Dividend Stocks

With interest rates near zero, many investors are turning to dividend stocks for income. And for some investors, the higher the yield, the better. But it’s important to remember that in the equity market, just as in the bond market, higher yield usually means higher risk. The biggest risk is a dividend cut, which usually

I have a Mount Rushmore of failure for the last decade’s business leaders. It includes Virginia Rometty of IBM (NYSE:IBM), Brian Krzanich of Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Jeff Immelt of General Electric (NYSE:GE) and Randall Stephenson of AT&T (NYSE:T). And today we’re going to talk specifically about AT&T stock. Source: Roman Tiraspolsky / Shutterstock.com Their failures all

It’s no secret that interest rates are slumping. Many banks offer no return on savings accounts nowadays. Even certificates of deposits and government bonds often yield 1% or less in today’s environment. With that in mind, investors are looking to other types of assets to fill the income gap. Monthly dividend stocks are one appealing

These are rough days in the oil patch and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), the largest domestic oil company, proves as much. A member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Exxon Mobil stock is lower by 37.16% year-to-date, embodying the energy sector’s status as one of the worst-performing groups in the S&P 500 in 2020. Source: Harry

Although some folks on Wall Street may deny it, I believe there’s overwhelming evidence of a disconnect between investment market valuations and the real economy. Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t profit from the irrational enthusiasm. Better to go with the train than against it. However, at some point, the ride will likely end. When

Kroger (NYSE:KR) stock was underperforming for years before the novel coronavirus hit. No more. It opens for trade on Aug. 7 at about $35 a share. That’s a 21% gain for 2020, against 2.3% for the S&P 500 index, and 11% for Walmart (NYSE:WMT), the country’s biggest grocer. Source: Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com Kroger operates

Utility stocks have been relatively volatile in the recent past. However, most utility stocks have a low beta and have a stable cash flow visibility. Utility stocks should therefore be a part of the core portfolio as they reduce the portfolio risk. Mark D. Schild, assistant dean at the Stillman School of Business at Seton

Many moving parts – including the novel coronavirus crisis, OPEC’s moves, the overall economy, demand for air travel, and the increased popularity of electric vehicles – will affect oil stocks, including Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) stock. I believe that Exxon Mobil stock will prove to be a good name for income investors over the medium term.

After years of underperformance marked by a dividend cut, Kraft Heinz (NYSE:KHC) is on the move again. That makes Kraft Heinz stock a more interesting proposition. Source: Casimiro PT / Shutterstock.com The shares are up 8.3% so far in 2020, beating the S&P 500’s 2% gain. They have been rebounding after another down quarter, marked

There are three sides to a credit card transaction, the merchant, the customer, and the bank. It’s the latter where Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) stock comes in. Source: Isabelle OHara/Shutterstock.com Companies that process transactions experience less volume during a recession. But they make out all right. Banks, however, have a problem. Everything you put on

The U.S. has been using natural gas for two centuries, making natural gas stocks a source of profits for a long time. Prices of energy commodities like natural gas are important for consumers and investors alike. Earlier in the year, natural gas prices in the U.S. dropped to 25-year lows. As a result, in early

Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) posted its first quarterly loss since 2008 and cut its quarterly dividend by over 80.4% from 51 cents to 10 cents per share. However, Wells Fargo stock will survive this just fine. I suspect Wells Fargo will restore the dividend after the novel coronavirus recession ends. Source: Martina Badini / Shutterstock.com Moreover,

Until the recent volatility, banks and energy stocks were among the darlings of Wall Street’s passive income-seeking investors. However, economic realities have made many of these companies reevaluate the sustainability of their high payout yields. As a result, boards of a wide range of businesses have either slashed or fully eliminated dividends. Today I’ll take a closer

In terms of stock returns, the last 12 months has been unimpressive for defense stocks. This has resulted in most names trading at attractive valuations. These companies have robust cash flows and a healthy dividend payout. I therefore believe that it’s a good time to consider exposure to some quality names in the industry. Geopolitical

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) is a very stable quick-service restaurant company with good earnings upside. MCD stock is worth 18-to-20% more than today’s price and has good value and growth characteristics. Source: 8th.creator / Shutterstock.com For example, its dividend yield of 2.5% is well covered by this year’s expected earnings of $5.76 per share. Moreover, 35 analysts

The transportation sector is critical for GDP growth and global supply chain. The broad sector includes airline, shipping, railroad, trucking and logistics. Amidst the novel coronavirus pandemic, many transportation stocks have witnessed headwinds. However, there are several names in the space with robust fundamentals, high dividend payouts and are trading at attractive valuations. We’ll discuss

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) stock is very attractive given its high dividend yield and other value markers. For example, at today’s price, $42.50, the annual dividend represents a dividend yield of nearly 8%. Source: Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com I pointed out in prior articles that Exxon Mobil’s management said maintaining the dividend is a priority. I

[Editor’s note: “5 Stable Dividend Stocks to Buy as Fixed Income Vanishes” was previously published in May 2020. It has since been updated to include the most relevant information available.] Income in the bond market is rapidly disappearing, and that’s a weird concept to try and wrap your head around. For decades — centuries, even

2020 has definitely been a roller coaster for oil stocks. The novel coronavirus has resulted in steep declines in demand, leading OPEC to drastically reduce production. While all this was going on, there was a point when crude oil dropped well below zero! It was, well, jaw dropping. But during the past couple months, the

The world’s economies have been on life support for months. Major therapeutic efforts to combat this are coming from global central banks, which have been more aggressive than ever in pumping liquidity into financial systems to varying degrees of success. Against that backdrop, let’s discuss the need for dividend stocks in every investment portfolio. Like