Dividends4Life

Dividend Progress Report: October 2009

David: Purchases are primarily new money. As you noted, it also includes reinvested dividends and any sold securities. It is roughly 90% new money 10% dividends reinvested, with any sales layered on top of that.

Best Wishes,
D4L

Weighing Free Cash Flow Payout vs. Dividend Payout

Levered free cash flow subtracts out interest payments on debt. Generally, it is a good number except when there are uneven interest payments. I prefer to look at free cash flow as a source of cash and look at upcoming debt/interest payments separately as a use of cash.

Best Wishes,
D4L

Six Double Digit Dividend Stocks Increasing Their Yields

Mike: You are correct, I am long in MCD. I had originally wrote the article with 5 companies before MCD's announced last night. After MCD's announcement of its dividend increase, I quickly updated the article, but failed to update the disclosure.

Best Wishes,
D4L

Getting Ready for Retirement

Mad Hedge Fund Trader: I found your recommendation of PCY intriguing. Having never looked at it before, I ran some quick numbers on its dividend comparing it to LQD. Surprisingly, its standard deviation from 11/07 to 9/09 was 0.01489 compared to 0.02817 for LQD over the same period (Yahoo data + iShares to fill in some LQD blanks). LQD is one of my core bond holdings, but it is quickly approaching full allocation, so I've been looking for some other alternatives. A higher yield and lower standard deviation on its dividend makes PCY worth looking deeper into.

Thanks for mentioning it!

Best Wishes,
D4L


On Sep 22 02:51 PM Mad Hedge Fund Trader wrote:

> mgx A number of readers have asked me to come up with a safe, high
> yielding investment in which to hide out in case the equity markets
> swoon again. That means they are looking for a security that offers
> a high fixed return, denominated in a strong currency that will benefit
> from future upgrades that will boost the principal over time. All
> of that is another name for the Invesco PowerShares Emerging Market
> Sovereign Debt ETF (seekingalpha.com/symbo...). The fund
> has 40% of its assets in bonds issued in Latin America and 31% in
> Asia, with the bulk of the maturities exceeding ten years. The two
> year old fund now boasts $340 million in market cap and pays a handy
> 6.42% dividend. This beats the daylights out of the nine basis points
> you currently earn for cash, the 3.40% yield on 10 year Treasuries,
> and still exceeds the 6.42% dividend on the iShares Investment Grade
> Bond ETN (seekingalpha.com/symbo...), which buys predominantly
> single “A” US corporates. The big difference here is that foreign
> bonds are issued in strong foreign currencies instead of weak dollars,
> and have a rosy future of further credit upgrades to look forward
> to. It turns out that many emerging markets have little or no debt
> because until recently, investors thought their credit quality was
> too poor. No doubt a history of defaults in Brazil and Argentina
> in the seventies and eighties is at the back of their minds. With
> US government bond issuance going through the roof, the shoe is now
> on the other foot. A price appreciation of 125% over the past year
> tells you this is not exactly an undiscovered concept. Still, it
> is something to keep on your “buy on dips” list.

13 Consistent Dividend-Raising Companies Currently on Freeze

Jarco: A straight payout calculation may not be representative of the company's financial position after such a large acquisition due to the write-up of assets and the associated higher depreciation. I use a TTM Free Cash Flow Payout instead. CTL is at 46% with this metric. Somewhat more concerning to me is its Debt to Total Capital. I generally, like to see this less than 45%. CTL is currently at 48%. Not bad, but a little higher than I like.

CTL is a hold for me at this point. I will continue to watch it closely.

D4L

On Sep 13 12:56 AM jarco wrote:

> How does one justify owning CTL especially now that it has taken
> over (or been taken) Embarq? A $2.80 dividend = 90% payout.
>
> Yield stocks must have some positive fundamentals.
>
> Your owned list is impressive but look too much like most stodgy
> Mutual Funds.

13 Consistent Dividend-Raising Companies Currently on Freeze

CenturyTel is changing its name to CenturyLink after its merger with Embarq.

www.centurylink.com/


On Sep 11 09:40 PM SafisKusai wrote:

> you listed CTL incorrectly as CenturyLink when it is actually called
> CenturyTel. Just a heads up.

3 Stocks Providing Positive Shareholder Feedback with Higher Dividends

BlueOkie: Thanks for your kind words. My one hard and fast rule for my income portfolio is if the stock cuts its dividend, immediately sell it. Here is an article I wrote on it:

dividendsvalue.com/143.../

Best Wishes,
D4L


On Sep 06 10:10 AM BlueOkie wrote:

> Always enjoy your posts as I'm big believer in Dividends. I'm long
> EMR, HRS, VZ. There are a few firms that stopped or cut dividends
> that I'm not ready to bail on, yet! PFE, DOW, BBT, TSS. Do you
> make exceptions to your rules? Or is it "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS"

Portfolio Update: Trimming ETF Income Holdings

Dave: The annualized income is forward looking and based on my current holdings. As for my YOC rising in the future, it is a result of building my investment base so current investments represent a smaller % of total invested capital, thus new capital will have have less an effect on YOC. For example, a $5,000 investment into a $20,000 portfolio will have a dramatic effect on its YOC, where the same $5,000 investment into a million dollar portfolio will produce a much smaller effect.

Best Wishes,
D4L

Are REITs and Utilities Good Dividend Investments?

Aber: An oversight on my part, TEG did pass the Debt test, but failed the FCF test. I do have concerns about TEG's ability to sustain its dividend, but I am not yet selling my position.

Best Wishes,
D4L


On Jul 30 05:25 AM aber wrote:

> Hi and thanks , like always, for your articles
> why TEG did not pass the test ? you wrote :
>
> "Integrys Energy Group, Inc. (seekingalpha.com/symbo...)
> – 3 Stars
> Debt to Total Capital: 18%
> Free Cash Flow Payout: -47%
> I look for a maximum of 45% Debt to Total Capital and a maximum of
> 60% Free Cash Flow Payout"
>
> is seems to me much better than NNN , or i'm missing somenthing ?
>
> do you think the TEG's dividend is at risk ?
> please explain , thanks a lot indeed
> Alberto (long on TEG )

Why the Right Moment Is Approaching for Dover

Tom: Click on "Dover Corp." in the first sentence.

Why the Right Moment Is Approaching for Dover

Tom: Click on "Dover Corp." in the first sentence.

United Technologies: Dividend Stock Analysis

Kipling: It is "tangible" book value, which is book value less intangibles. At the end of 2008 UTX's book value was $15.9 billion while intangibles were $18.8 billion. Doing the math would yield a negative number.

D4L

On Jul 07 10:17 AM Kipling wrote:

> How is it possible that UTX's book value is NOT meaningful?
> That makes no sense at all. Do you mean the book value is "0"?<br/>AAAUUGGHHH

Dividend-Paying Utilities for a Well-Rounded Portfolio

Kewgardens: I am working on a followup post to what happened to TEG. There are some interesting observations to made, and obviously lessons to be learned.

Best Wishes,
D4L

Legg Mason: No More Dividend Increases?

Gina: I have found funds to be less effective since most are based on an index and therefore forced to buy stocks that I would not buy. With that said, I do hold quite a few ETFs and CEFs, but I will likely liquidate most of them over time.

Best Wishes,
D4L

Pfizer's Acquisition of Wyeth Could Be Short Boon to Shareholders

PFE needs a shot in the arm. For the last several years it has been wandering in the wilderness. After freezing its dividend, it is one I am watching closely.

Best Wishes,
D4L