Uniti Group (UNIT), a wireless infrastructure REIT, has sported a "Very Unsafe" Dividend Safety Score and a double-digit yield for years. In our April 2018 thesiswe made the following remarks: "Uniti Group appears to be cheap for a reason and is a very high risk dividend stock. The company's payout could be reduce substantially at any [...]

Consolidated Edison (ED) was founded in 1884 and serves as a regulated electric and gas utility to the New York metro areas and Westchester County, NY. Con Edison's principal business segments are: Con Edison of New York (88% of 2018 earnings): provides electric service to approximately 3.5 million customers and gas service to about 1.1 million [...]

Kraft Heinz (KHC) reported a bombshell earnings report this evening, validating investor concerns over the company's struggling turnaround. The bad news included: A $15.4 billion non-cash impairment charge related to the value of its Kraft natural cheese, Oscar Mayer cold cuts, and Canadian retail businesses An investigation by the SEC into the firm's accounting policies [...]

Founded in 1920, PPL (PPL) is a pure-play regulated gas and electricity utility serving 7.9 million customers in the United Kingdom (U.K.), 1.4 million in Pennsylvania, and 1.3 million in Kentucky. The majority of PPL’s earnings are generated in the U.K., where regulators have historically allowed for superior returns on equity compared to most U.S. [...]

Kellogg (K) shares have slumped over 20% since September, sending the stock's dividend yield up to about 4%, its highest level in 19 years. With Kellogg's earnings expected to decline close to 10% over the next year, plus the company's somewhat elevated debt load, let's take a closer look at Kellogg's dividend safety and long-term [...]

Duke Energy’s (DUK) history dates back to the early 1900s, and the company is the largest electric utility in the country today, serving approximately 7.7 million electric customers and 1.6 million gas customers across the Southeast and Midwest regions of the U.S. Regulated electric utilities and infrastructure account for 85% of Duke Energy’s earnings, but [...]

Qualcomm (QCOM), an embattled tech giant, has seen its share of drama over the years. Most recently, the company's stock has sold off 30% since early September 2018, causing its dividend yield to soar to a record high near 5%. Let's take a look at Qualcomm's latest slump to review if anything appears to have [...]

Dominion Energy (D) and its predecessors have delivered energy since 1898. Today the company is one of America's largest diversified utilities with a customer base of 7.5 million gas and electric customers in 18 states. In recent years Dominion has grown through various acquisitions including its 2016 purchase of Questar (natural gas distributor) for $5.9 [...]

Many companies grow through acquisitions, but Wall Street is often skeptical of big deals given the risks involved. In May 2018, International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) announced it was buying rival Frutarom in a $7.1 billion cash-and-stock deal. Given that IFF's market cap at the time was just over $12 billion, this qualified as a big acquisition. [...]

Founded in 1885, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is the world’s largest medical conglomerate. With more than 250 subsidiaries operating in over 60 countries, Johnson & Johnson’s three major business units provide it with a diversified mix of revenue, earnings, and cash flow. Here are the company’s operating segments: Pharmaceuticals (50% of sales, 61% of pretax [...]

Founded in 1849, Pfizer (PFE) is one of the world's largest drugmakers, with medications sold in over 125 countries. The company's annual sales exceed $50 billion and are grouped into three business segments: Pfizer Biopharmaceuticals (56% of sales): produces patented medicines to treat various therapeutic areas, including internal medicine, vaccines, oncology, inflammation and immunology, and rare [...]

Many investors desire to live off safe and growing dividends during retirement, allowing them to worry less about stock market fluctuations and recessions. To this end, many blue-chip dividend stocks have impressive track records of not only maintaining or growing their payouts during market downturns, but also outperforming the broader market. Dividend aristocrats, S&P 500 companies [...]

Founded in 1987, Gilead Sciences (GILD) is one of the world's leading biotech companies. The firm operates in more than 35 countries worldwide, researching, manufacturing, and distributing various medications to treat HIV/AIDs, liver diseases, and immune, respiratory, and cardiovascular diseases. Gilead has historically focused on antiviral products for infectious diseases, which made up 84% of [...]

AbbVie (ABBV) was spun off from Abbott Laboratories (ABT) in 2013 as a standalone biopharmaceutical company focused on four primary therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, virology, and neuroscience. The company's drugs treat conditions such as chronic autoimmune diseases in rheumatology, gastroenterology, and dermatology; oncology, including blood cancers; virology, including hepatitis C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus [...]

Cardinal Health's (CAH) stock price has slumped nearly 40% over the last two years, driving its dividend yield to a record high of 4.4% in late 2018. Dividend aristocrats such as Cardinal Health are often owned under the assumption that they will generate safe, growing income while recording healthy total returns and low stock price volatility [...]