3 Discounted Dividend Aristocrats

 

These high-quality, discounted dividend growth stocks have increased their dividend payouts every year for at least 25 years.

 

 

The annual rebalancing and subsequent changes to the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index have produced a new list of 64 Dividend Aristocrats. These elite companies in the S&P 500 have paid higher dividends every year for at least 25 consecutive years. S&P Dow Jones Indices maintains the index and updates it annually in January.

 

Recently, I ranked the 64 Dividend Aristocrats by quality scores according to DVK Quality Snapshots. Follow the link to download a spreadsheet with fundamental and added value data of all 64 Dividend Aristocrats, courtesy of Portfolio Insight.

 

This article looks at three Dividend Aristocrats trading well below my risk-adjusted Buy Below prices. Two stocks are rated Excellent with quality scores of 23 and 24 (out of 25), respectively, while the other stock is rated Fine with quality scores of 19. The three stocks are discounted by at least 16% relative to my Buy Below prices.

 

I use a survey approach to estimate fair value by collecting fair value estimates and price targets from several online sources, including Portfolio Insight, Morningstar, and Finbox. Additionally, I estimate fair value by dividing each stock’s annualized dividend by its historical 5-year average dividend yield. With as many as 11 available estimates per stock, I ignore the outliers (the lowest and highest values) and use the average of the median and mean of the remaining values as my fair value estimate. Averaging the mean (average) and median (middle value) helps to adjust for skewness in the surveyed estimates.

 

 

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Dividend Increases Weeks 22 and 23

 

In this article, I will go through the weekly dividend increases and cuts in popular and well-known stocks. (Member of The Dividend Champions or Canadian All-Star list)

 

Recently, 9 companies announced dividend increases. Note that no dividend cuts or suspensions were announced during this period.

Notable Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades for Week of June 6 2022

 

Upgrades:

 

American Express (NYSE:AXP) was upgraded by investment analysts at Edward Jones from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Monday, Briefing.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, March 23rd. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 26th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on American Express in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on American Express from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Express from $218.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $192.26. Read more …

 

ResMed (NYSE:RMD) was upgraded by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report issued on Monday, The Fly reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on RMD. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on ResMed in a research report on Tuesday, April 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded ResMed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $267.11.

Shares of RMD opened at $208.31 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $30.47 billion, a PE ratio of 39.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $217.93 and a 200 day moving average of $237.23. ResMed has a 52-week low of $189.40 and a 52-week high of $301.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Read more …

 

AmerisourceBergen (NYSE:ABC) was upgraded by research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $178.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $167.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft's target price would indicate a potential upside of 21.18% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on AmerisourceBergen from $178.00 to $175.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 27th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on AmerisourceBergen to $165.00 in a research note on Friday. Barclays raised AmerisourceBergen from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 26th. Argus lifted their price objective on AmerisourceBergen from $140.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, March 14th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on AmerisourceBergen from $139.00 to $162.00 in a report on Thursday, May 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.25. Read more …

 

 

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) was upgraded by investment analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, The Fly reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MCK. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of McKesson from $352.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Friday, May 6th. Credit Suisse Group raised their price target on shares of McKesson from $333.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 11th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of McKesson from $280.00 to $331.00 in a research report on Monday, May 9th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of McKesson in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a "strong-buy" rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of McKesson to $380.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, McKesson currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $326.00. Read more …

V.F. Corporation: Undervalued Dividend Aristocrat

 

The markets are back to this year’s lows, although they have bounced back during last week. Many stocks are still trading at or near their 52-week lows. When the market is down, I like to find support levels and create price alerts at those support levels for all the companies that I am interested in buying. One example is V.F. Corporation (VFC), which is an undervalued Dividend Aristocrat.

 

V.F. Corporation (VFC) is one company that has my interest because it hit a critical support level at $45. The chart below shows that it bounced higher when the stock hit the $45 price point. I am very interested in buying shares at this price. The stock is now above the $45 price point with a share price of about $50 per share. However, VFC is still undervalued at current levels, and the dividend yield is just about 4% and attractive mix. We will discuss more details about the company and the amount of undervaluation.

 

Overview of VF Corp

 

The VF Corporation is an American global apparel and footwear company founded in 1899 and now headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The company was formerly known as Vanity Fair mills until 1969. The company’s 13 brands are organized into three categories: Outdoor, Active, and Work. The primary brands are North Face, Timberland, Smartwool, Icebreaker, Altra, Vans, Supreme, Kipling, Napapijri, Eastpak, JanSport, and Dickies. In addition, the company controls 55% of the U.S. backpack market with the JanSport, Eastpak, Timberland, and North Face brands.

 

VFC’s stock price was down 44.5% since its high in April 2021. The main driver of the stock price decrease is that the company is struggling with product shortages, high shipping costs, a stronger dollar, and COVID-19 virus-related disruptions in China. Still, VFC appears to be doing a reasonable job of alleviating these challenges.

 

 

The current stock price of $50.18 (as of this writing) is right at the lower end of the 52-week range, between $44.18 and $84.96 per share. Thus, VFC looks like a stock that seems to be in the right place to buy up shares where both the 52-week range and support line meet.

 

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20 Dividend Stocks to Fund 20 Years of Retirement

 

Each of these high-quality dividend stocks boast attractive yields, and you can expect them to grow their payouts even more. That's a powerful 1-2 combo for retirement income.

 

 

Once upon a time, if you were planning to retire, the traditional wisdom was the "4% rule." You withdraw 4% of your savings in the first year of retirement, followed by "pay raises" in each subsequent year to account for inflation. The idea is that, if you're invested in a mix of dividend stocks, bonds and even a few growth equities, your money should last across a 20-year retirement.

 

But the world looks much different today. Stocks and bonds are slumping as interest rates jump from historic lows, making future expected returns and withdrawal rates less comfortable to forecast. Complicating retirement planning even further is the fact Americans are living longer than ever before and face the highest rate of inflation in a generation.

 

If you're wondering how to retire without facing the uncomfortable decision of what securities to sell, or questioning whether you are at risk of outliving your savings, wonder no more. You can lean on the cash from dividend stocks to fund a substantial portion of your retirement without touching your principal. Indeed, Simply Safe Dividends has even provided an in-depth guide about living on dividends in retirement.

 

With the market selling off in 2022, investors can find many stocks yielding 4% or more currently. And if you rely on solid dividend stocks for that 4% annually, you won't have to worry as much about where the market heads from here so long as those payouts remain on solid ground.

 

 

Read on as we explore 20 high-quality dividend stocks that should fund at least 20 years of retirement, if not more. Most of the names featured here yield well above 4%, and each has paid uninterrupted dividends for more than two decades, has a fundamentally secure payout and has the potential to keep growing its dividends to protect investors' purchasing power over time.

 

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Notable Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades for Week of May 30 2022

 

Upgrades:

 

Linde (NYSE:LIN) was upgraded by Evercore ISI to an "outperform" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, The Fly reports.

LIN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Credit Suisse Group began coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Linde from $405.00 to $365.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Wednesday, March 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Linde from $366.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 18th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Linde from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $312.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $367.14. Read more …

 

Magellan Midstream Partners (NYSE:MMP) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, The Fly reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on MMP. TD Securities boosted their target price on Magellan Midstream Partners from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Magellan Midstream Partners from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Magellan Midstream Partners from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $52.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 25th. StockNews.com started coverage on Magellan Midstream Partners in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Magellan Midstream Partners from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.30. Read more …

 

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) was upgraded by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, The Fly reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Danaher in a research report on Friday, April 22nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Danaher from $365.00 to $340.00 in a research report on Sunday, April 24th. StockNews.com cut Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 22nd. Zacks Investment Research cut Danaher from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $278.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Danaher from $334.00 to $319.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $331.14. Read more …

 

 

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) was upgraded by investment analysts at Cowen from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. The firm currently has a $75.00 target price on the industrial products company's stock. Cowen's price objective indicates a potential downside of 10.98% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Xylem from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 18th. Raymond James raised Xylem from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Xylem from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 18th. Zacks Investment Research raised Xylem from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $89.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 12th. Finally, TheStreet cut Xylem from a "b" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Monday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xylem has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.55. Read more …

 

7 Safe Dividend Stocks With High Yields to Buy Now

 

Emphasizing total return is a good way to let the game come to you

 

 

The relative safety of dividend stocks makes them a compelling choice at any time. However, at times when many equities (and entire indexes) are posting negative growth, safe dividend stocks really shine. That’s because these stocks generate regular income that investors can reinvest. This boosts the total return of an investment.

 

Dividend stocks are usually stable companies with reliable earnings that they reinvest for the benefit of shareholders. In bullish times, this dividend can help to bring a stock’s total return on par with higher growth stocks. And in bearish times, this can help to mitigate losses.

 

One frequently referenced component of dividend stocks is the dividend yield. In general, a higher yield is better than a lower one. But there are other factors, such as the sector a company is in, that provide context for its yield. What many investors find more important is a company that has solid fundamentals that support the current dividend and offer an opportunity for the dividend to increase over time.

 

 

With that in mind here are seven safe dividend stocks with a high yield that can boost your total return.

 

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