Frontier Communications - A Light At The End Of The Tunnel [View article]
Thanks Crunching Numbers for this update on FTR. I made a strategic investment when you first analyzed this stock back a couple of years ago and took a slight haircut around $5 per share. The dividends, even after the cut have brought me back to even and I look forward to reinvesting the high yield into future shares. I like your interpretation of what Maggie Wilderotter said about broadband and customer churn. This has always been my highest yielding telecommunications stock, but one needs a strong stomach to hold it. If you hold it and drip the dividends, the investment grows around the 10% rate.
Will Caterpillar Bulldoze My Portfolio Higher? [View article]
Goalkick9-- Thanks for the question. I bought CAT last fall to fill out my sector allocation to industrials. At the time I knew we were near the bottom. However, cyclical stocks tend to have high beta and CAT jumped up to $99.49 on February 1, 2013. I am a long time holder and don't sell cyclicals at the peak, although I try to buy them near the bottom.
I believe that the worst is over in China and CAT took quite a hit from the purchase of Siwiei to get into the mining business there. I don't think CAT will go below $80, although it dropped to $80.43 on April 19, 2013. I enjoy dripping the stock at low prices and am quite pleased with the current range. I think Europe is the real kicker and I hear that business is picking up there, even though the financial markets are in turmoil. You may get a pullback to $80 this summer, but I wouldn't count on it.
There is much discussion at present concerning the efficacy of construction stocks and mining stocks. I believe we are coming out of recession on a global basis and CAT has picked up its sales in South America.
Thanks for the shoutout, OntheRock. I know how you felt when the layoff notice came--it happened to me in 2000. I believe the worst of this depression was the first 10 years. As unprepared as I was, I made it through and my wife finally got Social Security 2 years ago. It has been difficult for our children and their children, but we have been able to help them as we go through the hard times. You have started down the right path with dividend growth investing and will prosper.
Thanks Dave for the reasons you are a dividend growth investor. This year has been unprecedented for many of us, especially in capital gains. As Chowder says, watch the dividend stream to be sure it grows each year. Retirement is not the end of the story. It is the beginning!
Dave--Wonderful story about your great grandfather.
My thoughts on the Social Security fix would be to remove the cap on income subject to social security tax. That would take care of the shortfall in revenues.
Dividend Contenders: 13 Increases Expected By The End Of July [View article]
Thank you David Fish for this Dividend Contenders prospective dividend increases by the end of July. I note from the FAST graph on CAT that it is grossly undervalued. However, I hope the dividend increase is similar to last year's 13%. Dripping this stock should mitigate the future loss in principal, so far this year and it is only down 2.91% in my portfolio. If they hadn't moved the dividend forward from the first quarter to 2012, there would be some mitigation in that loss this year.
4 Poor Communication Services Dogs Beg 7% To 27% Gains In April [View article]
Fredrik Arnold:
I hold CTL as only .7% of portfolio. Like you say about these rural telecomms, it has been a dog. I got it when the converted my Qwest shares--at least it paid a dividend, while Qwest had not paid one in several years. I think the management is working at cross purposes to the shareholders, with their dividend cut and borrowing to buy back shares. I liked it when they were a dividend champion with regular dividend increases. I figure with the 3.25% loss so far this year in principal (including partial mitigation by dividend reinvestment) the current dividend is safe at 5.71% yield. I see it holding around 5% yield into the future. They are too large to buyout and seem to desire to compete with the big boys--VZ and T. Until they start raising the dividend again, they will remain a hold for me. It's hard to come by 5% yield these days. FTR on the other hand is 1.4% of portfolio and likely to hold between $4 and $5 per share. I like the growth of shares with the 9.17% yield and the 4.48% growth in principal this year, due mostly to dividend reinvestment.
4 Poor Communication Services Dogs Beg 7% To 27% Gains In April [View article]
Thank you Fredrik Arnold for this article on 4 poor communications service dogs. I hold FTR and am pleased with the 9.2% yield. They did cut their dividend a couple of years ago, but have paid the $.1 per quarter ever since. You have called it right on the upside, it is back to $4.34 now and has climbed the past two days. I accept the short term capital gains as gravy to the reinvested dividends, which were buying more shares when it was $4.
Are You Holding Overvalued Stocks And Wondering If It's Time To Sell? [View article]
Thank you Bob Johnson for this timely article on selling stocks. Like you, I have been accumulating high yield stocks with dividend income and recently bought LNCO at about the price you paid. I just hated to see the shorts come out and attack the price, including the article in Barrons. There is plenty of global stimulus money driving the markets up, especially in Japan. The pullback seems to have been postponed, but I think we'll get it in the fall. Dollar cost averaging is the only way I play a market like this--it reminds me of 1999.
10 Top Real Estate Dogs Run Down 14.3% To 24.4% Gains In April [View article]
Thank you Fredrik Arnold for this 10 Top Real Estate Dogs article. I hold AGNC and MTGE in this sector and have been quite pleased with the dividends over the past several years. However, there is the rumor of the winding down of QE by the Federal Reserve, although the timing has not been announced. This has recently driven down the prices of these stocks and the entire industry. I am currently holding and redeploying the dividends to other sectors:
Key Signals To Watch For A Major Stock Market Top [View article]
Thank you Eric Parnell for this reassuring study of market tops. I especially like your chart "Today: The Post Crisis Rally Continues". I also appreciate the warning that computers may hide the traditional tells of impending market crash, such as double tops. Since the market is irrational in my estimation, I am treating it like the 1990s and dripping dividends, but no new strategic purchases.
Dividend Champions Smackdown XXXVIII [View article]
Thanks David Fish for this Dividend Champions Smackdown. I am dripping PG and feel that it is in a good position to increase it's price as it has already increased it's dividend this year.
Thanks David Fish for this Smackdown series. Dominion Resources (D) has the added catalyst that it is moving toward a subsidiary Blue Racer MLP in the Utica Shale:
J. M. Smucker (SJM) is up 19.9% so far this year and appears to be heading for more. They haven't announced their dividend increase yet this year either.
Frontier Communications - A Light At The End Of The Tunnel [View article]
Will Caterpillar Bulldoze My Portfolio Higher? [View article]
I believe that the worst is over in China and CAT took quite a hit from the purchase of Siwiei to get into the mining business there. I don't think CAT will go below $80, although it dropped to $80.43 on April 19, 2013. I enjoy dripping the stock at low prices and am quite pleased with the current range. I think Europe is the real kicker and I hear that business is picking up there, even though the financial markets are in turmoil. You may get a pullback to $80 this summer, but I wouldn't count on it.
Will Caterpillar Bulldoze My Portfolio Higher? [View article]
http://seekingalpha.co...
There is much discussion at present concerning the efficacy of construction stocks and mining stocks. I believe we are coming out of recession on a global basis and CAT has picked up its sales in South America.
http://seekingalpha.co...
Also, thanks for the shoutout!
Why I Am A DG Investor [View instapost]
Why I Am A DG Investor [View instapost]
One Proposal To Fix Social Security [View instapost]
My thoughts on the Social Security fix would be to remove the cap on income subject to social security tax. That would take care of the shortfall in revenues.
Dividend Contenders: 13 Increases Expected By The End Of July [View article]
4 Poor Communication Services Dogs Beg 7% To 27% Gains In April [View article]
I hold CTL as only .7% of portfolio. Like you say about these rural telecomms, it has been a dog. I got it when the converted my Qwest shares--at least it paid a dividend, while Qwest had not paid one in several years. I think the management is working at cross purposes to the shareholders, with their dividend cut and borrowing to buy back shares. I liked it when they were a dividend champion with regular dividend increases. I figure with the 3.25% loss so far this year in principal (including partial mitigation by dividend reinvestment) the current dividend is safe at 5.71% yield. I see it holding around 5% yield into the future. They are too large to buyout and seem to desire to compete with the big boys--VZ and T. Until they start raising the dividend again, they will remain a hold for me. It's hard to come by 5% yield these days. FTR on the other hand is 1.4% of portfolio and likely to hold between $4 and $5 per share. I like the growth of shares with the 9.17% yield and the 4.48% growth in principal this year, due mostly to dividend reinvestment.
4 Poor Communication Services Dogs Beg 7% To 27% Gains In April [View article]
Are You Holding Overvalued Stocks And Wondering If It's Time To Sell? [View article]
10 Top Real Estate Dogs Run Down 14.3% To 24.4% Gains In April [View article]
http://seekingalpha.co...
Key Signals To Watch For A Major Stock Market Top [View article]
Dividend Champions Smackdown XXXVIII [View article]
http://seekingalpha.co...
9 Top Industrial Goods Dogs Fetch 3.6% To 19.5% Gains In April [View article]
http://seekingalpha.co...
Dividend Contenders Smackdown XXXVIII [View article]
http://tinyurl.com/cq8...
J. M. Smucker (SJM) is up 19.9% so far this year and appears to be heading for more. They haven't announced their dividend increase yet this year either.