This week only one company raised the dividend growth bar by increasing its annual cash dividends paid:International Paper (IP) is a global paper and packaging company with manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. March 29th the company increased its quarterly dividend 40% to $0.2625/share. The dividend is payable on... more
T. Rowe Price: Dividend Stock Analysis
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW) is a publicly owned asset management holding company. The firm primarily provides its services to individual and institutional investors, retirement plans, and financial intermediaries. The company is a dividend achiever which has increased distributions for 24 years in a row. The most recent dividend increase was in February, when the Board of Directors approved a 14.80% increase to 31 cents/share. The major competitors of T. Rowe Price Group include Blackrock Inc (BLK), Eaton Vance (EV) and Franklin Resources (BEN).Over the past decade this dividend stock has delivered an annualized total return of 13.90% to its loyal shareholders. Click to enlarge:The company has managed to deliver an impressive increase in EPS of 14.30% per year since 2001. Analysts... more
Dividend Champions: List Expands to 100 as of April
The Dividend Champions spreadsheet and PDF have been updated through 3/31/11 and are available here. N ote that all references to Champions mean companies that have paid higher dividends for at least 25 straight years; Contenders have streaks of 10-24 years; Challengers have streaks of 5-9 years. During the past month, I have focused on updating the listings for dividend increases and other announcements. Following is a discussion of my latest efforts. 100 Champions and Growing During March, Raven Industries (RAVN) declared its 25 th straight annual dividend increase, raising the number of Champions to an even 100 for the first time since last October, when four companies were deleted because... more
27 Best High Dividend Utilities For Conservative Investors
Several prominent investors have expressed their concerns about the Fed’s monetary policy and unsustainable budget deficits. Jim Rogers is extremely bearish about inflation. He thinks no matter what happens in the economy, it will lead to higher inflation, higher interest rates, and lower returns for long-term bond investors. Ray Dalio, the owner of World’s largest hedge fund, expects U.S. dollar inflation and he is bullish about emerging markets, commodities, and gold. Legendary investor Julian Robertson is in the same camp. He also expects commodities and China to perform well. 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 5-10 years. Like Jim... more
Dividend Sector Review: Pharmaceuticals
It's easy to see why given paltry yields on savings and high-quality bonds. Though dividend-paying stocks have a much different risk profile than CDs or Treasuries, a well-diversified portfolio of quality dividend stocks can help boost your current income and provide income growth potential through dividend increases. Not just any dividend-paying stocks will do, however, and it's important to take a holistic approach to evaluating these opportunities. That's one reason that I created the Dividend Report Card last year, which looks at metrics like dividend history, payout ratios, and interest coverage to determine the sustainability and growth potential of a company's dividend.... more
iShares Debuts Dividend ETF
iShares announced the latest addition to its ETF lineup on Thursday, rolling out a fund that seeks to deliver exposure to U.S. companies that have consistently delivered relatively high dividend yields. The iShares High Dividend Equity Fund (HDV) will seek to replicate the performance of the Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index, a benchmark that includes 75 high yielding companies. “Income is in high demand, yet continues to be hard to come by from traditional sources in a cost-effective, diversified, flexible trading manner,” said Noel Archard, Head of U.S. Product at iShares at Blackrock. “A basket of high dividend yielding equities can often provide investors with several benefits such as the potential for enhanced total return (especially in uncertain market environments),... more
Top 10 New Dividend Stocks Under $17
When you’re first introduced to the stock market, the commotion of the opening bell and the draw to a quick buck might be overwhelming. Suddenly you’re buying numbers and a percentage change one way or the other could set your mood for the day. It takes time to realize the positive lure of cyclical markets. But finally you settle in and develop a strategy. If you’re in it for the long haul, and especially if you’re jonesing for substantiated income, you’re looking for strong companies that consistently provide strong returns. Your numbers game of the past loses muster and you scoff at the unwarranted day trades of the newest investors.Somewhere in this process income investors develop the mindset that cheap stocks are speculative stocks, and speculation is taboo. But it’s... more