Next week, a few adjustments will flow through to our Dividend Safety Scores to further improve their ability to identify companies that are most at risk of cutting their dividends in the future. We expect these adjustments to make the scores even more thorough, timely, and accurate going forward. However, these improvements will [...]
While interest rates are slowly rising, they remain at historically low levels. As a result, many income-focused investors continue to search for the best high dividend stocks to meet their long-term investing needs. High dividend stocks can be an appealing way to fund a portion of retirement through dividends rather than the selling of shares, but [...]
Wide moat industrial stocks, such as defense contractor Lockheed Martin (LMT), often make excellent long-term dividend growth stocks. In fact, Lockheed Martin is a dividend achiever with 15 straight years of consecutive dividend increases under its belt. Even better, the stock has managed to grow its payout at an impressive average annual rate of 10% over [...]
Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs, are a popular way for regular investors to participate in commercial real estate. Generous yields, relatively low volatility, and steady dividend growth can make certain REITs some of the best high dividend stocks for investors seeking retirement income and capital preservation. This is why larger, famous REITs, such as [...]
When it comes to safe and consistent dividend growth, few companies have done it better than the dividend aristocrats, S&P 500 companies with 25+ consecutive years of payout increases under their belt. Of these impressive dividend growers, AT&T (T) stands tall above all the rest with a 5.9% dividend yield. When combined with the [...]
Omega Healthcare (OHI) announced third quarter results last night that took many investors by surprise, sending the stock down as much as 10% in early trading this morning. For those who are unfamiliar with the company, Omega Healthcare is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that provides financing and capital primarily to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). [...]
Blue chip drug makers such as Merck (MRK) have historically been very popular with income investors because of their defensive nature, meaning that drug demand isn't really affected by economic downturns. However, what many investors fail to realize is that, while the pharmaceutical industry as a whole may be recession resistant, successful long-term dividend [...]
One of Warren Buffett's best pieces of investment advice is that "it's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price." This is why each quarter, when Berkshire Hathaway reveals its portfolio via regulatory filings, investors eagerly look to see what companies have the Oracle [...]
Even blue chip dividend stocks can fall on hard times, especially when they operate in highly cyclical industries that depend on volatile commodity prices. Such was the case with Caterpillar (CAT), which despite an impressive track record of growing its dividend at an average rate of 11% over the past 20 years, was forced [...]
In today's era of historically low interest rates, telecom service providers such as AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) are often viewed as some of the best high dividend stocks for income thanks to their highly stable, recession-resistant, and subscriber-based business models. While that may be a good strategy for blue chip names in the industry, [...]
Accenture (ACN) has raised its dividend every year since it began paying one in 2005, recording annualized dividend growth en excess of 20% during that time period. With healthy payout ratios, excellent free cash flow generation, a clean balance sheet, and proven durability, Accenture is well-positioned to continue rewarding shareholders with strong dividend growth in the [...]
Sometimes, the most boring, under-the-radar businesses prove to be the best long-term investments, and Broadridge Financial could be one of them. In fact, Broadridge was called "the most important firm on Wall Street that you've never heard of" by Dick Grasso, the former CEO and chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. Paying [...]
Knowing how much patience to exercise with an underperforming holding is one of the hardest (and often most humbling) challenges in investing, in my opinion. As a long-term dividend growth investor, when I purchase shares of a company, I hope to hold my ownership stake forever and keep portfolio turnover as low as possible. [...]
Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs, are a simple way for regular investors to gain exposure to the real estate sector. While there are many different types of REITs to choose from, healthcare in particular has strong long-term potential growth due to highly favorable demographic trends. Let's take a look at Welltower (HCN), America's largest medical REIT, to [...]
Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs, can serve as a convenient way for regular investors to profit from rental real estate while also generating income for those seeking to live off dividends in retirement. Realty Income (O) has become famous for its generous, secure, and steadily growing dividends (23 straight years of increases and counting), [...]