Dividend Champions for March 2011

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. 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. What's New During February, the Dividend Challengers were joined by several new companies that have reached the five-year level of dividend increases, including Dun & Bradstreet (DNB) , Flowserve (FLS) , Southwest Gas (SWX) , and ... more

Will NutriSystem Shares Soon See a Dividend Cut?

NutriSystem, Inc. (NTRI) reported earnings and guidance last week (see conference call transcript here) which resulted in a major drop in the stock price. The shares traded for about $20 on February 24, and have since fallen to about $13. Fourth quarter revenues fell to $87.9 million compared to $105.5 million in the same period last year. For the full year (2010), revenues were $509.5 million, down from $524.6 million in 2009. Earnings per share totaled $1.12 for 2010 vs. 92 cents per diluted share in 2009. Going forward, the company said it was seeing heavy competition and price discounts taking effect on financials results.... more

Molson Coors: Increasing Market Share and Dividends

Last week The New York Times announced that the NHL has signed a 7 year deal with Molson Coors Brewing Company (TAP) worth $400 million. This will put increased pressure on Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) who previously held the deal for less than half the price, but retains the rights to the NFL and MLB. However, an executive from Molson Coors insists they have data that shows that hockey fans drink more beer than any other professional sports league. Now I’m not sure if I believe their statistics regarding hockey fan beer consumption, but as a die-hard fan speaking from observation I would think that its generally correct. Beer tends to be very inelastic in terms of price, in that demand remains relatively constant as prices rise. Evidence of this can be found by standing in the long beer... more

Emerging Market Dividend ETFs May Lower Portfolio Risk

State Street didn’t invent the concept of dividend-oriented exposure to emerging markets. The Matthews Fund family has been ultra successful with its Matthews Asia Dividend Fund (MAPIX) for many years. What’s more, WisdomTree’s Emerging Market Equity Income ETF (DEM) tracks an emerging market dividend index and has been a mainstay since July 2007. With that said, MAPIX focuses exclusively on Asia, carries an annual expense ratio north of 1%, and is less “liquid” with end-of-the-day pricing. WisdomTree’s DEM is far more diversified across emerging markets, yet nearly one-third of the fund is concentrated in its top 10 holdings and the Current P/E may be regarded by some as a bit rich (12.3). The question, then, is whether or not SPDR S&P Emerging Market Dividend ETF (EDIV)... more

5 Technology Titans Offering Growing Dividend, Capital Appreciation Potential (Part I)

To think that only 50 years ago there was no Intel (INTC) or Microsoft (MSFT) is mind-boggling. Certainly a lot has happened over the past five decades. But as it applies to investing in common stocks, something perhaps even more remarkable is now occurring. Our once, hyper growth technology stocks have morphed into stodgy old growth and income investments. Just like the technology industry itself, the pace at which this has occurred is mind numbing. Five Technology Titans for Growth and Growth of Income Fifty years ago investors looking for income would never have considered the leading technology stocks that brought us the information age. However, fast forward to present time, and these once fast growing growth stocks have morphed into dividend paying blue-chip, growth and income... more

5 Technology Titans Offering Growing Dividend, Capital Appreciation Potential (Part II)

Positioning Statements and Introductory Remarks: Learning from the Past The following presentation, through the lens of our F.A.S.T. Graphs research tool, reveals a picture of each company's past, present and future fundamental values. We're often asked, and even criticized, for placing too much emphasis on historical information and values. Therefore, we offer the following positioning statements in our defense. First of all, before we would ever invest in a company we feel it is only logical to have a perspective on how well the business has been managed. Therefore, a review of the company's operating history speaks volumes about the company's business and the success it has achieved on behalf of shareholders. Success leaves clues, and since the nature of a business does not change... more

Top Dividend Picks Using a Solid Weighting Scheme

I have written before on how important it is to have a legitimate weighting mechanism when picking stocks for a high dividend yield portfolio. It is also very important to stay disciplined with this approach when rebalancing. The notion of weighting by market capitalization is a tired one and has been shown to be inferior to better weighting schemes. My preferred variables for weighting high dividend paying stocks are the following in order of the magnitude of their weighting: Dividend Yield, (1-Debt to Equity), 1 Year Dividend Growth Rate, Payout Ratio, and the 5 Year Dividend Growth Rate. The weights I use are as follows: Factor Weights Yield 55% Debt/Equity 15% 1 yr Div Growth 15% Payout Ratio 10% 5 yr Div Growth 5% ... more

Dividend Graveyard: 7 High-Yield Stocks That Could Cut Dividends This Year

Investment Underground searched for companies with high payout ratios that are in jeopardy of dividend cuts in 2011. Among these names are mining and real estate companies and a couple outside these sectors. If you’re an investor who counts on dividends, consider reappraising your positions in these companies. And if you’re looking to add some new names to your dividend portfolio, check out these 10 safe, high-yield telecom companies or these 7 pharma stocks. Here’s what we found: Garmin (GRMN): No defensibility. It’s as simple as that. Garmin hasn’t been able to build strong enough barriers or a strong enough brand, and with EPS projections negative at (-9.16) through 2013 it isn’t looking sustainable for the company to continue to pay out its 4.5% dividend. For safer picks... more

High Yields From Nasdaq 100 As Of February 2011

Here is a current sheet of stocks from the Nasdaq 100 Index that have the highest dividend yields. The Nasdaq-100 Index includes 100 of the largest domestic and international non-financial securities listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market based on market capitalization. The Index reflects companies across major industry groups including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade and biotechnology. It does not contain securities of financial companies including investment companies. In average, they have a dividend yield of 1.81 percent. 59 stocks have a zero dividend. Stocks with high dividend yields seem to be attractive if the dividends are sustainable. Dividends are main wealth contributors and deliver nearly one third of the annual long-term return.... more

Dividend Scan: XEC, GORO, PDLI, HBC, WRI, STJ, UNS, TCAP, CSC

Encouraging consumer report and deal activity gave an impetus to the US market, today. Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.75 percent or 90.48 points to 12,220.93, and Nasdaq Composite gained 0.40 percent or 11.25 points to 2,792.30. The Standard and Poor's 500 was up 0.63 percent or 8.32 points to 1,328.20.
Several companies joined the celebration by declaring their annual and quarterly dividends. Some notable dividend payers are discussed here.... more