Newell Brands (NWL) has had an "Unsafe" Dividend Safety Score for more than a year. Meanwhile, the company's stock price has fallen about 40% over the past year and is down 70% from its mid-2017 high. That's sent NWL's dividend yield soaring to its highest levels since the Financial Crisis when the company had to cut its dividend severely. Unfortunately, Newell shareholders could be in for another dividend cut if business conditions don't turn around soon. Let's take a look at why the company is struggling and should be avoided by conservative income investors.

Target (TGT) was founded in 1902, but the first discount Target store actually didn't open until 1962. Today, Target is one of America's largest retailers with annual sales of approximately $70 billion and more than 1,800 stores across the country. Target’s stores focus on convenient one-stop shopping and competitive discount prices, offering a broad range of product categories including personal care, beauty, electronics, apparel, food, furniture, appliances, baby care, movies, and much more. Approximately 33% of Target's revenue is generated from its own private label brands (which enjoy higher margins), and groceries account for about 20% of total sales.

Founded in 1903 in Dearborn, Michigan, Ford (F) is one of the largest automakers. In 2018 the company sold 6 million cars, SUVs, and trucks under the Ford and Lincoln brands in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Last year Ford's worldwide market share was 6%. Ford is a very global company, but it remains most competitive in North America where its market share is by far the highest of any region it competes in. North America: 13.4% market share South America: 8.3% Europe: 7.2% Middle East & Africa: 3.0% Asia Pacific: 2.5% Unfortunately, Ford's international operations have struggled to produce profits and racked up a $2.2 billion pre-tax loss for the company in 2018. As a result, the company's [...]

CVS Health (CVS) is one of America’s most dominant healthcare players. The company operates the nation’s second-largest pharmacy chain with over 9,900 retail locations and is the biggest U.S. pharmacy based on total prescription revenue. CVS is also one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), having acquired Caremark RX for $21 billion in 2006 to become the second biggest PBM. In 2018 CVS closed on another large deal to acquire health insurance giant Aetna for $78 billion, creating one of the world's largest vertically integrated health giants. The PBM business provides vital services to employers and insurance companies by determining which drugs are covered for patients and negotiating price discounts with drugmakers. By integrating Aetna's health insurance business, [...]