Endangered Dividends

Dividend Cuts A-Go-Go

By Roger S. Conrad on Aug. 14, 2017

Three of the four companies in our coverage universe that announced payout cuts this quarter were on our Endangered Dividends List.

For a second consecutive month, none of the companies covered in our Utility Report Card cut their dividends. The start of second-quarter earnings season could shatter this calm. We highlight some of the names that could hit their dividends with a shrink ray.

No Cuts, But Plenty of Risks

By Roger S. Conrad on Jun. 10, 2017

Avoid these stocks with endangered dividends.

Dividend Cuts Are All the Rage This Spring

By Roger S. Conrad on May. 14, 2017

Several names on our Endangered Dividends List slashed their payouts over the past month.

Power Cut

By Roger S. Conrad on Apr. 14, 2017

We assess E.On's third dividend cut since 2011 and explore other areas of potential risk.

Warning: Falling Dividends

By Roger S. Conrad on Mar. 11, 2017

Three companies escape from the Endangered Dividends List, while a troubled international telecom announces what could be the first of several dividend cuts.

Another Midstream Meltdown

By Roger S. Conrad on Feb. 12, 2017

Excessive leverage, diminished growth prospects and shrinking cash flow suggest that a distribution cut is inevitable for this midstream master limited partnership.

Mind the Borrowing Costs

By Roger S. Conrad on Jan. 10, 2017

Rising interest rates will exert additional strain on all the names in our Endangered Dividends List. And the higher rates go, the greater the risk that these stragglers will seek to conserve cash by reducing their payouts.

More Midstream Cuts

By Roger S. Conrad on Dec. 11, 2016

Sunoco Logistics Partners LP's proposed acquisition of Energy Transfer Partners LP will result in a stealth distribution cut of 27 percent for the latter's unitholders. Meanwhile, Ferrellgas Partners LP slashed its payout by 81 percent. Readers who follow our Endangered Dividends List would have avoided this pain.

Dividend Safety: Interest Rates Matter

By Roger S. Conrad on Nov. 16, 2016

Thanks to 15 years of cutting operating risk and debt, not even a much higher spike in borrowing costs would threaten dividends of best-in-class utilities. With ample cash flow and minimum near-term borrowing needs, they can hold off until pension funds and other institutional buyers must return to the table. Unfortunately for the weaker credits covered in our Utility Report Card, rising interest rates could ratchet up the pressure on their balance sheets and force them to redeploy cash that they currently pay out as dividends.

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Endangered Dividends List

Warning: Falling Dividends.
Utility Report Card

Roger's current take and vital statistics on more than 200 essential-services stocks.

ABOUT ROGER CONRAD

Roger S. Conrad

Founder and Chief Editor:
Conrad's Utility Investor
Capitalist Times and
Energy & Income Advisor

Roger S. Conrad needs no introduction to individual and professional investors, many of whom have profited from his decades of experience uncovering the best dividend-paying stocks for accumulating sustainable wealth. Roger b