4 Growing Dividends From Solid Stocks
Many investors lost money over the past few years, but the endowments at prestigious universities suffered even worse. Investment performance at Harvard and Yale "badly trailed" the results at the average college, as The Wall Street Journal so delicately put it. I'm shocked -- but not because of these endowments' lackluster returns. With exotic strategies and illiquid investments, Princeton registered a 24% loss in 2009, while Cornell took a 26% hit, and Harvard suffered a 27% drop. Compare those losses with the 18% drop for the median large endowment. Worse yet, many such institutions fund their operating expenses with the capital from endowments such as these. If they don't generate capital gains, they may be forced to cut budgets and slash salaries.... more
CBS's Dividends May Not Last Forever
Whether you're a beginning investor or a near-retiree, the importance of purchasing stocks that pay dividends cannot be overstated. Not only do companies that have quarterly or annual payouts provide you with a steady stream of income, but they also have the potential for capital appreciation. Simply put, dividend stocks can give your portfolio what almost no other investment can -- both income and growth. At The Motley Fool, we're avid fans of dividends -- and not just because we like that steady stream of cash. Studies have shown that from 1972 to 2006, stocks in the S&P 500 that don't pay dividends have earned an average annual return of 4.1%; dividend stocks, however, have averaged a whopping 10.1% per year. That is an incredible difference -- one that you'd be crazy to not take... more
The Top Dividend Aristocrats in Household and Personal Products
Dividend-paying companies are an oasis in the desert of underperforming stocks. They offer solid payouts today and the promise of capital gains tomorrow. According to a study by Ibbotson, reinvested dividends made up about 40% of total stock returns from 1926 to 2006. In fact, dividend investing is so appealing that superinvestor Warren Buffett has made it a significant component of his portfolio. When searching for great dividend stocks, it makes a lot of sense to start with companies that have been playing the dividend game the longest. Standard & Poor's has culled the dividend winners from the also-rans in a list it calls the "Dividend Aristocrats."... more
McGraw-Hill's Dividends May Not Last Forever
Whether you're a beginning investor or a near-retiree, the importance of purchasing stocks that pay dividends cannot be overstated. Not only do companies that have quarterly or annual payouts provide you with a steady stream of income, but they also have the potential for capital appreciation. Simply put, dividend stocks can give your portfolio what almost no other investment can -- both income and growth. At The Motley Fool, we're avid fans of dividends -- and not just because we like that steady stream of cash. Studies have shown that from 1972 to 2006, stocks in the S&P 500 that don't pay dividends have earned an average annual return of 4.1%; dividend stocks, however, have averaged a whopping 10.1% per year. That is an incredible difference -- one that you'd be crazy to not take... more
CONSOL Energy's Dividends May Not Last Forever
Whether you're a beginning investor or a near-retiree, the importance of purchasing stocks that pay dividends cannot be overstated. Not only do companies that have quarterly or annual payouts provide you with a steady stream of income, but they also have the potential for capital appreciation. Simply put, dividend stocks can give your portfolio what almost no other investment can -- both income and growth. At The Motley Fool, we're avid fans of dividends -- and not just because we like that steady stream of cash. Studies have shown that from 1972 to 2006, stocks in the S&P 500 that don't pay dividends have earned an average annual return of 4.1%; dividend stocks, however, have averaged a whopping 10.1% per year. That is an incredible difference -- one that you'd be crazy to not take... more
Camden National (CAC) Declares $0.25 Quarterly Dividend; 2.7% Yield
Camden National Corporation (Nasdaq: CAC) has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, $1.00 annualized. The dividend is payable on January 31, 2011 for shareholders of record on January 14, 2011. The ex-dividend date is January 12, 2011. Yield on the dividend is 2.7%.... more
International REITs Outshine Among Dividend ETFs
In this holiday season, dividend ETFs continue their strong performance, especially U.S. dividend ETFs such as PEY, VIG, DVY. In our previous articles, we pointed out this trend. More detailed asset class performance trend can be found on this Market View page.Though foreign dividend ETFs (including emerging market stocks) have lagged behind their U.S. counterparts, the international REI (RWX) has inched up in the past month to become the best performer. The U.S. REIT (IYR) have been consolidating after strong performance earlier this year. Both ETFs have about similar annual dividend yield (3.46% and 3.48% respectively).... more
Ranking the 2011 Dividend Aristocrats
Standard and Poors recently announced its 2011 Dividend Aristocrats. The S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index is designed to measure the performance of S&P 500 constituents that have followed a managed-dividends policy of consistently increasing dividends every year for at least 25 years.The deletions from the 2010 list are:... more
Two Chocolate Stocks With a Tasty Dividend Yield
What is it about chocolate and medical cures? Chocolate benefits keep appearing regularly. It supposedly reduces wrinkles and aging according to Barry Callebaut AG (BYCBF.PK), the large chocolate maker, and it is even good for your liver. Chocolate has even helped Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) stock portfolio. Now British scientists are working on developing a persistent cough remedy made out of chocolate. A company called SEEK, which is not publicly traded, is working on creating a drug called BC1036 which utilizes theobromine, a major ingredient in chocolate and cocoa.... more
Independence Holding (IHC) Declares $0.025 Semi-Annual Dividend; 0.6% Yield
Independence Holding Company (NYSE: IHC) today reported declaration of a semi-annual cash dividend of $0.025 per share of common stock, $0.05 annualized. The dividend is payable to stockholders of record on January 6, 2011, with a payment date of January 20, 2011. The ex-dividend date is January 18, 2011. Yield on the dividend is 0.6%.... more