Tupperware Brands (TUP): 20 Years of Uninterrupted Dividends and a 4.6% Yield, But How Safe is the Payout?
While interest rates are slowly rising, they remain at historically low levels. As a result, many income-focused investors continue to search for the best high dividend stocks to meet their long-term investing needs. High dividend stocks can be an appealing way to fund a portion of retirement through dividends rather than the selling of shares, but high-yields can sometimes be a warning that a company's business model is broken and best avoided. In other words, some beaten-down, high-yield stocks are value traps with poor dividend security, making them unacceptable for a retirement portfolio. Let's take a look at Tupperware (TUP), whose 4.6% dividend yield and track record of paying uninterrupted dividends for more than 20 consecutive years may at [...]
Lockheed Martin (LMT): A Solid Dividend Grower At The Right Price
Wide moat industrial stocks, such as defense contractor Lockheed Martin (LMT), often make excellent long-term dividend growth stocks. In fact, Lockheed Martin is a dividend achiever with 15 straight years of consecutive dividend increases under its belt. Even better, the stock has managed to grow its payout at an impressive average annual rate of 10% over the past 30 years. While Lockheed's steady dividend increases have historically made it an attractive offering, past performance is not indicative of future results. In addition to taking a look at the level of income growth investors can expect from Lockheed in the future, let's also review the company's competitive advantages and current valuation to see if Lockheed Martin could be a timely [...]
STORE Capital (STOR): Warren Buffett Bought 10% of This Lesser-Known REIT
Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs, are a popular way for regular investors to participate in commercial real estate. Generous yields, relatively low volatility, and steady dividend growth can make certain REITs some of the best high dividend stocks for investors seeking retirement income and capital preservation. This is why larger, famous REITs, such as Realty Income (O), are often core holdings in high-yield income portfolios. However, the world of REITs is a large one, which is why sometimes it's worth taking a look at smaller names, such as STORE Capital (STOR). Let's take a look at STORE to see why its strong fundamentals have attracted the attention of none other than Warren Buffett, history's greatest investor, who [...]
AT&T (T): Is The Highest-Yielding Dividend Aristocrat A Value Trap Or A Bargain?
When it comes to safe and consistent dividend growth, few companies have done it better than the dividend aristocrats, S&P 500 companies with 25+ consecutive years of payout increases under their belt. Of these impressive dividend growers, AT&T (T) stands tall above all the rest with a 5.9% dividend yield. When combined with the company's 33 straight years of dividend increases, AT&T could deserve consideration as one of the best high dividend stocks. One of the reason's AT&T's yield is so high is because the company's stock price has dropped by more than 15% over the past month. That's a surprisingly big move for a stock that is held by most investors for its safe income and defensive qualities. [...]
Omega Healthcare (OHI) Reports Disappointing Earnings: What Dividend Investors Need to Know
Omega Healthcare (OHI) announced third quarter results last night that took many investors by surprise, sending the stock down as much as 10% in early trading this morning. For those who are unfamiliar with the company, Omega Healthcare is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that provides financing and capital primarily to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). In fact, Omega is the largest SNF-focused REIT and generates 84% of its revenue from SNFs. Patients discharged from hospitals are sent to SNFs when they still require care or rehab before they can be sent home. Compared to hospitals, SNFs can provide short-term care on a more affordable basis to save healthcare costs. Several of Omega's tenants are under financial pressure, which [...]
Merck (MRK): A Slow And Steady Dividend Grower, But Do Better Alternatives Exist?
Blue chip drug makers such as Merck (MRK) have historically been very popular with income investors because of their defensive nature, meaning that drug demand isn't really affected by economic downturns. However, what many investors fail to realize is that, while the pharmaceutical industry as a whole may be recession resistant, successful long-term dividend growth investing is far harder to achieve at the company level. This is why just two drug makers are part of the venerable dividend aristocrats list, meaning they are S&P 500 companies that have managed to raise their payouts for at least 25 consecutive years. Let's take a look at Merck to see if this high-yield favorite is a reasonable choice for a diversified dividend [...]
Phillips 66 (PSX): Warren Buffett Loves This Dividend Growth Stock But Should You?
One of Warren Buffett's best pieces of investment advice is that "it's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price." This is why each quarter, when Berkshire Hathaway reveals its portfolio via regulatory filings, investors eagerly look to see what companies have the Oracle of Omaha's quality and valuation stamp of approval. Investors can read analysis of all of Warren Buffett’s dividend-paying stocks here. Starting in 2016, Berkshire began making big acquisitions of refining giant Phillips 66 (PSX) and has continued to add shares over the past year. Today, Buffett's company owns 80.7 million shares of Phillips, worth $7.5 billion and representing 15.9% of the company. Of [...]
Caterpillar (CAT): The Worst Appears To Be Over For This Quality Dividend Growth Stock
Even blue chip dividend stocks can fall on hard times, especially when they operate in highly cyclical industries that depend on volatile commodity prices. Such was the case with Caterpillar (CAT), which despite an impressive track record of growing its dividend at an average rate of 11% over the past 20 years, was forced to freeze its pay increases for eight consecutive quarters during the worst industry downturn in decades. However, now it appears as if the worst is over, so let's take another look at Caterpillar to see how its fundamentals have held up during this most recent industrial recession and if today could be a reasonable time to consider adding the stock to a diversified dividend growth [...]
CenturyLink (CTL): Can The Level 3 Acquisition Save The Dividend?
In today's era of historically low interest rates, telecom service providers such as AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) are often viewed as some of the best high dividend stocks for income thanks to their highly stable, recession-resistant, and subscriber-based business models. While that may be a good strategy for blue chip names in the industry, it typically doesn't work nearly as well for smaller, distressed regional telecom players like CenturyLink (CTL). Let's take a look at CenturyLink's 11.5% yield to see if it is too good to be true or if the company's $34 billion acquisition of Level 3 Communications (expected to close very soon) could make the dividend sustainable. Business Overview Founded in 1968 in Monroe, Louisiana, [...]
Accenture (ACN): A High Quality Dividend Growth Stock Benefiting From The Digital Age
Accenture (ACN) has raised its dividend every year since it began paying one in 2005, recording annualized dividend growth en excess of 20% during that time period. With healthy payout ratios, excellent free cash flow generation, a clean balance sheet, and proven durability, Accenture is well-positioned to continue rewarding shareholders with strong dividend growth in the years ahead. Furthermore, while the continued rise of the digital age is creating challenges for many companies, Accenture stands to be a beneficiary of many of these trends. Let’s take a closer look at Accenture to see if this dividend growth stock looks attractive today. Business Overview Accenture is one of the largest professional services companies in the world and provides a [...]