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Investing Topics: Dividend Stocks

Bonds: Still A Sellers’ Market

By Roger S. Conrad on Dec. 21, 2013

Ready to lock up money for 54 years at just 3.4 percent annual interest? More than a few investors did this week when their funds bought Enterprise Products Partners’ (NYSE: EPD) 7.034 percent bonds maturing January 15, 2068, a barely investment grade BBB- credit.

Utility Update: Don’t Fear Rates’ Rise

By Roger S. Conrad on Dec. 11, 2013

Fear of rising interest rates again appears to be triggering selling of utility stocks. I’ve shown over and again that the sector’s so-called interest rate sensitivity is a false relationship over any recent period longer than a few weeks. Consequently, lower prices should be viewed as a buying opportunity for recommended stocks.

Surviving the Taper Trade

By Roger S. Conrad on Dec. 3, 2013

Barring a real financial earthquake, this will be the ninth year of rising interest rates since 1992.

2013 will also be the eighth of those nine that utilities and other dividend paying stocks finished in the black. The only exception was 1994, when deregulation fears upended electricity and communications.

Utilities also rose eight years when rates fell. All their biggest declines, however, were during years of falling interest rates, particularly 2008.

Utility stock prices ultimately reflect the health of underlying companies. Stocks of financially healthy companies with growing dividends always move higher. But when an economic calamity brings interest rates lower quickly, they can drop in a hurry.

Utility Investing: Slow and Steady Wins the Race

By Roger S. Conrad on Nov. 1, 2013

The $48 billion leveraged buyout of the former TXU Corp by KKR & Co. LP (NYSE: KKR) and other private-equity outfits set record in 2007. Now, the company's impending bankruptcy underscores the risks of looking for a quick buck in the utility sector.

AT&T Reports, And Other Portents Positive

By Roger S. Conrad on Oct. 28, 2013

AT&T Inc (NYSE: T) was the only Conrad’s Utility Investor Portfolio pick to report numbers last week. Takeaway one is quite positive: The results followed closely those of arch-rival and co-Big Two US communications company Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ).

Your Best US Default Insurance

By Roger S. Conrad on Oct. 11, 2013

Don’t believe everything you hear. The odds are still heavily in favor of enough Democrats and Republicans joining forces to prevent the first bona fide US default since the government operated under the Articles of Confederation.

Utility Talk

By Roger S. Conrad on Oct. 8, 2013

You had questions about utility and telecom stocks, we had answers. 

Electric Utilities: Eyes on Washington

By Roger S. Conrad on Sep. 21, 2013

The Environmental Protection Agency's ongoing crackdown on carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants continues to dominate the headlines. But investors shouldn't overlook the importance of utility-regulator relations at the state and local level.

Kinder Morgan: A Hard Target

By Roger S. Conrad on Sep. 13, 2013

When the research firm Hedgeye came out with a report blasting a long-time favorite of mine—Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP)—my first question was what have they seen that I have not to date? Is there something most of us who research this master limited partnership have overlooked, some critical Achilles heel that could in Hedgeye’s words make Kinder and related companies a “house of cards?”

Similarly, I wondered why Hedgeye had chosen to pick on Kinder, rather than a master limited partnership (MLP) with more obvious troubles such as NuStar Energy (NYSE: NS). The latter, for example, has failed to cover its distribution with distributable cash flow (DCF) for several quarters now, even leaving aside its extremely aggressive capital spending.

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ABOUT ROGER CONRAD

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