Founded in 1894 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Hershey (HSY) manufactures and sells chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products including gum and mints; baking ingredients such as toppings, beverages, and syrups; and snack items, including spreads, meat snacks, bars, mixes, popcorn, protein bars, and cookies.These products are marketed under over 80 leading brands including: Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Almond Joy, Brookside, barkTHINS, Cadbury, Good & Plenty, Heath, Kit Kat, Payday, Rolo, Twizzlers, Whoppers, York, Scharffen Berger, Dagoba, Ice Breakers, Breathsavers, SkinnyPop, Krave, and Bubble Yum.  Internationally (the company sells in over 90 countries), the company's brands include Pelon Pelo Rico, IO-IO, Nutrine, Maha Lacto, Jumpin, Sofit, Oatmega, Paqui, and Tyrrells.

Simon Property Group (SPG) is America’s largest mall owner, with full or partial ownership interest in over 230 properties across North America, Europe, and Asia. In 2018 Simon's U.S. mall tenants generated over $60 billion in retail sales.  Most of Simon's locations are anchored by department stores, and the vast majority of net operating income, or NOI, is derived from the company's U.S. malls (48% of NOI) and premium outlet centers (42%), which are essentially groups of discounted luxury stores.  Simon's U.S. malls and outlets, which accounted for 79% of NOI in 2018, are concentrated in large and relatively fast-growing states, including Florida (16% of NOI), California (13%), Texas (10%), and New York (7%). The company's premium super regional mall [...]

Shares of 3M (MMM) have slumped 20% since April 24th, falling to their lowest level since early 2017. The stock's dividend yield now sits at 3.3%, a level not seen other than in 1995 and during the financial crisis. Investors aren't giving 3M much credit for its long-term track record of creating meaningful shareholder value and growing its dividend for 61 consecutive years. Let's take a closer look at this dividend king to understand why the market is so bearish on the company and if 3M's long-term outlook appears to remain intact.

PetMed Express (PETS) reported disappointing earnings on May 6, causing the firm's Dividend Safety Score to fall from our lowest "Borderline Safe" rating into the "Unsafe" bucket.  A low score does not necessarily mean a dividend cut is imminent. However, these companies have higher risk of reducing their payouts in the future and often depend on favorable business, financial, and economic conditions to maintain their dividends.  Let's review the unfavorable change in PetMed's long-term outlook.

Last week Annaly Capital Management (NLY) announced plans to cut its dividend by 17%, beginning with its second-quarter payout. The timing of this announcement likely came as a surprise to some income investors.  After all, Annaly's earnings about matched its dividend payment in recent quarters, the firm's portfolio was growing at a double-digit pace, shares traded at  a premium to book value, and its leverage was kept nearly 20% lower than Annaly's agency mortgage REIT (mREIT) peers.

Despite raising its 2019 guidance last week, shares of biotech giant AbbVie (ABBV) remain mired in a bear market and sit almost 40% below their all-time high set back in early 2018. The stock's 5.4% dividend yield is also at an all-time high, causing some investors to worry that AbbVie's dividend might no longer be safe. Let's review AbbVie's latest results to assess whether or not the firm's dividend still looks safe and if the company's seemingly cheap valuation appears justified.

Founded in 1951, Iron Mountain (IRM) is one of the oldest REITs in America, though it didn’t officially convert to a REIT structure until 2014. While the company initially started off as a paper document storage facility for New York City-based corporations, Iron Mountain has since expanded to become one of the largest data storage centers in the world.Iron Mountain serves commercial, legal, banking, healthcare, accounting, insurance, entertainment, and government organizations around the world to meet their information storage (and sensitive information destruction) needs.

Clorox (CLX) started in 1913 when five businessmen invested $100 each to start manufacturing and selling one product, Clorox bleach. Impressively, the company remained a one-product business for its first 56 years. Today, Clorox has over 8,500 employees, sells its products in more than 100 countries, and generates over $6 billion in annual sales. The company boasts a brand portfolio spanning numerous product categories including home care, laundry, charcoal, food, water filtration, cat litter, and more. Some of the company’s famous brands are Clorox, Pine-Sol (household cleaner), Glad (plastic wrap, trash bags), Kingsford (charcoal for grilling), Hidden Valley (salad dressing), Brita (water filters), and Burt’s Bees (skin care).

Founded in 1806 by William Colgate as a starch, soap, and candle business, Colgate-Palmolive (CL) has grown into one of the world’s largest consumer products conglomerates today.The company’s 34,500 global employees sell its world-famous brands (such as Colgate, Palmolive, Protex, Speed Stick, Ajax, Irish Spring, Sanex, Hill’s, and Softsoap) in more than 200 countries through four business segments:

Boeing (BA) reported first-quarter earnings this morning, telling investors it was withdrawing its 2019 financial guidance and suspending its share repurchases.  Such an announcement usually spells bad news for a stock and its dividend safety prospects, yet shares of Boeing finished the day higher by 0.4%.  All attention was on management's outlook for Boeing's 737 MAX plane model, which has been grounded worldwide since mid-March following its second fatal crash in five months. This was the company's first earnings report following that news, which we previously discussed. The 737 MAX is a critical business driver for Boeing. The popular plane series is expected to account for about two-thirds of the company's future deliveries and approximately 40% of the firm's total profit, according to [...]