Investing Topics: Dividend Investing

This week, Barron’s “5 Dividend Standouts,” asserted that “finding stocks with both attractive yields and strong dividend growth isn’t easy.” But I take issue with the article’s implication that individual investors can’t find stocks with generous and growing dividends on their own when there are 8 rock-solid, buy-rated essential services stocks in our Conservative Income Portfolio right now, yielding an average of 6 percent.

The big question facing investment markets in second half 2018: Will the US economy keeping growing at a 4 percent plus rate?

The hype and volatility of corporate earnings reporting season will soon be upon us. Before that happens, however, many companies will announce something considerably more near and dear to the hearts of income investors: Calendar third quarter dividends.

Strong business fundamentals, low measures of standard valuation and a generally weak technical picture: Those are the basic traits of a “value” stock, known in some circles as a contrarian bet.

What’s the best way to stay on top of a volatile stock market, where a new threat seems to come out of left field every day? Make sure you own shares of high-quality companies that pay dividends.

Despite a down first quarter, market history is on the Dow Jones Utility Average's side.

This week, the US Federal Reserve raised the Fed Funds rate to a range of 1.5 to 1.75 percent. Does this mean it’s time for income investors to head for the hills? Hardly.

The recent pullback finally sent this telecom titan's stock price below our buy target.

The highest-yielding stock in the Dow Jones Utility Average looks like a good buy.

The Dow Jones Utility Average hasn’t revisited its Feb. 9 low thus far. But the index is still down almost 15 percent from the all-time high reached in mid-November. Weakness in income-oriented equity groups reflects the pullback in the overall market and fears of rising interest rates. However, at these levels, very few high-quality names in our Utility Report Card remain at unsustainably high valuations and only six of our Model Portfolio holdings trade above our value-based buy targets—a stark contract to only a few months ago. Fourth-quarter results and earnings guidance also underscore that tax reform will provide more of a longer-term tailwind for the utility sector than a near-term headwind. Developments on the regulatory front have also been positive, with Duke Energy Corp (NYSE: DUK) settling its rate amicably and the Texas Public Utility Commission finally approving Sempra Energy’s (NYSE: SRE) takeover of Oncor Electric Delivery. By and large, utilities and the other essential-service companies in our coverage universe reported solid earnings and issued encouraging guidance. Bottom Line: The stocks will only fall so far as weakness in the market and interest rate fears pull them. Although the recent pullback has weighed on our overall returns, investors who followed our lead and took partial profits over the summer should have plenty of dry powder at their disposal.