Dividend Stocks

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

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.

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

More and more economists are warning that high inflation is here to stay for the next few years. Because of that, investors are becoming increasingly focused on using stocks to create an inflow of cash that earns them reliable income. To that end, dividend stocks offer folks returns through capital gains along with extra cash

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) stock fell this week after analysts called its earnings “mixed.” Source: Michael Vi / Shutterstock.com Shares have dropped around 5% during the trading week beginning July 12 after the bank announced net income of $9.2 billion, $1.03 per share and revenue of $21.5 billion for the three months ending in June.

Invesco Mortgage Capital (NYSE:IVR) is an attractively priced mortgage REIT that has a 10.8% dividend yield well covered by its earnings. Moreover, its price of $3.33 is still below its book value per share. Based on my calculations, the new IVR stock book value is $3.62, down slightly from $3.65 at the end of the

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) shares got fizzy this week as earnings crushed estimates, which is good news for anyone investing in PEP stock. Source: suriyachan / Shutterstock.com Pepsi earned $2.37 billion, $1.70 per share, on revenue of $19.2 billion for the three months ending in June. Earnings were 19 cents per share ahead of estimates, and revenue

I don’t know many investors who don’t like dividends. However, there are many investors who would opt for either dividend income or earnings and revenue growth. This divide between growth and dividend investors has left a rift among dividend stocks. But does there need to be one? Not necessarily.  While we can find growth stocks

Increased concern over inflation and valuations have brought choppiness back to equity markets. As the stock market recovers from a volatile month of trading, investors have turned their attention towards more defensive stocks. For many market participants, dividend shares seem to be the most reasonable plays. High-yield dividend stocks are prized among income investors, as

Mid-cap stocks are often overlooked. However, there are terrific dividend stocks in the mid-cap group that we think are worthy of consideration for income investors. In the world of investing, many investors focus on the biggest stocks in the market – so-called large caps – for their stability and predictability. This makes large-cap stocks generally

Merck (NYSE:MRK) has been making news lately for research into a possible pill that would treat Covid-19. The coronavirus pill has led to a surge in MRK stock.  Source: Atmosphere1 / Shutterstock.com The stock has had a smooth ride over the year and is trading close to the same level as last year. It stood