Yield Boosting, Volatility Reducing Dividend Stocks

For investors seeking current income this is the proverbial free lunch. Adding these stocks to your existing equity portfolio should provide the dual benefit of increasing current income while lowering portfolio volatility. The other considerations would be for the stocks to be at fair value since the goal is to seek current income and to a lesser extent price appreciation. Stocks that offer this benefit have low correlations to the market, high dividend yields, and low volatility. The screen was run to identify a short list of stocks with low betas and dividend yields. I also screened for market capitalizations above $300 million. The initial screen identified 523 stocks with a beta less than .5 and a positive dividend yield. First, a low but positive beta on average lowers the risk... more

Undervalued Financials: 3 High Dividend Stocks With Low 2011 PEG Ratios

Since the crash, many investors have shunned financial stocks, having been badly burned during the market meltdown. However, Standard & Poor's recently published a projected 2011 EPS growth-by-sector table that puts the Financial sector near the top for expected growth in 2011:There are currently some financial dividend paying stocks that are undervalued, when analysed by their 2011 PEG values. In addition, they each offer a hefty dividend yield. This week, we screened for Financial stocks with attractive ROE, high dividend yields, strong profit margins, and low 2011 PEG ratios. We came up with 3 financial dividend stocks, 2 REIT's and a Diversified Investments firm, which we've added to the Financials section of our High Dividend Stocks by Sector Tables: Resource Capital Corp REIT.,... more

Two Utilities with 6% Yield and Street Support

There are two utilities that offer a 6% or greater yield and are well liked on the Street. Niska Gas Storage LLC, (NKA) and Unitil Corp (UTL) fit the bill of higher yield and an analyst rating of “buy or better”. Utility investors are usually presented with two basic choices: higher current yield and lower growth or lower current yield and higher growth. Depending on an investors specific circumstance, either may be appropriate. These two fall into the category of higher current yield and lower growth. Niska Gas Storage operates three natural gas storage facilities with total storage capacity of 204 bcf, located in Canada, Northern California and Oklahoma. NKA is the largest independent natural gas storage operator in North America. 51% of revenues forecast for FY March 2011 will... more

Understanding the Inner-Workings of Dividend ETFs

Dividend exchange traded funds (ETFs) can be a great way to add some stability and income to your portfolio. That aside, they still do need a little understanding before you jump in... more

Dividend Champions: Focus on Utilities

The Dividend Champions spreadsheet and PDF have been updated through 2/28/11 and are available here. Note 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 third in a series of articles focusing on specific industries and isolating the CCC companies within those industries. The first covered Master Limited Partnerships (or MLPs) and the second covered Real Estate Investment Trusts (or REITs). What Are Utilities? Although that question may seem a bit facetious, it's worth asking in view of recent changes, such as the deregulation trend of the 1990s, as... more

Stocks Going Ex-Dividend Within the Second 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

10 Dividend Stocks Raising Their Payouts And Yields

When you purchase individual stocks, risk is inherit. Sometimes bad things happen to good stocks. Eventually, every investor will hold a stock that falls out of favor and endures a double-digit decline. Understanding this from the onset makes it easier to deal with. To minimize the risk of significant declines, your core portfolio should focus on blue-chip dividend growth stocks. Listed below are select companies that have recently elected to raise their payout and yield by increasing their cash dividends to shareholders: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at 8,970 retail units under 60 different banners in 15 countries. March 3nd the company increased its quarterly dividend 21 percent increase to $0.3650/share. The dividend... more

Dividend Aristrocrats: Four Yield Favorites

A good source for finding stocks that consistently boost their dividends is S&P's High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index. Four stocks in that index -- ExxonMobil (XOM), PepsiCo (PEP), Procter & Gamble (PG), and Walgreen (WBA) -- are also long-time residents of our Editor's Portfolio. It's estimated that approximately one-third of the S&P 500 Index's total return since 1926 is due to dividends. Thus, dividends matter, especially if that dividend stream rises over time. Just because a company has boosted its dividend 25 years or more doesn't necessarily make it a great investment. But such consistency should not be ignored by investors: Rising dividends help offset the effects of inflation. Most investments get roughed up during periods of sharply rising in?ation. Still, a... more

The Most Promising Dividends in Paper & Paper Products

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 paper and paper products 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

Why Does My ETF Dividend Fluctuate So Much?

The total return from any investment can be broken down into two sources, dividends and capital gains. While it is important not to lose sight of the fact that we are ultimately most concerned about total return, it can be informative to track the source of returns between dividend yields and capital gains, particularly for income investors. If you are counting on a specific level of dividend per share from your exchange-traded fund, there is good reason to dig a little deeper into the details of fund operations.An ETF that owns stocks will collect the dividends based on the number of shares of the underlying companies it owns over the course of time. Periodically, it will pay out these collected dividends to its shareholders. But what happens when new ETF shares are created? For example,... more