Six Noteworthy Stocks With Yields Over 4%

If you’re looking to boost the total dividend yield of your portfolio, picking up a few stocks yielding 4%, 5%, or 6% can go a long way. One must be careful, of course, to select companies that have sustainable dividend payouts and that are good long-term investments. Although not every one of these may make for a good investment, and readers should do their own more thorough research, here are six high-yielding companies that are worth being aware of. Altria Group (MO) Altria is one of the largest tobacco companies in the world, and also has an interest in alcoholic beverages. Depending on the individual investor's views on ethical investing, it may or may not meet your requirements for inclusion in your portfolio, but the dividend yield is particularly high. There have been threats to... more

5 U.S. Dividend Growth Stocks for International Exposure in 2011

There is little doubt that many countries will experience greater growth in GDP than the US will in 2011. Depending on which prognosticator you believe, these countries range from Australia to Canada and Indonesia to Brazil. There is a general consensus, I believe, that there will continue to be growing demand in developing nations, especially the more prosperous ones which are often referred to as emerging markets. As a dividend growth investor, how can you best profit from this international growth?Below I have listen 5 well known large cap US companies, shown with their yields, which have about half or more than half of their sales from international sources. I posit that owning these companies is a very good way to participate in global economic growth in 2011 and beyond.... more

Target Corp. (TGT) Declares $0.25 Quarterly Dividend; 1.8% Yield

Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per common share, $1.00 annualized. The dividend is payable March 10, 2011 to shareholders of record February 16, 2011. The ex-dividend date is February 14, 2011. Yield on the dividend is 1.8%.... more

Pentair (PNR) Declares $0.20 Quarterly Dividend; 2.2% Yield

Pentair, Inc. (NYSE: PNR) declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share, $0.80 annualized. The dividend is payable February 11, 2011 to shareholders of record at the close of business on January 28, 2011. The ex-dividend date is January 26, 2011. Yield on the dividend is 2.2%.... more

Three Utilities for Selective Shoppers, Three High Yield Ideas

Earlier this week, utility titans Duke Energy (DUK) and Progress Energy (PGN) announced a merger that will create the nation’s largest regulated, electric utility with nearly $37 billion in market capitalization serving over 7 million customers across six states. Did the market do back flips? Was there a ticker tape parade? After all, big M and A activity is a positive sign that things are getting better. So what happened? Basically, the market yawned and scratched itself unenthusiastically.Maybe it was the premium or the lack thereof. In the stock for stock deal, PGN shares are valued at around 46.00 which comes to a lavish, 4% premium at best. Maybe if they had chosen the name “Groupon Energy” the offer might have been a little richer. However, if you pay attention to utility... more

International Dividend Investing: What to Know, What to Look Out For

In recent debate over our piece on the tradeoffs of investing in dividend stocks in place of bonds, there was quite a lively discussion around investing in global dividend stocks. Much of it along the lines of "How come no one ever writes about income investing outside the US?"... more

Banking on Large Cap Dividend Stocks: Five 'Dogs of the Dow' Worth Betting On

The “Dogs of the Dow” strategy zeroes in on the 10 Stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA) with the highest dividend yield. This stock-picking strategy depends for its success on the fact that out of a select list of 30 large-cap blue chip stocks, a portfolio of the 10 highest yielding components is likely to outperform the Index over the ensuing 12 months.Research from 1973 to 1991, when Michael O’Higgins first published the “Dogs of the Dow” strategy, showed that it significantly outperformed the DIA. Since 1996, the strategy has had mixed results, but performed quite well in 2010, with the 10 stocks showing a gain of 15.5% vs. a gain of 11% for the DIA. With dividends factored in, the overall return was 21% vs. 14% for the DIA.... more

Dividend Champions Smackdown IX Follow-up: Micro-Caps

A few days ago, I screened the Dividend Champions list of companies that have paid higher dividends for at least 25 straight years (which can be found here), using market capitalization as a primary focus. The result was a diverse selection of Small Cap and Mid Cap companies in each category - Champions, Contenders, and Challengers - that are worthy of further study. (Small Caps are generally described as having a market capitalization (stock price times shares outstanding) between $100 million and $2 billion, whereas Mid Caps range in size from $2 billion to $10 billion in market capitalization.) But that left the question of whether there are any decent “Micro-cap” (under $100 million) companies with dividend streaks. So I decided to screen as follows:... more

5 High Yield Dividend Stocks Being Dumped By the Smart Money

The following is a list of high yield dividend stocks that have seen significant institutional selling over the last three months. To give more perspective on investor sentiment, we'll also include data on short float and performance. Is this excessive pessimism justified? If you're a contrarian interested in dividend income, these trends might raise a flag. Full analysis below. Institutional data sourced from Reuters, short float data sourced from Finviz.... more

6 High Yield Pharmaceutical Companies: Do they Justify the Risk?

Introduction Today Investors are keenly focused on income while simultaneously very risk averse. This current behavior brings with it a level of frustration. The appetite for yield is high precisely at a time when yields on the traditionally safest investments like bonds and CDs, etc. are at historic lows. On the other hand, dividend yields on many blue-chip stocks are close to double what investors would normally find with this asset class.... more