Last year, we launched an all-new version of Simply Safe Dividends that's 100% free to upgrade to (no price hike, additional fees, etc). The new website improves upon virtually every aspect of the original site and adds ground-breaking new features to our service.For example, the new website's portfolio-monitoring tool adds import and export capabilities, locked [...]

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 [...]

Paychex (PAYX) was founded in 1971 and provides a range of payroll, human resource, and benefits outsourcing services to more than 650,000 small and medium-sized businesses. The company's wide range of services includes: Payroll processing: calculate, prepare, and delivery employee payroll checks; prepare payroll tax returns; collect and remit client’s payroll obligations; time tracking, etc. [...]

Consumer staples companies like J.M. Smucker (SJM) are often owned for their recession-resistant qualities and safe dividends. Food and beverage makers tend to be low volatility stocks that serve as defensive holdings in conservative dividend growth portfolios. But Smucker has had a challenging year, down 24% in 2018 and off 40% from its mid-2016 high. [...]

Shares of LyondellBasell (LYB) have slumped nearly 30% since late August, performing much worse than the S&P 500's loss of 14%. The stock's dividend yield now sits near 5%, its highest level since Lyondell began paying dividends in 2011. With analysts projecting a double-digit earnings decline in the year ahead, the price of oil plunging [...]

Altria's (MO) share price has slumped over 30% this year, making it one of the worst in history for the cigarette maker's shareholders. Altria's dividend yield now sits at 6.7%, its highest level since the Financial Crisis. A number of factors are behind Altria's rough year, including various negative regulatory announcements from the FDA, slightly [...]

Compass Minerals (CMP) has been in business for more than 170 years and has increased its dividend each year since it began making payouts in 2004. Despite its appealing long-term track record, and the recession-resistant nature of its salt and fertilizer businesses, CMP's stock price has slumped over 50% since reaching an all-time high in [...]

Shares of regulated utility PPL (PPL) slumped nearly 7% on Tuesday following a proposal made by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), the United Kingdom's energy regulator. In recent years PPL has generated around half of its earnings from the four electricity distribution networks it operates in the U.K. As we discussed in [...]