Learn About Simply Safe Dividends
[/fusion_text]
These are our most recent articles. Also see which stocks have been this week’s best and worst performers.
GameStop (GME): A 6% Yield, But is the Dividend Safe?
At a glance, GameStop (GME) is a tempting dividend stock for retired income investors. GameStop offers a high dividend yield in excess of 6% and has increased its dividend every year since initiating its dividend program in 2012. The company has a healthy payout ratio near 40% and consistently generates positive free cash flow as well. But at the same time, it’s important to note that high yields, especially in this time of historically low interest rates, can be a red flag that a company is a “value trap,” meaning that something is deeply flawed about its business model. Let’s take a look at GameStop’s high yield using our Dividend Safety Scores to see if the [...]
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP): A High-Yield, Fast-Growing Utility
Utilities are one of the cornerstones of high-yield portfolios and for good reason. Their generally stable and predictable cash flows, often protected by regulated prices, result in most utilities achieving high Dividend Safety Scores. Safe payouts can be a major asset for low risk investors - especially retirees who depend on dividends for funding their living expenses. However, not all utilities require one to sacrifice growth for a safe, high yield. One global utility in particular, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP), appears to have a long runway for income growth. Let’s take a closer look at Brookfield Infrastructure Partners for consideration in our Conservative Retirees dividend portfolio. Business Overview Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is one of [...]
Vector Group (VGR): How Safe is the Sky-High Dividend Yield?
Tobacco stocks such as Altria (MO) and Philip Morris International (PM) have long been favorites for dividend investors seeking generous, secure, and steadily growing yields. However, with massive consolidation in the tobacco industry, courtesy of the secular decline in world smoking rates, the number of quality tobacco blue chips continues to decline. Vector Group (VGR) is now the highest-yielding tobacco stock trading in U.S. markets with a 7.6% dividend yield, and the company has even raised its dividend for 19 consecutive years. Is the stock’s high yield a signal that this relatively tiny ($2.7 billion market cap) cigarette provider is a hidden gem that investors living off dividend income should consider owning? Or is the market [...]
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A): Is a Dividend Cut on the Horizon?
With interest rates still at historic lows and the stock market soaring, income investors are hard pressed to find good places to put new capital to work. As a result, high-yield stocks such as Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) often attract investors with the promise of mouthwatering yields. But while there are excellent high-yield stocks out there, a very high yield can also be an important red flag that a company’s fundamentals have deteriorated to the point that the payout may no longer be safe. Our Dividend Safety Scores can help separate the risky high yield stocks from the safer ones. Let’s take a closer look at this integrated oil company for our Conservative Retirees dividend portfolio to [...]