Warren Buffett - A Closet Dividend Investor

Warren Buffett's latest annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) shareholders was published on Feb 26. The major theme of this letter was how to value Berkshire Hathaway as a company. Given the diverse nature of the company's operations, this is no small task. Another important item that the Oracle of Omaha discussed was the dividend stream that flows to Berkshire on a regular basis. In a previous article I outlined several reasons why Buffett is a dividend investor. While his investment style in the 1950s - 1970s was simply to purchase stocks trading at a discount to their fair values, it evolved into purchasing entire businesses or equity stakes in them. The common characteristic of these businesses was that they had strong competitive advantages, high returns on equity and as a... more

10 High Yielding Large Caps With Low PEG Ratios

Here is a current sheet of 10 large capitalized stocks with price/earnings to growth ratio of less than one and a dividend yield of more than 3 percent. The PEG ratio is a favorite measure of analysts and investors to identify cheap stocks in relation to their future growth. The cheaper the ratio is, the better the company seems to be priced. A value of less than one is well known within the financial community. In average, the current P/E ratio amounts to 12.92 while the average dividend yield amounts to 4.28 percent. Price to book ratio is 2.54 and price to sales ratio 2.55. The companies are working with an average operating margin of 24.65 percent; Net profit margin is 17.81 percent. Here is the table of 10 large capitalized stocks with lowest price/earnings to growth ratios:... more

Dividend Scan: BNS, SPLS, MLR, PM, AYR, AMAT, CLDT

Analysts at Barclays Capital believe that General Motors Co (NYSE: GM) may resume paying dividends in 2013 after it fully funds its pension plans. Despite analysts' pessimistic opinion on GM and amid market's negative movement, several companies declared their future dividend plans. Some notable dividend payers are discussed here. Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS) lost 0.61 percent or $0.37 to $60.63. The bank raised its dividend by 3 cents to 52 cents per share, its first rise since 2008. Staples Inc (Nasdaq: SPLS) gained 0.20 percent or $0.04 to $20.29 as it raised its quarterly dividend by a penny to 10 cents per share. Miller Industries Inc (NYSE: MLR) raised its annual dividend by 20 percent to 12 cents per share from 10 cents a share. The dividend is payable on March 24, 2011 to... more

The Most Promising Dividends in Furniture and Fixtures

Dividend payers deserve a berth in any long-term stock portfolio. But seemingly attractive dividend yields are not always as fetching as they may appear. Let's see which companies in the furniture and fixtures industry offer the most promising dividends. 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.... more

5 Stocks Going Ex-Dividend During the Third Week of March

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 Excel list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps... more

9 Dividend Paying Stocks with 1+% Yields, Increasing EPS and Attractive Valuations

With savings account and bond interest rates continuing to be low, dividend paying stocks can be an attractive alternative. Most savings accounts are currently yielding under 1% so it is worth looking for dividend paying stocks that yield at least 1% while providing additional upside in the form of future EPS and DPS growth. It is important to look for strong balance sheets, reasonable valuations, and companies whose recent growth is likely to continue into the future.We can start by using the Screener.co stock screener to find companies that are traded on US exchanges, growing, offering attractive and stable or growing dividend yields, and trading at reasonable valuations. We can also make sure their balance sheets are not burdened by debt. To do this, let's use the following criteria: ... more

Consider Your Portfolio's Yield Target

This is the second in a series of articles elaborating on the 9 Steps To Build and Manage a Dividend Portfolio. The average dividend yield of a portfolio says a lot about the portfolio itself. To calculate the portfolio dividend yield, simply add up the annual dividends from all holdings, and divide by the total stock portfolio value. Depending on the type of portfolio you have, it may be useful to divide it into sections. For instance, a given portfolio might consist of cash, Treasuries, bonds, non-dividend-paying stocks, and dividend-paying stocks. In this case, to get a meaningful average yield, isolate the dividend stock component of the portfolio, and divide the dividend income from that component by the total worth of that component. Average Yield = (Total Dividend Income) / (Total... more

Warren Buffett: Closet Dividend Investor

Warren Buffett’s latest annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) shareholders was published on Feb 26. The major theme of this letter was how to value Berkshire Hathaway as a company. Given the diverse nature of the company’s operations, this is no small task. Another important item that the Oracle of Omaha discussed was the dividend stream that flows to Berkshire on a regular basis.In a previous article I outlined several reasons why Buffett is a dividend investor. While his investment style in the 1950s – 1970s was simply to purchase stocks trading at a discount to their fair values, it evolved into purchasing entire businesses or equity stakes in them. The common characteristic of these businesses was that they had strong competitive advantages, high returns on equity... more

7 Preferred Stocks to Juice Your Portfolio's Yield in 2011

Investment Underground looked for preferred shares backed by heathy balance sheets. The names we came up with offer a solid yield and potential appreciation over the remainder of the year. Here is what we found:Barclays Bank Preferred Series A (BCSA): These shares still sell at a discount to par and yield a healthy 7.19%. With strong operating cash flows going forward, we think Barclay's is going to pay its obligations to preferred shareholders. Symbol Open High Low Close NetChg %Chg Vol 52 WeekHigh 52 WeekLow Div Yield Barclays Bank pfd. Series A BCSA 24.74 24.79 24.72 24.75 0.03 0.12 133,023 25.45 19.27 1.78 7.19 Fifth Third Capital Trust VI (FTBB): Fifth third (FITB) should have no difficulty muddling along in its sleepy midwest and southern markets. The company has greater clarity on... more

Dividend Champions: Focus on Resources

The Dividend Champions spreadsheet and PDF have been updated through 2/28/11 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. Together, all of these companies may be referred to using the abbreviation “CCC.” This is the sixth in a series of articles focusing on specific industries and isolating the CCC companies within those industries. The first five can be found under my articles page, beginning on March 2. More than Oil The extraction of materials from nature has been important for many years, even centuries, if not... more