Dividend Stocks

AT&T (NYSE:T) shocked the world this summer. AT&T has long been a centerpiece of many retirees and income investors’ portfolios. T stock generally yielded in the 6% range annually, and at times paid an even higher rate than that. Source: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock This was a massive number in a zero interest rate world. With banks paying

Investors can put the odds of long-term success in their favor in a variety of ways. One way is to buy high-quality dividend stocks such as Dividend Aristocrats, with reliable earnings and solid yields. Another is to combine those high-quality companies with mega-trends that are favorable for long-term growth — like healthcare stocks. In this

The S&P 500 index lost 1.5% last week from peak to trough, as investors became more cautious. With the index up 16% year-to-date and 34% over the last 12 months, some profit-taking isn’t unreasonable. For the most part, investors have bought the dips recently more often than not in everything from tech to dividend stocks.

After bottoming in March, 30-year Treasury bond prices have started climbing again. Despite threats of interest rate hikes as early as 2023 and inflation, markets are supporting higher government debt prices. A number of Wall Street analysts are forecasting a rebound in 10-year yields to 1.8% by the end of the year, from the 1.285%

Heading into 2020, S&P 500 dividend stocks had averaged 8.1% dividend growth over the previous five years. In 2020, thanks to Covid-19, that growth slowed to a trickle, up by a scant 0.07%. Now halfway through 2021, dividend payouts for the S&P have reversed course, presently down by 3.05%. Many companies have slowed their payouts

While even former dogs like Ford Motor (NYSE:F) have gotten expensive of late, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) stock remains dirt cheap. Source: Roman Tiraspolsky / Shutterstock.com America’s biggest bank opened July 14 at $149.71 per share. That’s a market cap of $447 billion, which sounds massive. But it’s also a price-to-earnings ratio of just 10. There’s

In general, Dividend Aristocrats are the foundation for the portfolios of most serious dividend growth investors. European Dividend aristocrats are typically blue-chip stocks that have proven to reward shareholders with rising dividends over a long period. While historic dividend payment does not guarantee future distributions, it can help investors when accessing the likelihood of a

After suffering from the pandemic last year, the energy sector is by far the best-performing sector of the stock market this year making royalty trusts worth another look. Thanks to the massive rollout of vaccines and the deep production cuts of OPEC and Russia, the price of oil has rallied to a 3-year high while

Income investors are always searching for high yields, which are hard to find with today’s historically low interest rates and record-high stock prices. But investors should not sacrifice dividend safety in favor of higher yields. This is why high-quality dividend stocks like the Dividend Aristocrats are so valuable. The Dividend Aristocrats are a select group

More and more economists are warning that high inflation is here to stay for the next few years. Because of that, investors are becoming increasingly focused on using stocks to create an inflow of cash that earns them reliable income. To that end, dividend stocks offer folks returns through capital gains along with extra cash

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) stock fell this week after analysts called its earnings “mixed.” Source: Michael Vi / Shutterstock.com Shares have dropped around 5% during the trading week beginning July 12 after the bank announced net income of $9.2 billion, $1.03 per share and revenue of $21.5 billion for the three months ending in June.

Invesco Mortgage Capital (NYSE:IVR) is an attractively priced mortgage REIT that has a 10.8% dividend yield well covered by its earnings. Moreover, its price of $3.33 is still below its book value per share. Based on my calculations, the new IVR stock book value is $3.62, down slightly from $3.65 at the end of the

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) shares got fizzy this week as earnings crushed estimates, which is good news for anyone investing in PEP stock. Source: suriyachan / Shutterstock.com Pepsi earned $2.37 billion, $1.70 per share, on revenue of $19.2 billion for the three months ending in June. Earnings were 19 cents per share ahead of estimates, and revenue

The U.S. may be on the verge of a major infrastructure spending plan, and a looming infrastructure bill could be a major boost to the nation’s infrastructure stocks. Infrastructure across the country is in need of repair. Investors should always be on the hunt for potential growth catalysts. Indeed, one potential catalyst is underway today

Merck (NYSE:MRK) has been making news lately for research into a possible pill that would treat Covid-19. The coronavirus pill has led to a surge in MRK stock.  Source: Atmosphere1 / Shutterstock.com The stock has had a smooth ride over the year and is trading close to the same level as last year. It stood

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) stock looks like it is significantly undervalued at today’s price. On July 8, it closed at $60.14, but XOM stock has a very attractive valuation. For example, it sports a very healthy 5.76% dividend yield and trades for just 16 times this year’s forecast earnings. Source: Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com My valuation

In most cases, taking longshot bets in the market don’t pan out. However, for those brave contrarians that bought publicly traded securities during the initial onslaught of the novel coronavirus pandemic, they managed to accrue incredible profitability. Many onlookers quickly followed with their own money, making the case for buying super-safe dividend stocks less appealing

Global oil consumption is recovering from the pandemic, which has driven oil prices higher, with Brent crude rising over $70 per barrel. This rally will greatly benefit oil producers, especially oil stocks from the global majors that rely more heavily on the price of oil. In addition, several top oil stocks pay high dividend yields

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) is worth considerably more than its present price. In fact, my view is that it’s worth somewhere between 15% and 50% more from its Jul. 7 close. That means BAC stock should trade between $45.65 and $59.63 per share. The average between these two is $52.64 per share, or about 32%

Most investors who want to gain exposure to the financial sector focus exclusively on the well-known U.S. bank stocks, such as Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), and that goes for income investors as well. However, some Canadian bank stocks have much lower valuations and also have higher dividend yields than their domestic counterparts.

Increased concern over inflation and valuations have brought choppiness back to equity markets. As the stock market recovers from a volatile month of trading, investors have turned their attention towards more defensive stocks. For many market participants, dividend shares seem to be the most reasonable plays. High-yield dividend stocks are prized among income investors, as

Mid-cap stocks are often overlooked. However, there are terrific dividend stocks in the mid-cap group that we think are worthy of consideration for income investors. In the world of investing, many investors focus on the biggest stocks in the market – so-called large caps – for their stability and predictability. This makes large-cap stocks generally

I don’t know many investors who don’t like dividends. However, there are many investors who would opt for either dividend income or earnings and revenue growth. This divide between growth and dividend investors has left a rift among dividend stocks. But does there need to be one? Not necessarily.  While we can find growth stocks

The S&P 500 has nearly doubled off its bottom last year and has climbed to new all-time highs. As a result, it has become challenging for investors to identify reasonably valued stocks with high dividend yields. In the current environment, many high-dividend stocks do not offer secure dividends, and their high yields are simply the

With interest rates still hovering near historic lows, quality high dividend stocks are increasingly difficult to find. One of the best sectors for finding high-yielding stocks today without taking on too much risk is mortgage REITs. Each of these three mortgage REITs offer investors a lucrative dividend yield that is at little risk of being

Speculation is running rampant in the market, and while the future isn’t certain, chances are the phenomenon will end. It really comes down to the scarcity argument. If everyone’s bidding up real estate and cryptocurrencies, for instance, very few resources are left to support equities. That’s why investors ought to consider safer investments like dividend

Last month I wrote about the upcoming spinoff at AT&T (NYSE:T). It has not announced how much the exact dividend cut (“nearly 50%“) will be and the deal is still a year off. Since then, T stock has fallen about 3% from $29.55 to $28.65 as of last week’s close. But it still does not

This article will look at three of our favorite ways for investors to profit from a rising housing market. These are not homebuilder stocks, but instead represent companies that have business models that will benefit from continued growth in home construction and new and existing home sales. This list includes two companies that have overcome

The U.S. economy is recovering from the pandemic, and investors are hunting for dividend stocks in industries with higher-than-average growth. Consistent revenue gains — and a boost from pandemic-fueled adoptions — have made pet stocks the perfect opportunity for strong dividend returns. Consumers are spending more money than ever on their pets. Pet spending reached

Nokia (NYSE:NOK), the Finnish telecom company, changed its dividend policy on Mar. 18 with its Capital Markets Day presentation. After having withheld a dividend payment last year even though the company was profitable, it has now decided to “update” its policy. As a result, NOK stock might have a chance of moving significantly higher this

Although growth names almost always attract the most attention on Wall Street, diversification is everything. Even if you’re a young investor with a strong appetite for risk, it never hurts to consider the top dividend stocks. Of course, that’s a bit of a challenge right now because the intense speculation in the market has driven

For folks who like to sit on a stock and collect dividends for years, pharmaceutical giant Merck (NYSE:MRK) is a go-to investment. MRK stock is rock-solid: low in volatility and high in market capitalization, it’s appropriate for many risk-averse investors. Source: Atmosphere1 / Shutterstock.com On the other hand, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic added an

Stock market liquidity has favored risk-on assets the past year, which has created an opportunity for many high-quality stocks to make a comeback. And while many investors have their eyes on growth stocks and others have gotten caught up in meme stock madness, there are still plenty of great values to be found among dividend

Dividend stocks appeal to passive-income seekers. Broader markets have also seen record highs in recent days. Yet, investors still have opportunities for buying robust dividend names for less than where they were trading several weeks ago. Of course, even businesses with significant catalysts come under stress every now and then. However, leading companies with good

Most investors who want exposure to the financial sector focus on well-known mega-cap stocks such as JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC). However, some smaller financial services companies have much longer dividend growth streaks. In fact, the only three financial services companies in the group of dividend kings, which have raised their dividends

For many years, income-oriented investors have counted on healthcare Source: Manuel Esteban / Shutterstock.com giant Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) stock to provide reliable dividend distributions. In fact, it’s not unreasonable to say that this is among the main benefits of holding PFE stock for the long term. However, nothing in the markets is 100% reliable and some folks