Dividend Stocks

Tired of meme stocks? 2021 has seen a flood of stocks that have made huge gains — and often fallen back to Earth just as quickly — thanks to Reddit and retail investors. The best dividend stocks offer an alternative to meme stocks. They may not hold the promise of rapid gains, but companies that

Early last month I wrote that Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), then trading for $60.14, was worth at least 25% more at $75.19. At the time, XOM stock had a 5.76% dividend yield and traded for 16 times forward earnings. Source: Michael Gordon / Shutterstock.com The good news is that Exxon is now cheaper at $55.10 as

After months of turmoil, AT&T (NYSE:T) stock looks to have bottomed and is finally trending higher. Source: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock The iconic American company that is today the world’s biggest telecommunications company and the largest provider of mobile telephone services in the U.S. has struggled this year as its stock price has endured a roller-coaster ride

Healthcare REITs have dramatically underperformed the broader market over the last 12 months due to the impact of the coronavirus crisis on their business. However, investors should not dismiss these stocks, particularly given that the broad market has doubled off its bottom last year and is now trading at a rich valuation level. While healthcare

When it comes to selecting dividend stocks to buy, investors can take their pick: high yield stocks, blue chip stocks with safe payouts, stocks with high dividend growth rates, value stocks; the list goes on. But selecting undervalued dividend stocks is particularly advantageous for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that

Robinhood stocks have generally been associated with speculative buys or meme trades. That’s not inherently bad — it’s a good idea to set aside some space in your portfolio for speculative plays. Even if only one or two stocks provide multi-fold returns, those gains can positively impact the health of your overall portfolio. At the

Let’s talk about utility stocks. Companies that grow dividends during periods of economic expansion are very common. The more difficult endeavor is to grow the dividend during times of economic hardship. Demand often falls in many areas as consumers and companies reduce their spending in recessions. Customers tend to keep their spending to a minimum

While growth names typically get all the headlines, every investor should consider cash flow. Certainly, you don’t want to be trading hours for income all your life, which means you need a portfolio of companies that will pay you — whether their underlying securities perform well or not. Therefore, dividend stocks have permanent relevance. But

Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) just doubled its quarterly dividend per share from 10 cents to 20 cents. This raised the dividend yield for WFC stock to 1.64% as of Aug. 9. Source: Martina Badini / Shutterstock.com Additionally, Wells Fargo just reported excellent earnings with a good increase in its tangible book value per share (TBVPS). I

If you’re in the market for an investment that could last for generations, I invite you to consider Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) stock. Source: Ken Wolter / Shutterstock.com It’s a banking giant that seems to respect the WFC stockholders – even if Wells Fargo’s reputation with its customers isn’t perfect. You may have heard allegations about the

Investing in companies with competitive advantages and sustainable dividend payouts is one of the best ways to generate long-term wealth creation. So, what’s a great place to start when looking for high-quality dividend growth stocks? To me, you can’t go wrong with the Dividend Aristocrats, an exclusive group of 65 stocks that have at least

The U.S. economy is back in growth mode and unemployment is falling despite the lingering threat of the Delta variant. This bodes well for the nation’s restaurant stocks, which were hit especially hard by the pandemic. Restaurant stocks have notched impressive returns in the past several months and are primed for further growth as the

Is it worth buying the stock of ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:VIAC) stock in hopes that the company will be acquired by media giant Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA)? Source: Jer123 / Shutterstock.com VIAC stock got a bump in late June after media reports surfaced that Comcast was considering making a bid for ViacomCBS in order to strengthen its streaming content.

Many AT&T (NYSE:T) investors may wonder whether it’s time to cash out, as the company is anticipated to cut its dividends. But I’m urging investors to rethink their stance, as there’s a very good reason behind the dividend cut, which could benefit investors after considering the capital gains versus dividend income tradeoff. In addition, investors

This may seem like a weird time to be recommending Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) stock. Inflation expectations — and policymakers’ lack of clarity regarding plans to curb any potential inflation crisis — are discouraging investors. None of us can control the fact that central authorities are prioritizing per-capita GDP recovery while ignoring surging prices. Source: Jonathan

Inflation has definitely penetrated the U.S., as the June U.S. producer price index jumped 7.3% year-over-year and 1% month-over-month. The YOY surge was the highest on record. Investors looking for a conservative way to combat the inflation, which will probably stay elevated for at least the next year, should consider safe, high-yield stocks. Certainly, a

When it comes to dividend stocks, income investors would do well to determine the best sectors to buy from. Certain sectors lend themselves to longevity, stable earnings and strong fundamentals. One such sector is tobacco stocks, which collectively offer investors many of the attributes that make for great dividend stocks. One of those attributes is

Telecom titan AT&T (NYSE:T) is a company that your grandparents might have invested in. I consider T stock to be an all-wealth holding – something that offers security through both good and bad times. Source: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock Still, even a huge company like AT&T has to execute as the stakeholders expect results, quarter after quarter. The

Dividend investors often pay attention to stocks with the highest yields, and understandably so; the appeal of a big yield for income-focused investors is difficult to overlook. But over time, investors can often generate larger dividends by selecting quality blue chip stocks with high levels of dividend growth, rather than simply chasing the highest yield

ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:VIAC) should be a wildly profitable investment. It isn’t one. The best trade on this stock over the last year was a short. If you borrowed shares to sell during its January and February run-up, you prospered after Archegos Capital collapsed. Source: Jer123 / Shutterstock.com Viacom shares started August 2 near the level they

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) announced very satisfactory second-quarter results on July 30, but the shareholders seem to want more. The problem is the company is doing exactly what it should do with its cash flow. It’s covering its very ample dividend, paying down debt, and paying for necessary capital expenditures. In short, XOM stock is still very

AT&T (NYSE:T) shocked the world this summer. AT&T has long been a centerpiece of many retirees and income investors’ portfolios. T stock generally yielded in the 6% range annually, and at times paid an even higher rate than that. Source: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock This was a massive number in a zero interest rate world. With banks paying

Investors can put the odds of long-term success in their favor in a variety of ways. One way is to buy high-quality dividend stocks such as Dividend Aristocrats, with reliable earnings and solid yields. Another is to combine those high-quality companies with mega-trends that are favorable for long-term growth — like healthcare stocks. In this

After bottoming in March, 30-year Treasury bond prices have started climbing again. Despite threats of interest rate hikes as early as 2023 and inflation, markets are supporting higher government debt prices. A number of Wall Street analysts are forecasting a rebound in 10-year yields to 1.8% by the end of the year, from the 1.285%

The S&P 500 index lost 1.5% last week from peak to trough, as investors became more cautious. With the index up 16% year-to-date and 34% over the last 12 months, some profit-taking isn’t unreasonable. For the most part, investors have bought the dips recently more often than not in everything from tech to dividend stocks.

Heading into 2020, S&P 500 dividend stocks had averaged 8.1% dividend growth over the previous five years. In 2020, thanks to Covid-19, that growth slowed to a trickle, up by a scant 0.07%. Now halfway through 2021, dividend payouts for the S&P have reversed course, presently down by 3.05%. Many companies have slowed their payouts

While even former dogs like Ford Motor (NYSE:F) have gotten expensive of late, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) stock remains dirt cheap. Source: Roman Tiraspolsky / Shutterstock.com America’s biggest bank opened July 14 at $149.71 per share. That’s a market cap of $447 billion, which sounds massive. But it’s also a price-to-earnings ratio of just 10. There’s

In general, Dividend Aristocrats are the foundation for the portfolios of most serious dividend growth investors. European Dividend aristocrats are typically blue-chip stocks that have proven to reward shareholders with rising dividends over a long period. While historic dividend payment does not guarantee future distributions, it can help investors when accessing the likelihood of a

After suffering from the pandemic last year, the energy sector is by far the best-performing sector of the stock market this year making royalty trusts worth another look. Thanks to the massive rollout of vaccines and the deep production cuts of OPEC and Russia, the price of oil has rallied to a 3-year high while

Income investors are always searching for high yields, which are hard to find with today’s historically low interest rates and record-high stock prices. But investors should not sacrifice dividend safety in favor of higher yields. This is why high-quality dividend stocks like the Dividend Aristocrats are so valuable. The Dividend Aristocrats are a select group