Dividend Stocks

Geographic diversification can be valuable for stock market investors. When one country is in recession, another might not necessarily be in the same condition. There are times in which stocks from other countries, such as Canadian stocks, might be more attractively valued or have better growth prospects that domestic stocks. Investors may not realize that

Dividend investing is no longer as sexy as it used to be. The markets nowadays have gone hyperbolic. When most stocks are experiencing exponential capital appreciation, most investors are chucking dividend investing to the side. However, completely ignoring dividend stocks is not a recipe for success. Only a company with solid fundamentals, stable business models

There is probably no company more important to the history of the American South than The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO). But I don’t buy or invest in history. That’s not a reason to be in on KO stock. Source: focal point / Shutterstock.com Today, in 2021, Pepsico (NASDAQ:PEP) is by far the better investment. In fact, Pepsi

3M (NYSE:MMM) stock isn’t for everyone, but if you’re 66, like I am, it’s worth your investment. As I wrote in February  MMM stock is a long-term Dividend Aristocrat. It has kept a steadily rising dividend for 62 years. Source: r.classen / Shutterstock.com Since writing that story I’ve bought a few shares for my retirement account.

Since the start of the year, investors have been flooding into JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) stock. Many believe rising inflation and interest rates will soon let JPM stock make more money from its money. Source: Bjorn Bakstad / Shutterstock.com Since the start of 2021, the bank’s stock has risen over 21%. It opened Mar. 16 at

Blue-chip stocks appeal to investors with their stability and consistent returns. However, many also pay big dividends and can be a great source of income for retirees or those working to build a nest egg. It has been simple, solid investment advice for decades: buy and hold blue-chip stocks for the long term. And in

Investors in retirement may desire additional income. Those who don’t have a pension are likely relying on Social Security, and their retirement portfolio to cover their expenses. For retirees, investment income from retirement stocks needs to be safe and reliable. This is especially true for high-yielding stocks. There are dangers in high-yield investments, as this

Think of AT&T (NYSE:T) as a bond, not a stock. Seen from that perspective, it’s a bargain. You pay $30 a share and expect $2.08 each year in dividends. That’s an annual yield of nearly 7% on each share of T stock. With even junk bonds now paying just 4% it’s a slam dunk. Source: Roman

Seasoned investors realize dividend investing is a time-tested strategy that might be appropriate for most buy-and-hold retail portfolios.  They are not interested in timing highly volatile momentum. Instead their investment strategy is, at least in part, to buy shares in high quality dividend-paying companies and then reinvest those dividends over a long period of time,

Income investors sometimes take the route of finding the best income stocks to meet their needs based upon criteria like dividend safety, dividend growth potential, or historical dividend streak. These can help investors find great value stocks that will provide them with years of income. Along with dividends, investors should also keep in mind capital

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) plans to announcing some major changes on March 18 during its Capital Markets Day event. Let’s hope it comes up with something drastic that will help prevent NOK stock from its constant decline. Source: rafapress / Shutterstock.com The 5G telecom system maker wants to make its strategy more focused and employ a “more rigorous

Speculators buy tomorrow and sell today. Investors can get bargains if they believe in yesterday. Home Depot (NYSE:HD) provides a good example of this market principle. HD stock ran up from a pandemic low of $152 last March to a high of $286 in August. They then bounced around for months before falling 11% in

This pandemic has presented the global economy with an unprecedented challenge. The level of globalization, ease of travel from one country to another and the ensuing shutdowns contributed to the sharpest economic decline the developed world has ever seen. These conditions also made for unprecedented volatility in the stock market, sending even high-quality dividend stocks

Last year was a tale of two halves for dividend stocks. The novel coronavirus pandemic made the first half of 2020 a period of payout cuts and halts by S&P 500 Index names, but payouts came back mightily in the second half of the year, indicating that many of the top stocks for 2021 are

It could hardly be a better time to buy bank stocks. Interest rates are climbing, enabling banks to earn much more money from their loans and credit cards. Meanwhile, the economy is improving by leaps and bounds. The latter trend should continue as tens of millions of more Americans are vaccinated  against the novel coronavirus.

Interest rates may be on the rise right now, but they are still near historic lows. So, as it continues to be a near-zero interest rate environment, dividend stocks have become even more important to investors searching for yield. The problem? Unlike bonds, there’s a lot more risk in depending on equities for income. Bond

When it comes to income investing, we think investors should look for blue-chip stocks that have a few key features that go beyond the ordinary dividend stock. In particular, we prefer dividend stocks that have the ability to grow their payouts over time, as well as those that have very safe and reliable payouts, even

Much of the United States felt the sting of extremely cold weather this month. Perhaps no part of the country was hurt more than Texas, which saw millions go without power. This has caused energy prices to surge higher. For investors, that puts the focus on energy stocks. Consider that WTI crude increased 6.5% over

In all the electric car hoopla that Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) inspires, Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) has been ignored. TM stock continues to be a low-volume name. About 330,000 shares trade on an average day, while TSLA stock averages almost 41 million. Source: josefkubes / Shutterstock.com But Toyota is the world’s largest car company, having passed Volkswagen (OTCMKTS:VLKAY)

Health care companies often prove to be recession resilient, as their medicines and medical devices usually remain in high demand even if the economic environment weakens. Consumers need these products to maintain or improve their quality of life, regardless of state of the economy. At the same time, the world’s population continues to age, which

There are two types of dividend stocks: those that increase their annual dividend payments year after year, often referred to as Dividend Aristocrats, and those that grow their annual dividends by double-digit percentages every year.  In early January, Rob Carrick, one of Canada’s best personal finance columnists, wrote an article about dividend stocks that doubled

Wall Street has a tough time breaking old habits. Today we’re going to examine the opportunity with energy stocks. Last year, major investors committed to being more Earth friendly and the concept of ESG investing took flight. Global shutdowns gave the environment a big break. Humans drastically reduced the use of fossil fuels. For one

Most electric utility stocks are distinctly unloved right now. But there’s an exception to this rule: NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE). Right now, NEE stock is up. Source: madamF / Shutterstock.com In fact, while the S&P 500 is up a little under 41% over the last two years, the Utilities Select SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLU) is up just

I hate Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM). But that doesn’t mean XOM stock is a bad play. Source: Harry Green / Shutterstock.com When it comes to the company, it’s personal. I accept the science of climate change. If I ever have grandchildren, I want them to have a livable planet. But the last time I wrote about

Recently, after being asked to look at Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND), I did a drive-by recommendation for Pepsico (NASDAQ:PEP). Well it turns out things are looking good for Pepsico stock. Source: suriyachan / Shutterstock.com “The stock’s not bad even without Beyond Meat,” I wrote. “With it, it’s even tastier.”  Today, after delivering fat earnings and a

Shares of off-price retailer The TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX), operators of TJ Maxx, Marshall’s and HomeGoods, managed to stay in line with the market during the pandemic. Since vaccines have arrived, TJX stock is fading, up just 1.1% since Jan. 1 while the S&P 500 Index is up 4.3%. Source: Joe Hendrickson / Shutterstock.com This has

After a huge year in 2020, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is holding onto its gains so far in 2021. Apple stock bulls are excited about the opportunity 5G device upgrades can provide in the near-term. Apple bears are concerned about just how much more Apple can milk out of the iPhone. Source: dennizn / Shutterstock.com Growth catalysts

Interest rates remain very low and given the ongoing economic impact from COVID-19, they will likely stay very low. This low-rate environment places income investors in a difficult position. Add in the S&P 500 rising nearly 100% over the last five years, and finding high-yielding securities has become much more difficult. With low interest rates,

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG), America’s largest shopping mall landlord, spent 2020 becoming its biggest tenant. Source: Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com During the pandemic year it bought out four of its tenants — Forever 21, Lucky Brand, Brooks Brothers and JCPenney. It already owned Aeropostale, acquired in 2016. Yet since missing earnings estimates with a profit

Oil stocks have been among the market’s worst stocks to own over the past few years. The global supply glut has caused oil prices to fall significantly as many of the world’s largest producers have ramped up production. At the same time, the coronavirus pandemic caused demand for refined products to plunge. This has served