Southern Company (SO) shareholders received good news this week. The four co-owners of the Vogtle nuclear power plant voted to continue construction on the troubled $27 billion project despite the latest set of cost overruns. Had the project been canceled instead, Southern Company's shareholders, rather than its ratepayers, could have potentially been on the hook [...]

Dominion Energy (D) has managed to significantly outperform most other regulated utilities over the past decade, establishing itself as a quality dividend growth investment. A large driver was the utility's expansion into midstream infrastructure, specifically natural gas and liquified natural gas (LNG) storage, transportation, and export capacity. However, in recent years the midstream industry has [...]

For most investors, owning dividend-paying stocks is all about the income. And dividend yield is a critical metric in the stock selection process. However, there are some important concepts investors need to understand about the dividend yield formula and how to apply it to maximize their long-term financial returns. Let's take a look at what [...]

Many retirement-aged investors lean on dividends to make ends meet. The idea is to receive a stream of passive, predictable, and growing income that is independent of fickle stock prices. Instead of worrying about where the market might head any given year or which investments to sell to generate income using the 4% rule, many dividend [...]

Preserving capital and generating safe income are core goals in retirement. So not surprisingly, conservative investors often worry about when the next recession will occur and how it will affect their portfolios. Safe dividend-paying stocks can be an appealing choice for retirees who desire a predictable income stream that can hold its ground regardless of [...]

Since being spun off from Altria (MO) in 2008 Philip Morris International (PM) has raised its dividend every year and delivered predictable returns thanks to the steady nature of the tobacco business. However, this year Philip Morris shares are down nearly 25% on growing concerns over whether its strategy for adapting to the continued global [...]

Over the past half century tobacco giant Altria (MO) has not only been a dependable source of safe and fast growing dividends, but it's also been one of the best performing stocks in the market. However, in 2018 MO's stock has slumped 15%, pushing its dividend yield to its highest level since 2014. As traditional [...]

The current U.S. economic expansion is now the second longest in history. While the next recession may not be imminent, at some point one will happen. So let's take a look at how to prepare your portfolio for a recession, including what specific sectors and asset classes hold up best for retirees concerned with safe [...]