Focus on Dividends

Acquisitions: Johnson Controls International PLC (NYSE:JCI) Director Gretchen R. Haggerty acquired 6,220 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $41.40 per share, with a total value of $257,508.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 12,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $532,404. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink . Shares of JCI opened at $41.99 on Wednesday. Johnson Controls International PLC has a 12 month low of $28.30 and a 12 month high of $43.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $32.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.94.   Read more … Kinder Morgan

Upgrades: United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Daiwa Capital Markets from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Monday, The Fly reports. A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on UPS. Argus restated a “buy” rating on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Credit Suisse Group set a $119.00 price objective on shares of United Parcel Service and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of United Parcel Service to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $123.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of United Parcel Service from a “buy” rating

Healthcare stocks could be the best growth and income plays These days, the healthcare stocks are looking pretty healthy compared to stocks in other spaces. Despite political pressures about lowering costs, “Medicare for All” and importing drugs, the sector has been riding high on a wave of optimism and growth. Demand for various healthcare solutions continues to rise as our aging population simply requires more. And that story is pretty much the same across the world. Even better is that recent market volatility has sent many investors into healthcare stocks for their high cash flows and strong dividend potential. Many healthcare stocks have long been dividend champions — offering both high initial yields and overall strong dividend growth. For investors looking for income and the ability to keep that income rising over the long haul, healthcare stocks can’t be beaten. The best part is that the sector’s overall growth rates don’t seem to be slowing anytime soon. Th

These five utility stocks to buy should be able to rally so long as inflation remains checked Utility stocks were supposed to be yesterday’s favorite investment. The theory regarding utility stocks was simple: Robust economic growth coupled with a full labor market was supposed to spark rising inflation. The Fed was supposed to fight rising inflation with rate hikes. Fixed income yields were supposed to rise. Utility stocks, which were long viewed as bond substitutes in an era of ultra-low interest rates, were supposed to fall. But that theory hasn’t fully materialized into reality. The result? Utility stocks haven’t lost their shine. With inflation relatively contained and investors ducking into safety, stocks in utilities are still attractive assets to own for dividend yield hunters. Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund(NYSE: XLU), a utilities ETF, has jumped   13.5% in 2019. The markets’ recent volatility has contributed to the XLU’s gain, as investors flee t

Acquisitions: Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY) insider Kenneth Dillon bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $44.57 per share, with a total value of $222,850.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 108,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,837,449.52. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website . OXY stock opened at $45.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.32. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $43.08 and a 12-month high of $83.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a PE ratio of 9.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta

Upgrades: AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) was upgraded by investment analysts at Piper Jaffray Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, The Fly reports. ABBV has been the topic of a number of other reports. Svb Leerink upgraded shares of AbbVie from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Leerink Swann upgraded shares of AbbVie to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Credit Suisse Group set a $78.00 target price on shares of AbbVie and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of AbbVie from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, ValuEngine downgraded shares of AbbVie from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating

Altria (NYSE:MO) declares $0.84/share quarterly dividend, 5% increase from prior dividend of $0.80. Forward yield 7.26% Payable October 10; for shareholders of record September 16; ex-div September 13.

Community Bank System (NYSE:CBU) declares $0.41/share quarterly dividend, 7.9% increase from prior dividend of $0.38. Forward yield 2.67% Payable October 10; for shareholders of record September 16; ex-div September 13.

While there's still some room for risk, investors in their 30s need to be smart about their retirement savings By the age of 30, you should already have nearly a decade’s worth of retirement savings under your belt. If you don’t, you’re not alone. A recent  GoBankingRates survey  showed that nearly half of the millennials questioned had no retirement savings at all. If you fall into that camp, keep in mind the old saying “better late than never,” because it absolutely applies if you’re only just starting to build a nest egg. If you just hit the big 3-0 and you’ve already been saving and investing for years, bravo; however, 30 is a great milestone to look over your investments and rebalance your portfolio with some of the best long-term stocks out there.  Unlike in your 20s, risk is a much larger consideration a decade later. The market is bound to go up and down, and you have to assess whether or not you could handle a market-wide pullback. Moreover, you will wa

Iron Mountain (IRM) is one of the  highest-yielding stocks in the S&P 500  and offers investors compelling total return potential. It is structured as a real estate investment trust (or REIT) and is undergoing a transition from a physical data storage company into a digital data storage company. Currently, the market is pricing it as a struggling company with a declining core business, but we believe that the market is missing the growth story in its investments in data storage, government contracts, and international expansion. While investors wait for market sentiment to turn, they get paid a fully-covered 7.8% dividend that is expected to grow at an average rate of 4% per year. Recent Earnings Report In its second quarter, Iron Mountain reported revenue growth of 0.6% despite foreign currency exchange headwinds (underlying organic growth rate was 0.7%). However, expenses outpaced revenue growth by increasing 1.7%, led by cost of sales growth of 3%. Operating in

The best value stocks to buy offer high-growth on the cheap It’s hard to find a bargain stock with dividends growing quickly. Often they are overvalued and not worth buying. Another problem is these kind of stocks can’t sustain the dividend growth. The trick to uncovering the best stocks to buy now is to search for fast-growing dividend stocks with low earnings-payout ratios. Even better if they’re cheap. For example, fast growing tech companies reinvest their earnings in their business. They can’t afford to pay dividends without sacrificing growth. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has never paid out a dividend but is growing very fast. The stock is not cheap as investors rely on steady growth, but its investors are willing to forgo dividends. Among the best stocks to buy now for value and income are business development companies (BDC). BDCs often raise their dividends at high rates, borrowing money or continually selling equity to finance dividend growth. Their payout ratios

With rates set to remain lower for longer, these seven big dividend stocks are due for strong performances One of the biggest themes of financial markets in 2019 has been plunging rates. The 10-Year Treasury yield (alongside pretty much every other fixed income rate) has plunged in 2019, dropping from 2.7% on Christmas Eve 2018, to just over 2% in late July 2019. The catalyst? Slowing economic expansion across the globe, which central banks want to curb. As such, central banks around the world project to cut rates in an insurance move to prolong the current economic expansion. Rates have plunged in anticipation of these cuts. Will rates stay lower for longer? Probably. The Federal Reserve will likely cut rates a few times in the back half of 2019 to prolong the current economic expansion and breathe life back into the sluggish industrial economy, which has been hurt by rising geopolitical tensions. As such, the plunging rates theme of 2019 projects to turn into a co

You can put these stocks in a drawer and not look at them again for the next 10 years A few years ago, InvestorPlace contributor Dan Burrows highlighted the ten best-performing S&P 500 stocks of the past decade. The most important lesson one finds by studying these high-flying stocks is that patience wins out over all other attributes of a successful investor. A classic example of how true this is involves the Fidelity Magellan Fund (MUTF:FMAGX), the large mutual fund made famous by portfolio manager Peter Lynch. Lynch ran the fund for 13 years from 1977 until 1990, growing it from $20 million to $14 billion before stepping aside. Fidelity studied the returns of Fidelity Magellan unit holders over those 13 years to see how they compared to the legendary portfolio manager. While Lynch managed to achieve a 29% annual return over this period, the average investor lost money. Patience would have served those investors well, as the ups and downs of the stock market

The stock market has been shaken in recent days by an escalation of the trade battle with China, as well as a Federal Reserve move to lower benchmark interest rates for the first time since 2008 – but not by as much as some on Wall Street hoped. But even after heavy selling, Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index remains just a few percent off all-time highs. Is this the start of a long-awaited stock market correction? Possibly. But rather than trying to gauge exactly when a correction is coming or what will spark it, a better plan is to simply prepare. That is, you can shift the composition of your portfolio so it can better weather a storm – but still profit as long as the bull keeps running. A more defensive posture does have drawbacks; nothing is free. The biggest problem is being underweight the stocks that are still driving the market higher. But for investors who do think a correction is coming and don’t want to play the losing game of trying to time the market, we’ve

Goldman Sachs has just revealed a valuable investing strategy that’s worth keeping a close eye on in the coming months. The firm is now recommending stocks with the fastest expected return-on-equity growth (or ROE). That’s because market upside is increasingly limited from current lofty levels, says Goldman Sachs. Indeed, the S&P 500 has already put on a 17% sprint year-to-date- which means it is now trading very close to its fair value relative to interest rates, profitability and price-to-book valuations. As a result, investors must be particularly savvy when scouting for stocks with the potential to generate outsized returns. “We forecast flat S&P 500 margins through 2020, with risks tilted to the downside. ... Amid concerns about the growth and profitability outlook this year, investors have assigned a premium to companies able to expand ROE,” the firm’s chief US equity strategist David Kostin said. He directed investors to the firm’s basket of 50 S&P 50

Main Street Capital Corporation Now Pays 7% I usually avoid high-yield stocks, and for good reason. Each day, I screen the market for new investment ideas. And with a few mouse clicks, you can pull up dozens of high-yield securities. Right now, for instance, 120 stocks now pay out more than 10%. Those yields might sound great, until you look at the companies behind them; they’re mostly junk. The companies behind these high-yield stocks often fail to generate enough cash to cover their distributions. In most cases, it’s only a matter of time before the payout gets slashed. That said, sometimes you do find exceptions. Over the years, I’ve found pockets of safe high-yield stocks buried in the trash. You just need to shift through a lot of rubbage. And recently, I found one of these “pockets” in the lending business: Main Street Capital Corporation (NYSE:MAIN). Main Street’s business model is pretty straightforward to wrap your head around: the company

Our bills are monthly, most dividend payouts aren't With so much uncertainty weighing on key economic metrics — most notably the U.S.-China trade war — the idea of buying dividend stocks is an attractive one. Primarily, as passive-income generating securities, dividend-bearers are likely to weather volatility better than stocks that don’t offer payouts. Plus, any capital returns are bonuses on top of the yield. However, dividend stocks typically have one glaring weakness, especially for those who depend on stocks for income: their payouts occur on a quarterly basis. That’s not particularly helpful when our society revolves around monthly cost expenditures, such as mortgages, car payments, and utility bills. And that’s one of the reasons why monthly dividend stocks are so attractive. Under this arrangement, you’re receiving income 12 times a year as opposed to the usual four times. Because money has a time component to it, monthly dividend stocks allow investors m

Pfizer (PFE) has taken steps in recent years to focus its business on higher-margin, faster-growing prescription drugs. For example, in 2013 the company spun off its animal health business , late last year Pfizer reached a deal with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to combine their consumer health businesses, and in June 2019 the firm agreed to buy cancer treatment firm Array BioPharma for $10.6 billion. Pfizer's evolution took its biggest step forward this past weekend when management announced plans to combine its off-patent established medicines with generic drugmaker Mylan (MYL), creating a new global pharmaceutical company with nearly $20 billion in revenue. This deal has important implications for dividend investors. Pfizer's established drugs business, which management calls Upjohn, was expected to account for about 18% of the company's EBITDA in the year ahead. Therefore, once the transaction closes in mid-2020, subject to approval by Mylan shareholders, Pfizer&

Acquisitions: AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) Director Roxanne S. Austin bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.35 per share, with a total value of $663,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 62,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,121,263.90. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink . Read more … AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) EVP Henry O. Gosebruch acquired 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $67.28 per share, for a total transaction of $2,018,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 75,763 shares in the company, valued at $5,097,334.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is avai

Upgrades: Anheuser Busch Inbev (NYSE:BUD) was upgraded by analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, The Fly reports. The analysts noted that the move was a valuation call. Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Glu Mobile from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays set a €16.80 ($19.53) price objective on shares of Deutsche Telekom and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. ValuEngine lowered shares of Vereit from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Lions Gate Entertainment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the comp

Dover (NYSE:DOV) declares $0.49/share quarterly dividend, 2.1% increase from prior dividend of $0.48. Forward yield 2.08% Payable September 16; for shareholders of record August 30; ex-div August 29.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR) declares $0.305/share quarterly dividend, 10.9% increase from prior dividend of $0.275. Forward yield 1.57% Payable September 3; for shareholders of record August 15; ex-div August 14.