PPL Corp (PPL): A High-Yield Utility Stock Doubling Its Dividend Growth Rate
Regulated utilities are some of the best high dividend stocks that low risk income investors look to in order to meet their high-yield needs. That's understandable since the business model for these government sanctioned monopolies is highly stable, allowing for consistent cash flow with which to pay generous and highly secure dividends. However, investing is never done in a vacuum. After all, there are differences in quality between the dozens of utilities investors have to choose from, so you need to be selective with where you deploy your capital. Let's take a look at PPL Corp (PPL), a regulated utility yielding 4% that recently doubled its expected annual dividend growth rate, to see if the company might be [...]
Foreign Dividend Withholding Tax Guide
International dividend-paying companies can be a great way to gain diversification and potentially benefit from economic growth in faster-growing emerging economies. Unfortunately, like with U.S. dividend stocks, the governments of the world will want their cut in terms of taxes. And just as with U.S. dividend tax law, the fine details of how much you have to pay and what forms you need to fill out can be both time consuming and a source of much angst come tax time. Let's take a look at foreign dividend withholding taxes as it applies to U.S. income investors to see what you need to know to invest responsibly in international dividend stocks. What are Foreign Dividend Withholding Taxes? While [...]
The Most Important Metrics for REIT Investing
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are a popular option for income investors looking to stocks for their high-yield needs. That’s partly because REITs are generally not only a good source for finding generous and steadily-growing dividends, but many of them also offer low volatility, making them ideal for low risk investors. While REITs can be a source of high income for your portfolio, that doesn’t mean you can be lackadaisical when it comes to selecting which REITs you entrust with your hard earned money. Like with all investments, you have to be careful about which ones you own and that means understanding the key differences between REITs and regular dividend-paying corporations. Specifically, you need to know [...]
A Guide to Flexible Reinvestment Programs (FRIPs)
Long time Simply Safe Dividend readers will know that we're big fans of Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRIPs). That's because anything that helps automate investing and keeps you focused on the long-term is great for helping you maximize the compounding power of successful dividend growth investing. However, there is an even better option out there, for customers of Scottrade, that has the potential to improve your long-term total returns even more. Find out why a Flexible Reinvestment Program (FRIP) may be a superior choice, but also what limitations it has. What Is a Flexible Reinvestment Program (FRIP)? Scottrade (the only discount broker to offer a FRIP) lets you use the power of automated, commission-free dividend reinvestment, but [...]
Cisco (CSCO) Drops 8% – Buying Opportunity for Dividend Investors or Value Trap?
Cisco (CSCO) announced quarterly earnings results after the market closed on Wednesday, May 17, causing its stock price to drop by approximately 8% in after-hours trading. If Cisco's current stock price holds, shares will have a dividend yield near 3.7% when the market opens. That's much higher than the broader market's dividend yield, which sits near 2%. Cisco's dividend yield looks even more appealing for income investors after considering the company's impressive three-year annual dividend growth rate of 15%, which includes the double-digit dividend raise management announced earlier this year. However, many large technology companies face serious challenges that could erode their businesses over time. One example is International Business Machines (IBM), a company Warren Buffett poured more [...]
Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA): How Safe is the High Dividend Yield?
Certain large pharmaceutical companies have proven to be excellent high-yield dividend growth stocks. However, due to the cyclical nature of the business, high R&D costs, and various regulatory risks, pharma can also be a very challenging industry in which to invest. Let’s take a look at Teva Pharmaceuticals, one of the highest-yielding big pharma stocks available today, to see whether its recent challenges (and plunging share price) make it a possible opportunity for our Conservative Retirees dividend portfolio or a classic value trap to be avoided. Business Overview Founded in 1901 in Petach Tivka, Israel, Teva Pharmaceuticals is the world’s largest maker of generic pharmaceuticals. In fact, it currently sells 1,800 drugs in over 80 countries around the [...]
NextEra Energy (NEE): A Fast-Growing, High-Yielding Utility Stock
Regulated utilities have long been a staple of dividend portfolios, and a handful of them are included in our list of the best high dividend stocks for good reason. Their highly stable business models generally make for attractive and safe current yields, with slow but steadily-growing payouts. Best of all, utilities generally have very low stock price volatility, making them ideal core holdings for low risk income portfolios and investors living off dividends in retirement. However, there are a few fast-growing utilities that manage to provide most of the benefits of this industry, along with impressive payout growth and long-term total returns. Such is the case with NextEra Energy (NEE), which has proven to be one [...]
A Guide to Investing in Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs)
Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) have become one of the most popular types of high-yield dividend stocks in this age of record low interest rates and falling stock yields. That’s especially true now that the worst oil crash in over 50 years has left so many MLPs trading at discounted prices. However, like with most high-yield stock classes, MLPs have their own unique challenges when it comes to successfully investing for the long-term. Let’s take a look at what makes MLPs different than regular dividends stocks and what things investors need to focus on in order to navigate these challenging and potentially treacherous waters. Differences Between MLPs and Common Dividend Stocks Like shares of common stocks in [...]
Telus (TU): One of the Safest and Fastest-Growing Dividends in Telecom
Telus (TU) is one of the telecom companies on our list of the best high dividend stocks with safe, growing payouts. Telecommunication companies have long been a favorite of high-yield income investors thanks to their utility-like recurring cash flows, which typically allow for generous and secure dividends. While blue chips AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) are the best known U.S. telecoms, there are some high-quality telecom names north of the border as well. Let’s take a look at Telus, a Canadian blue chip telecom, to see if it appears to be an attractive income stock for our Conservative Retirees dividend portfolio. Business Overview Founded in 1993 in Vancouver, Canada, Telus is one of Canada’s big telecom [...]
Vodafone Group (VOD): A High Dividend Opportunity or Value Trap?
Telecom stocks such as AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) often serve as core holdings for income investors who have a low tolerance for risk, especially retirees living off dividends. That makes sense because many telecom companies enjoy large, recurring streams of cash flow that support generous and slowly growing dividend payouts over time. However, not all telecom giants make for good dividend investments. The industry is increasingly battling slow growth and increased competitive pressures, and some firms are better positioned than others. Let’s take a closer look at Vodafone Group (VOD), one of the world’s largest telecom behemoths, to see if its 5.7% dividend yield is safe and appealing for our Conservative Retirees dividend portfolio, or if [...]