Bank Dividends Fail to Rally Stocks

Last Friday, bank investors were supposed to have gotten the news they had been anticipating for the past two years. After submitting capital plans to the Federal Reserve, the Fed gave several banks the green light to begin returning capital to shareholders. The resumption of dividends and share buybacks were supposed to launch bank shares higher, as investors chased higher yields and banks reduced their share counts. So why have bank shares failed to take flight? First, a look at what the new plans look like at the nation's largest banks. JPMorgan (JPM) is upping the dividend to $1 a year, from $0.20, as well as a $15 billion stock buyback program. Wells Fargo (WFC) announced a special dividend of $0.07 a share, in addition to the $0.05 quarterly dividend. It also approved a buyback of... more

Dividend Report Card: Coca-Cola

The Dividend Report Card wasn't designed as a buy or sell signal but rather as a tool to gauge the health of a company's dividend. For a full explanation of each category, click here for a tutorial. Today's pupil is Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), which posts a 3% yield. In his most recent shareholder letter, Warren Buffett said he expected Berkshire Hathaway's dividend income from its investment in Coca-Cola would double within 10 years -- implying a roughly 7.2% annualized dividend growth rate. Let's see if that's a reasonable expectation.... more

The High-Yield Dividends to Own for Decades

In uncertain times, it's great to have the security of dividends from stalwarts, and the bigger the payout, the better. But not only does it feel good: In fact, you have tons of research on your side. High-yielding stocks lead to attractive returns over the long term, according to a Tweedy, Browne review of the literature. Below I highlight a few high-yield stocks that you should consider owning for decades, and I'll offer you free access to a Fool tool that can help you stay updated on these dividend dynamos. So go on and love these high yielders!... more

BofA Denied Dividend Hike by Fed

Bank of America Corp's (BAC) plan to boost its dividend in the second half of 2011 was rejected by the Federal Reserve, as per a company filing on Wednesday. This comes as a rude shock to BofA, particularly after many big banks got the much-awaited green signal from Fed to hike dividends, following the release of stress test results last week. The Fed allowed America’s strongest banks that passed the second round of stress tests to operate independently and freed them of government restrictions imposed during the height of the financial crisis in 2008. But the story was different for BofA. The largest U.S. bank by assets needs to show the Fed even more financial strength, lest it needs to combat another financial crisis. The Fed wants BofA to be at least as strong as its rivals that got... more

10 Best S&P 500 Dividend Aristorcrat Growth Stocks

The S&P 500 (SPY) Dividend Aristocrats has some of the best growth stocks. Ten outstanding Dividend Aristocrats with excellent track records of growth over the last 10 years are shown below. Each stock has at least doubled while the Dow (DIA) gained 27% and the S&P 500 went up only 15%. Sherwin Williams (SHW) has been increasing dividends for 33 consecutive years. The stock has more than tripled to $83 in the last 10 years and yields 1¾%. SHR manufactures and sells paints, coatings, etc. around the world. In addition it operates paint stores and operates branches. The P/E is 16X. Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) has been increasing the annual dividend since 1968 and has been paying dividends annually since 1877. The stock rose 150% to $75 in 10 years and yields 2.2% (highest yield... more

International Dividend Stocks: A Look at Canadian Financials

In yesterday’s post, I discussed some of the major benefits that I see in owning foreign paying dividend stocks that are listed on U.S. exchanges. I will try to take a look at a few different countries but one of the more obvious ones (but still easy to overlook) is Canada. When looking, I started by taking a deeper look into countries that had attractive currencies in the long term and then following up with a look for solid dividend candidates. So why Canada? The Canadian economy and its currency, the dollar (often referred to as the loony) are set to enjoy a relatively good time in the next few decades. Why? Here are some of the reasons: Economy is already going strong and did not require much stimulus in the recent downturn. The central bank and federal governments have very... more

Dividend Scan: BKSC, UTX, RTN, BOOM, SCS, ACU, RBN, CITZ

The US market remained on the positive territory as Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) announced to reconsider increasing its dividend in 2012. Several companies declared their future dividend plans providing impetus to the investors' confidence. Some notable dividend payers are discussed here. Bank of South Carolina Corporation (Nasdaq: BKSC) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, payable on April 29, 2011 to shareholders of record on April 8, 2011. BKSC was trading at $11.55 with a zero percent change over its Wednesday's close. United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX) announced to raise its current quarterly dividend of 42.5 cents per share subsequently in every five quarters. UTX added 0.57 percent or $0.47 to $82.33. Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) raised its annual... more

Penn West Petroleum: Dividend Dynamo or Disaster?

Let's take a look at how Penn West Petroleum (NYSE: PWE) stacks up in four critical areas, to see whether it's a dividend dynamo or a disaster in the making. 1. Yield First and foremost, dividend investors like a large yield. But if a yield gets too high, it may reflect investors' doubts about the payout's sustainability. If investors had confidence in the stock, they'd be buying it, driving up the share price and shrinking the yield.... more

Energy Transfer Equity: A High-Yield MLP Worth a Look

Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) are fast becoming a desirable investment vehicle for yield-seekers and energy bulls. The purpose of the partnership is to raise capital in a tax-advantaged way in order to fund capital-consuming projects. This makes the MLP a natural fit for natural gas and oil pipelines where, once the pipeline is funded and built, a steady stream of income flows to the partners for investment.As a reward, cash flows through to the investors and is taxed as income through a K-1 form and not as dividends on a 1099. MLPs receive a federal tax exemption on the partnership entity if 90% or more of the partnership income comes from “qualifying sources” such as natural gas processing, storage and marketing.We have identified Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) as the best bang... more

9 High-Yield Telecom Stocks With Safe Dividends

Interested in high-yielding telecom stocks outside the U.S.? Each stock on this list holds a dominant position in its home country with regulatory barriers to entry and significant infrastructure investment that protect cash flows and thus dividend payments. Many of these operate outside the U.S., just like these 13 emerging market dividend stocks. Here’s what we found, plus some commentary on each:Windstream (WIN) has paid $0.25 in quarterly dividends since Q4 2006. The next ex-dividend date is March 29 for payment on April 15. The current yield is 7.9%. As reported on Friday, February 18, in 2010, total revenues, adjusted for acquisitions, dropped by 2.2% to $4.1 billion, and EPS fell by 12%. The company provides phone, high-speed Internet and digital television services. It also... more