Flowers Foods (FLO) was founded in 1919 and has grown to become the second-largest producer of packaged bakery foods in the country with over 40 operating bakeries. The company primarily sells breads, buns, rolls, tortillas, and snack cakes, and some of its key brands include Nature’s Own (the number one bread in the U.S.), Tastykake, [...]

Founded in 1969, Sysco (SYY) is the largest global distributor of food, essentially acting as a middleman between food producers and retail consumers. The company provides food products and related services to more than 600,000 customer locations, including restaurants (62% of sales), healthcare facilities (9%), schools and governments (8%), hotels and travel companies (8%), and [...]

In business since 1905, C.H. Robinson (CHRW) is one of the largest third-party logistics companies in the world. The firm acts as a middleman in the transportation industry, helping connect companies that need to ship goods with cost-effective transportation providers that have capacity available via trucks, railroads, airlines, and ships. C.H. Robinson doesn’t own hard [...]

STAG Industrial (STAG) is a small but fast-growing industrial REIT that went public in 2011 but has existed since 2003. The company owns about 400 industrial properties which are located in 38 states and leased to over 350 tenants. The vast majority of its single-tenant properties are warehouses, distribution centers, and light manufacturing facilities.  STAG [...]

With roots dating back to 1951, Accenture (ACN) is one of the largest professional services companies in the world and provides a range of end-to-end services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital (marketing, analytics, mobility), technology infrastructure, and operations. Accenture essentially develops and implements technology-driven solutions to improve its clients’ productivity and efficiency. Serving more [...]

Founded in 1968, Waste Management (WM) owns the largest network of recycling facilities, transfer stations, landfills, and processing plants in North America. The company makes money by entering into contracts with customers to collect, transport, process, store, and dispose of their waste. In just 30 years of operation, the company has built an impressive and [...]

Shares of Iron Mountain (IRM) are down more than 7% today following a downgrade from Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Michael Funk.  Citing a sharp slump in the price of recycled paper, Funk believes that Iron Mountain will be forced to reduce its 2019 guidance, which calls for 2-2.5% organic sales growth and EBITDA growth of [...]

In June 2015 our Long-term Dividend Growth portfolio initiated a position in MSC Industrial (MSM) at a price of $69.81 per share. MSM shares closed at $69.55 today, virtually unchanged from the date of our purchase and matching the price they traded at eight years ago in July 2011. MSC Industrial hasn't lost us money, but the [...]

AbbVie (ABBV) announced plans to acquire Allergan (ANG) in a deal valued at more than $80 billion, including assumed debt.  As a result of this planned transaction, we are downgrading AbbVie's Dividend Safety Score from a rating of Safe to Borderline Safe. This isn't necessarily a reason to sell the stock if you own it but simply reflects the company's [...]

Walt Disney founded his namesake company in 1923, and since then the business has gone on to become one of the most iconic brands ever created. Today Walt Disney (DIS) is a leading entertainment company with about $60 billion in revenue.  The media conglomerate is highly diversified and vertically integrated, with four major business segments. [...]

On Monday, EQM Midstream Partners, LP (EQM) announced yet another cost increase and delay to its targeted in-service date for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, or MVP.  The MVP project is by far the firm's most important growth opportunity, representing over two-thirds of EQM's current backlog and accounting for about 15% of firm-wide EBITDA upon completion. The successful [...]

In business for more than 100 years, Southern Company (SO) is a major regulated utility involved in selling electricity and distributing natural gas, primarily across the Southeastern U.S. The firm's eight vertically integrated electric and gas utilities serve customers across Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi.  Southern Company’s mix of business and service territories significantly changed [...]

Omnicom (OMC) was formed in 1986 by the merger of three large advertising conglomerates. Today the firm is the world's second largest provider of advertising and marketing communication services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.  As a full-service agency, Omnicom provides numerous services, including designing ad campaigns, making the actual ads, determining [...]

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (BIP) is one of the fastest growing and most diversified utilities in the world. In fact, the limited partnership (a corporate structure similar to that of a Master Limited Partnership) owns dozens of infrastructure assets located across five continents. Some examples of the partnership's assets include electrical transmission lines, railroads, toll [...]

Enbridge (ENB) investors have had a rough few years, with shares of North America's largest pipeline operator losing more than 20% since early 2015, including dividends. Unfortunately, investors received more bad news earlier this month. On June 3, the Minnesota Court of Appeals overturned approval for an important part of the firm's Line 3 Replacement Project, which [...]