25 Dividend Stocks With Magic Formula Characteristics

Last week, I looked for magic formula tech stocks. With the recent pullback from the Japanese earthquakes, I thought I'd use the pullback to look for stocks with high dividend yields and magic formula like characteristics. The high dividend yield and low valuation should protect the stocks' downside while the high returns on capital and low valuation should provide plenty of upside. To put the list together, I took the Russell 3000 and eliminated all stocks with negative EBIT or stocks that didn't pay a dividend. Then I ranked the stocks from highest to lowest dividend yield (so Capstead Mortgage (CMO) had the highest dividend yield and received a 1. MFA financial (MFA) had the second highest and received a two). I then did the same with the stocks on an EV / EBIT basis (Wellpoint (WLP)... more

This High-Yield Dividend Portfolio Will Beat the Market

The past two weeks, the disaster in Japan has taken a toll on the market with the S&P falling 3.8%. When people panic, all assets get sold off. Our portfolio proved more stable than the markets and moved from underperforming the market by 0.3% two weeks ago to beating it by 0.3% now. While outperformance is always good, it should be taken with a grain of salt. We're investing for the long term, and it's only been 3 weeks. I firmly believe the results will bear us out. Movers & shakersOf our stocks, the biggest movers in the portfolio the past two weeks were France Telecom (-7.7%) and Vodafone (-6.9%), which dropped more than the S&P 500's -3.8%. However, these losses were both less than the European market's large drop of 8.8% as measured by the euro Stoxx 50.... more

Best Dividend Stocks for Strong Income

We compiled a list of 24 large scale companies with tremendous market capitalization and pay fat dividend checks regularly. All companies in this list have a market capitalization above $10 billion and dividend yield of at least 5% . These 24 stocks returned 14.2% (including dividends) during the past 12 months beating the government bonds by a large margin. 1- AT&T Inc. (T): One of the leading telecom companies in the US, AT&T recently traded at $27.81 and has a 6.18% dividend yield. The stock returned 16.39 percent during the past 12 months. During the fourth quarter of 2010, Berkowitz's $19 Billion Fairholme Fund bought $276 million T shares. 2- TOTAL SA (TOT): One of the leading multinational energy companies, Total recently traded at $56.97 and has a 5.5%... more

Dividend Scan: IPG, ENSG, UMPQ, PDCO, CPO, CVBF

As the US market regained its positive form after three days of loss, investors got a boost from a report that the country's largest banks are going to declare their dividends on Monday. Several companies declared their future dividend plans today. Some notable dividend payers are discussed here. Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG) declared a dividend of $13.125 per share on its Series B Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock, payable on April 15, 2011 to shareholders of record on April 1, 2011. IPG added 2.64 percent or $0.31 to $12.06. The Ensign Group Inc (Nasdaq: ENSG) gained 1.19 percent or $0.36 to $30.55 as it declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.055 per share, payable on April 30, 2011 to shareholders of record on March 31, 2011. Umpqua Holdings Corporation... more

Venture Beyond S&P Dividend Aristocrats?

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." John F Kennedy. S&P Dividend aristocrats are definitely worth buying for those who, I say, enjoy the comfort of opinion. However, that wouldn't maximize the total returns on your stocks. If you want to restrict yourself to the Dividend Aristocrats, then the top 10 stocks with highest dividend yields are AT&T, Altria Group, Verizon, American Electric Power, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Exelon, Southern, Merck, Entergy, and Pfizer. If you wish to venture beyond S&P Dividend Aristocrats, then you may consider the stocks given below. Ellington Financial LLC (NYSE:EFC) For the fourth quarter of 2010, the company declared a dividend per share of $1.31, compared to $0.8in the third quarter of 2010. If we annualize... more

Owning MLPs Can Pay Dividends: A Look at Tax Implications

MLPs have had a spectacular run from their lows two years ago. But one drawback of investing in MLPs is the associated tax hassle. Ownership is measured in units of the partnership, which pay distributions that have a fair amount of tax hassle. Most of the distributions are not taxed immediately but federal taxes are due on the remainder along with state taxes where a partnership has business. There is also a large amount of record keeping to be used when the units are eventually sold. It is possible to invest in MLPs by purchasing shares in corporations that pay dividends with minimal or no tax hassle.Kinder Morgan (KMP) (KMR) and Enbridge Energy (EEP) (EEQ) are two of the largest MLPs. Each company has units in the partnerships and a second (stock) company for ownership. The corporation... more

The Next 4 Top Net Payout Yields

Last week I wrote about the Top 4 Net Payout Yield stocks with market caps above $10B. Today I wanted to follow up with the next 4 highest yielding net payout yield stocks. Similar to the top 4 stocks, these 4 stocks have very high yields averaging a whopping 14%. All 4 stocks also have a very high focus on stock buybacks with only Rogers Communications (RCI) having a buyback yield below 10%. All but DirectTV have decent dividend yield support of more then 2.5%. DirectTV (DTV) - provides digital television entertainment in the U.S. and Latin America. DTV has the 5th largest NPY, but has zero dividend support. Since the yield is completely reliant on the buybacks its very important to analyze the pattern over the last 4 quarters. Though they peaked in Q2, buybacks have been consistent in... more

10 Companies Expected to Increase Dividends in April

In compiling the Dividend Champions list (found here), 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. Based on last year's announcements, I'm expecting the following companies to announce dividend increases between now and the anniversary of their previous increase: Dividend Champions (25 or more years): No. 2/28 Qtrly % LY ... more

7 Dividend Oxen to Plow Your Portfolio's Yield Harvest

We looked for safe, plodding high-yielders of all sizes with an ability to maintain and grow dividends. These are the reliable oxen we came up with to ensure prosperity in 2011: Coca-Cola Company (KO): Coke has paid dividends since 1893. Right now, the yield is 2.9%. Recorded investors on March 15 will get their next dividend payment on April 1. Over the last five years, share prices are up over 50%. They currently trade at a P/E of 12.7. For 2010, reported net revenue was $35.1 billion. Over the past five years, EBT margins have consistently been in the upper 20s, whereas for Dr. Pepper Snapple (DPS), it has been between 14% and 15%. The ROIC for Dr. Pepper Snapple was 9.5% in 2010, but for Coca-Cola it was right near 20%. In 2010, the company returned $7.2 billion to shareowners in... more

Income Investors: Consider These 13 High-Yielding, Healthy REITs

We looked for real estate investment trusts (REITs) worthy of attention. These operations are financially healthy and growing. With the commercial and residential real estate markets bottoming out, now is an opportunity to ride the wave on up with REITs. Additionally, given the nature of REITs, collecting dividend payments is an added bonus. By law, REITs have to pass on 90 percent of their taxable income to stockholders. Below are 5 REITs that you should consider for your fixed-income portfolio. Here is what we found: PS Business Parks (PSB): This full service real estate company that specializes in leasing, property management, acquisition and development. As of February 2011, PSB traded on a 42.39 P/E ratio, and yields 1.76 percent, with a market cap of... more