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Investing

Ideas and Strategies on Investing.

Previous Articles

Where Are All The Ads?

2/28/2014

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I’m not adverse to making money (I do write articles about investing, by the way) but I’ve been perplexed by all the ads on the investing websites. I get the idea behind all the advertising. You come to my site to read content and I bombard you with ads. At times the ads may even look like content. You then click on the ads and I make money. This is a fairly simple concept to understand, but it makes me wonder about why these sites have any ads at all. Is the purpose of the site to sell ads? Do the ads make more money than the advice that’s being peddled? 
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In my articles I write about my investing style and the stocks that I am or am not investing in at the moment. I also include many of my investing ideas and the reasoning and rationale behind my buys and sells. I have a relatively simple investing philosophy and process and to tell the truth, sometimes I think I’m just repeating myself from article to article. But only the readers of my articles can really decide if these articles are repetitive or redundant. And I’ll know when my website stats start to falter. 

 Hopefully each article articulates or explains a slightly new or different approach to the way I invest. And hopefully I can spark a new idea in the minds of those who read these articles. It’s just one of the reasons I continue to write. But most important of all, I’m not just writing about the topic of investing, I’m writing about the strategies and methods I use when I’m investing my own money. 
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So where are all the ads on this site? Look around. You won’t find any. There aren’t any. And here’s why. I’ve consciously made the choice to not put any ads on my site. Fortunately I have the luxury of not paying for this site (so far) because it is so graciously hosted by Weebly.com for free. I’ve had other websites in the past and I can honestly say this is the best development site I have ever used. Weebly.com makes putting websites up on the net easy and simple. If anyone wishes to create a website for just about any purpose, I highly recommend you at least visit their site and spend a little time reading their documentation. You’ll be surprised at just how user friendly it is. It’ll allow you to quickly get past the mechanics of putting a website together and allow you to concentrate on the content you want to include on your site. And that’s what the purpose of your website is all about, right?
"The writer must earn money in order to be able to live and to write, but he must by no means live and write for the purpose of making money."
-- Karl Marx, idiot.
At this point you may be asking yourself exactly how do I make money writing these articles? Well, I don’t. And as long as Weebly.com doesn’t charge me for this site I really have no need to make money on this site. These articles are truly a labor of love. 

But before you feel sorry for me, I must tell you that I do make money. And the way I make money from this site is by taking my own advice. I actually do the things I discuss in my articles and the results are some very profitable trades. Writing these articles are my way of clarifying my ideas about the investing I do. They’re my catharsis. They’re my epiphany.
"Making money is a hobby that will complement any other hobbies you have, beautifully."
-- Scott Alexander, British Millionaire.
If no one ever reads these articles they’ve still been worth creating just for the fact that they have improved my understanding of the markets and my trading. Every day my trading strategy becomes clearer and clearer to me. If I ever begin to second guess my decisions, I simply refer to my earlier articles and these reassure me that my investing remains on track. These articles have been a very reassuring exercise for an independent investor like myself. And if any of this has helped anyone else, then all the better. 
"Life started getting good when I started making money."
-- Balthazar Getty, American Film Actor.
Hopefully someday my kids will become interested in beginning their own journey of building wealth and securing that financial freedom and security that seems to have eluded me so far but always seems just around the corner. Luckily my journey isn’t quite over yet. 

Good Luck and Good Trading.  

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Companies Raising Dividends

2/28/2014

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Companies that raise dividends on a regular basis provide me with a unique view into the thinking and fiduciary responsibility of the Board of Directors. Without stating it exactly, the Board is reaffirming their confidence in the future earnings of the company by increasing the company's distributions to its shareholders.

Hundreds and thousands of companies pay dividends on a regular basis so simply paying a dividend is of little interest to me when trying to sort through so many companies. What I'm interested in are the companies that raise their dividends. And of particular interest are those companies that significantly increase their dividends. Discovering that information grabs my attention and signals to me that further investigation into the fundamentals of the company is necessary. 

While I review lists of dividend increases on a regular basis, I recently decided to include these lists into the stream of articles under the "Investing" section of my website. This quickly started to take over this section and interfere with the investing ideas that were suppose to occupy that space. 

As a result, I have added an additional drop down under the "Investing" menu above titled "Dividend Increases". You can also get there by clicking on the button below. Dividend Growth Investors will appreciate this new section because dividends are an important part of their selection process. The fact that a company is raising its dividend is key to the dividend growth model. Hopefully by segregating these they will be more accessible to me and I will be able to study them in more depth. I find these lists to be very helpful in trying to identify new candidates for accumulation. If this helps anyone else, all the better. 
Dividend Increases
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Cash Secured Puts

2/26/2014

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Selling cash secured put options is an interesting idea that I discovered early on in my investing career as a way of augmenting dividends and increasing the amount of cash available in my account as well as getting into positions at a price lower that currently quoted. Today I use these same ideas, methods and tactics to increase the income coming into my account and provide me with the ability to accumulate additional dividend paying securities.
Cash secured puts are a tactic I employ in order to bring income into my account other than my own hard earned cash. I also often use this strategy to enter into a position at a price below the currently quoted price and at a price more appropriate to the underlying value of the stock itself. Similar to call options, a put option is, at its core, simply an option contract. It's derivative in nature and it’s value exists in its contractual obligation between the buyer and the seller. It’s also considered a long position and is therefore related to buying (going long) stock. 

The cash-secured put involves writing an at-the-money or out-of-the-money put option and simultaneously setting aside enough cash to buy the stock. The goal is to either be assigned and acquire the stock below today's market price or to collect the premium income for use in later trades.

When an investor is bullish on an underlying stock he can sell a cash secured put and hope for a temporary fall in the price of the stock. If it falls below the strike price, the put will most likely be assigned and the put would buy the stock at the strike price less the premium received.

What are the Risks?

One possible risk is that the stock may fall significantly below the strike price and the investor will be locked into a loss at assignment. Any investor in this situation must be comfortable prior to selling the put with being assigned the stock at the strike price.

Another possibility is that by waiting for a price dip for entry, the investor may miss out on a stock that continues to climb upward. Subsequent decisions would obviously repeating the short put strategy or closing out and buying the stock outright.

What kind of Investor Sells Cash Secured Puts?

This is primarily an income producing or a stock acquisition tactic for a price-sensitive investor. As a stock acquisition tactic, the goal is to collect the premium income and then acquire the underlying stock by assignment at a strike price less the premium received.

Unfortunately the assignment of stock is not guaranteed. If the stock’s price remains above the strike prior to the expiration of the option, the stock will never be purchased. The result would be pocketing the premium received for the put.

What is the Maximum Loss?

The maximum loss is limited but substantial. The worst that can happen is for the stock to become worthless. In that case, the investor would be obligated to buy stock at the strike price but the loss would be reduced by the premium received for selling the put. The maximum loss, however, is lower than it would have been had the investor simply purchased the stock outright.

What is the Maximum Gain?

The maximum gain from the put option itself is limited to the premium received at the time of sale. Gains in addition to the put option may include gains received after assignment when the stock appreciates in value. The best scenario would be for the stock to dip slightly below the strike price at the put option's expiration, trigger assignment and then rally immediately afterwards to record heights. The put assignment would have allowed our investor to buy the stock at the strike price minus the premium just in time to participate in the following rally.

What about Time Decay?

The passage of time will have a positive impact on this strategy, all other things being equal. As expiration approaches, the option tends to move toward its intrinsic value, which for out-of-money puts is zero. If the original forecast and goals still apply, the investor keeps the premium and is free to either buy the stock outright or write a new put.


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So Where Are The Bargains?

2/25/2014

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Like most people, I like to buy quality items on sale. In the stock  market the same idea applies and it's the key investing strategy to accumulating wealth over time. Buy the securities of quality companies and buy them at the best possible price. Quality companies to me means Dividend Growth Companies. In theory this is not rocket science. In practice it's a little harder than it appears.
When I'm looking to add shares in a Dividend Growth Company to my portfolio, the first place I look is the List of Dividend Aristocrats. This is an easy starting point for me because the criteria for being included on this list is the company's ability to increase their dividends for at least the last 25 years. Without digging any deeper into their fundamentals I know that these companies are interested in sharing their profits with shareholders, which is what's important to me. In fact the two reasons I buy dividend growth companies are (1) the dividend and (2) the growth in that dividend over time. 

Generally speaking these are the two reasons most people buy stock in these companies and, for the most part, companies tend to like these types of shareholders. Dividend growth investors won't constantly buy and sell their shares causing volatility in the company's shares.  Upper management appreciates this because it reduces stress in the boardroom. 
“Look to add quality, dividend-paying, blue chips when they become irrationally oversold and undervalued. That is how and when experienced investors create blue chip investment portfolios which serve them well throughout their entire lives with growth of capital and growth of dividend income.” 
-- Kelley Wright, Managing Editor, Investment Quality Trends 
So why would dividend growth companies ever go on sale? There's generally two reasons. One reason would be that the entire market is on sale because of the overall economy, or there's something temporarily wrong with the individual company's fundamentals. If it's because of the overall economy then this is a real bargain because if you believe in American Capitalism, the entire market will eventually improve over time. If it's the individual company that's under stress, then you have to discover what specifically is causing the stress and determine if management is strong enough to bring the company back from the brink. In most cases the Dividend Aristocrats have been in this position several times over the last 25 years and managements have been able to solve the problem and continue on, on an upward trajectory. 

The companies identified below are companies on the list of Dividend Aristocrats that can be considered "on sale" as compared to their previous quoted prices. I have based this solely on looking at their weekly charts (which takes a longer view of the stock's performance than its daily charts). For the most part the determining criteria is the MACD below the zero line. I generally like to see the MACD bottom out and start to turn up before I actually buy the stock so these companies may have further to go on the downside, but there's no doubt that they are on sale compared to previous periods. Additional confirmation should also be confirmed in the momentum indicators RSI and ADX. 

Once again, identifying these companies is not a recommendation to buy or sell securities in these companies. Please do your own homework and be responsible for your investment decisions.
“There are no bad days in the market. When the market is down, you’ve got bargains, and it’s lovely to think of what you are buying at low prices. When the market is up, the bargains have gone, but you’re rich.”
-- Bruce Greenwald, First Eagle Funds 
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AT&T provides telecommunications services to consumers, businesses, and other providers in the United States and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Wireless, Wireline, and Other. The Wireless segment offers various wireless voice and data communication services, including local wireless communications services, long-distance services, and roaming services. The Wireline segment provides data services, such as switched and dedicated transport, Internet access and network integration, U-verse services, and data equipment; businesses voice applications over IP-based networks; and digital subscriber lines, dial-up Internet access, private lines, managed Web-hosting services, packet services, enterprise networking services, and Wi-Fi services, as well as local, interstate, and international wholesale networking capacity to other service providers. The Other segment provides application management, security services, integration services, customer premises equipment, outsourcing, government-related services, and satellite video services. 
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Chevron, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment is involved in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and processing, transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in refining crude oil into petroleum products; marketing crude oil and refined products; transporting crude oil and refined products through pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacturing and marketing commodity petrochemicals and fuel and lubricant additives, as well as plastics for industrial uses. 
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Cincinnati Financial Corporation engages in the property casualty insurance business in the United States. It operates in five segments: Commercial Lines Property Casualty Insurance; Personal Lines Property Casualty Insurance; Excess and Surplus Lines Property Casualty Insurance; Life Insurance; and Investments. The Commercial Lines Property Casualty Insurance segment provides coverage for commercial casualty, commercial property, commercial auto, and workers’ compensation. The Personal Lines Property Casualty Insurance segment provides coverage for personal auto and homeowners, as well as other insurance products, including dwelling fire, inland marine, personal umbrella liability, and watercraft coverages to individuals. The Excess and Surplus Lines Property Casualty Insurance segment offers commercial casualty insurance that covers businesses for third-party liability from accidents occurring on their premises or arising out of their operations. The company’s Life Insurance segment provides term life insurance; universal life insurance; whole life insurance; and worksite products, including term, whole life, universal life, and disability insurance offered to employees through their employer.
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Consolidated Edison, through its subsidiaries, engages in regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses. The company, through its subsidiary, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., provides electric services to approximately 3.3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County; gas to approximately 1.1 million customers in Manhattan, the Bronx and parts of Queens, and Westchester County; and steam to approximately 1,717 customers in parts of Manhattan. It operates 62 area distribution substations and various distribution facilities; 39 transmission substations and 62 area stations; electricity generation plants with an aggregate capacity of 706 megawatts that run with gas and fuel oil; 4,360 miles of mains and 387,881 service lines for natural gas distribution; and 5 steam-only generating stations. The company, through its subsidiary, Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., also supplies electricity to approximately 0.3 million customers in southeastern New York, and in adjacent areas of northern New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania; and gas to approximately 0.1 million customers in southeastern New York and adjacent areas of northeastern Pennsylvania. It operates 555 circuit miles of transmission lines; 14 transmission substations; 62 distribution substations; 85,474 in-service line transformers; 3,781 pole miles of overhead distribution lines; and 1,794 miles of underground distribution lines, as well as 1,777 miles of mains for natural gas distribution and 77 miles of mains for natural gas transmission.
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Family Dollar Stores operates a chain of self-service retail discount stores primarily for low- and middle-income consumers in the United States. Its merchandise assortment includes consumables, such as household chemicals, paper products, food products, health and beauty aids, hardware and automotive supplies, pet food and supplies, and tobacco; and home products comprising blankets, sheets, towels, housewares, giftware, and home décor products. The company also provides apparel and accessories consisting of men’s and women’s clothing products, boys’ and girls’ clothing products, infants’ clothing products, shoes, and fashion accessories; and seasonal and electronic products, such as toys, stationery and school supplies.
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HCP Inc. is an independent hybrid real estate investment trust. The fund invests in real estate markets of the United States. It primarily invests in properties serving the healthcare industry including sectors of healthcare such as senior housing, life science, medical office, hospital and skilled nursing. The fund also invests in mezzanine loans and other debt instruments. It engages in acquisition, development, leasing, selling and managing of healthcare real estate and provides mortgage and other financing to healthcare providers.
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McCormick and Company manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Industrial. The Consumer segment offers spices, herbs, seasonings, and dessert items directly, as well as through distributors or wholesalers to various retail outlets, including grocery stores, mass merchandise stores, warehouse clubs, and discount and drug stores, as well as supplies private label items. The Industrial segment provides seasoning blends, spices and herbs, condiments, coating systems, and compound flavors directly, as well as through distributors to food manufacturers and foodservice customers.
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PepsiCo operates as a food and beverage company worldwide. The company operates worldwide in two general areas: the Foods division and the Beverage division.  The company also serves wholesale and foodservice distributors, grocery and convenience stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, and authorized independent bottlers through direct-store-delivery systems, customer warehouses, and distributor networks.
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Stanley Black and Decker provides power and hand tools, mechanical access solutions, and electronic security and monitoring systems for various industrial applications primarily in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. The company’s Construction & Do It Yourself segment offers professional corded and cordless electric power tools and equipment. Its Security segment provides electronic security systems and electronic security services. The company’s Industrial segment offers hand tools, power tools, and engineered storage solution products; engineered fasteners; and custom pipe handling machinery, joint welding and coating machinery, weld inspection services, and hydraulic tools and accessories to the automotive, manufacturing, aerospace, and natural gas pipeline industries. 
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Target Corporation operates general merchandise stores in the United States. It offers household essentials, including pharmacy, beauty, personal care, baby care, cleaning, and paper products; hardlines comprising music, movies, books, computer software, sporting goods, and toys, as well as electronics that consist of video game hardware and software; apparel and accessories, such as apparel for women, men, boys, girls, toddlers, infants, and newborns, as well as intimate apparel, jewelry, accessories, and shoes. The company also provides food and pet supplies, including dry grocery, dairy, frozen food, beverages, candy, snacks, deli, bakery, meat, produce, and pet supplies; and home furnishings and décor, such as furniture, lighting, kitchenware, small appliances, home décor, bed and bath, home improvement, automotive, and seasonal merchandise comprising patio furniture and holiday décor. In addition, it offers in-store amenities.
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The Chubb Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance to businesses and individuals. It offers personal insurance products, such as automobile, yachts, homeowners, and other personal coverage products, as well as personal accident and supplemental health insurance products. The company also provides commercial insurance products, including multiple peril, primary liability, excess and umbrella liability, automobile, workers’ compensation, and property and marine insurance products. In addition, it offers specialty insurance products comprising professional liability and surety products for privately held and publicly traded companies, financial institutions, professional firms, healthcare, and not-for-profit organizations.
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The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, engages in the manufacture, marketing, and sale of nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company primarily offers sparkling beverages and still beverages. Its sparkling beverages include nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverages with carbonation, such as carbonated energy drinks, and carbonated waters and flavored waters. The company’s still beverages comprise nonalcoholic beverages without carbonation, including noncarbonated waters, flavored and enhanced waters, noncarbonated energy drinks, juices and juice drinks, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, and sports drinks. It also provides flavoring ingredients, sweeteners, powders for purified water products, beverage ingredients, and fountain syrups.
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W. W. Grainger distributes maintenance, repair, and operating supplies, as well as other related products and services for businesses and institutions primarily in the United States and Canada. The company provides material handling equipment, safety and security supplies, lighting and electrical products, power and hand tools, pumps and plumbing supplies, cleaning and maintenance supplies, forestry and agriculture equipment, building and home inspection supplies, vehicle and fleet components, fasteners, instruments, welding and shop equipment, and various other items for facilities maintenance market; and services comprising inventory management and energy efficiency solutions. It sells its products and services to small and medium-sized businesses, large corporations, government entities, and other institutions through local branches, sales representatives, catalogs, and the Internet. The company also offers safety footwear, supplies, and services to large businesses and manufacturers through a multichannel model, including a sales team, branches, shoe mobile trucks, and service centers. 
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Wal-Mart Stores Inc operates retail stores in various formats worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates retail stores, restaurants, discount stores, supermarkets, supercenters, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, apparel stores, Sam’s Clubs, neighborhood markets, and other small formats, as well as walmart.com; and samsclub.com. Further, it operates banks that provide consumer financing programs; and offers financial services and related products, including money orders, prepaid cards, wire transfers, check cashing, and bill payment. As of October 15, 2013, the company operated approximately 11,000 stores under 69 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce Websites in 10 countries.
Good Luck and Good Trading!

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Giving Myself a Raise

2/24/2014

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“Look to add quality, dividend-paying, blue chips when they become irrationally oversold and undervalued. That is how and when experienced investors create blue chip investment portfolios which serve them well throughout their entire lives with growth of capital and growth of dividend income.”
-- Kelley Wright, Managing Editor, Investment Quality Trends
Two of the most important things about Dividend Growth Stocks are (1) they pay dividends, and (2) those dividends grow. And that's pretty much it. Simple, right? The advantages of Dividend Growth Stocks are pretty obvious. An investor buys stock in a company and the company pays the investor a periodic distribution. When the distribution become large enough, the investor buys some beach front property and stares at sunsets the rest of his life.

So how do I find these stocks? The easiest way is to let someone else do the work for you. This is not always the best way but it is the easiest way. The easiest place to start looking for solid dividend growth stocks is by reviewing the list of Dividend Kings or Dividend Aristocrats. These companies have been increasing dividends for a minimum of 50 and 25 years, respectively. That achievement by itself is reason to give these companies a look. 

At this point every investor needs a series of thresholds to cull the good from the bad. I personally like to see a dividend of at least 2.5% and a PE ratio of less than 20. Digging deeper I like to see a payout ratio of less than 50% and sufficient cash flow to cover the dividends. I also like to see revenues and earnings increasing and I like to see the dividend growing at a rate faster than inflation. Beyond this, different investors look at additional fundamental indicators and pare down the number of candidates for consideration.

Once I've identified a number of companies that fit my requirements I investigate the stock's price chart. The first things I look at are the 5, 10, and 20 period moving averages. I prefer to see all three of these averages moving in sync with each other and moving in a relatively similar direction. I use Bollinger Bands to discover the variability from the mean of the price action. In addition to this price chart action, I look at several momentum indicators. I use the RSI to determine if a stock is overbought or oversold and if it is beginning to reverse direction. I use the MACD to look for moving average crossovers which alert me to a change in direction. Finally I use the Direction Movement (with ADX indicator) to identity the direction, change and intensity of the company's stock price movement. 

When all of this things line up I execute the trade. If everything is correctly in place I am now the proud owner of stock bought on sale, in a company that will hopefully pay me an increasing stream of dividends for years to come. By doing this I have provided myself with an investment that will pay me on a regular basis and increase that payment over time. Hopefully I am not only ensuring a constant and reliable stream of income well into the future but one that provides me with a raise each and every year. 

By owning dividend growth paying stock I am in essence giving myself a raise each and every year for years to come. That's nice information to know and a great place to be in life. I hope one day everyone finds that place in life. Good Luck and Good Trading! 

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Business Development Companies

2/23/2014

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As a Dividend Growth Investor I'm primarily interested in companies that distribute a dividend that continually grows with the result being an improving stream of income over time. This is a great and noble idea, but it takes a great deal of money and many years of compounding to acquire enough income producing securities to reach a level of dividends that would support an acceptable standard of living. It can be a frustrating situation to be in. 

My answer has been to take a portion of my portfolio and invest it in Business Development Companies. These companies generally pay out 90% and more of their earnings to their shareholders. As a result there's little retained earnings for internal growth so an investor in these types of stock should expect little, if any, capital gains. He should expect, however, a fairly large dividend, often in the range of 8-12%. 

These companies can distribute a relatively large amount of income into my accounts for use in buying dividend growth companies. I'll agree that these companies generally don't grow their dividend and generally they don't grow their stock price, but what they do is throw off a lot of cash. And if you're trying to accumulate dividend growth stocks for the long term benefit to your portfolio, BDCs may be a way of helping the investor find needed cash.

Stocks that grow their dividend is really stock investing nirvana. It'll provide the individual investor financial freedom and security from life's little difficulties. And BDCs may just be the help an individual needs to obtain that goal.

I have included a short list of Business Development Companies to this site for easy access to potential future investing ideas. This list does not constitute a recommendation to either buy or sell these securities. It's simply a list that I use for further investigation, and it can be found here. 

Good Luck and Good Trading. 
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Recent Dividend Increases

2/22/2014

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Update: For a current and complete list of weekly dividend increases, see the "Dividend Increases" section of this web site or simply click here. 
“Dividend increases are a sign that companies are comfortable their future profit will be resilient.”
-- Tom Connolly, Founder Connolly Report
Old Republic International Corporation (ORI) declares $0.1825/share quarterly dividend, 1.4% increase from prior dividend of $0.18. Forward yield 4.73%. Payable March 14; for shareholders of record March 4; ex-div Feb. 28.

XL Group plc (XL) declares $0.16/share quarterly dividend, 14.3% increase from prior dividend of $0.14. Forward yield 2.18%. Payable March 31; for shareholders of record March 14; ex-div March 12.

Tim Hortons Inc. (THI) declares C$0.32/share quarterly dividend, 23.1% increase from prior dividend of C$0.26. Payable March 18; for shareholders of record March 3; ex-div Feb. 27.

ITT Corporation (ITT) declares $0.11/share quarterly dividend, 10% increase from prior dividend of $0.10. Forward yield 1.02%. Payable April 1; for shareholders of record March 14; ex-div March 12.

MDC Partners Inc. (MDCA) declares $0.18/share quarterly dividend, 12.5% increase from prior dividend of $0.16. Forward yield 2.83%. Payable March 18; for shareholders of record March 4; ex-div Feb. 28.

Lorillard, Inc. (LO) declares $0.615/share quarterly dividend, 11.8% increase from prior dividend of $0.55. Forward yield 5.10%. Payable March 10; for shareholders of record Feb. 28; ex-div Feb. 26.

FBL Financial Group Inc. (FFG) declares $0.35/share quarterly dividend, 133.3% increase from prior dividend of $0.15. Forward yield 3.51%. Payable March 31; for shareholders of record March 14; ex-div March 12.

Corrections Corporation of America (CXW) declares $0.51/share quarterly dividend, 6.3% increase from prior dividend of $0.48. Forward yield 6.26%. Payable April 15; for shareholders of record April 2; ex-div March 31.

Chesapeake Lodging Trust (CHSP) declares $0.30/share quarterly dividend, 15.4% increase from prior dividend of $0.26. Forward yield 4.57%. Payable April 15; for shareholders of record March 31; ex-div March 27.

The Coca-Cola Company (KO) declares $0.305/share quarterly dividend, 8.9% increase from prior dividend of $0.28. Forward yield 3.27%. Payable April 1; for shareholders of record March 14; ex-div March 12.

SCANA Corporation (SCG) declares $0.525share quarterly dividend, 3.4% increase from prior dividend of $5075. Forward yield 4.31%. Payable April 1; for shareholders of record March 10; ex-div March 6.

WesBanco, Inc. (WSBC) declares $0.22/share quarterly dividend, 10.0% increase from prior dividend of $0.20. Forward yield 3.27%. Payable April 1; for shareholders of record March 14; ex-div March 12.

CB&I (CBI) declares $0.07/share quarterly dividend, 40.0% increase from prior dividend of $0.05. Forward yield 0.35%. Payable March 31; for shareholders of record March 21; ex-div March 19.

TransCanada Corporation (TRP) declares $0.48/share quarterly dividend, 11.6% increase from prior dividend of $0.43. Forward yield 4.26%. Payable April 30; for shareholders of record March 31; ex-div March 27.

Myers Industries, Inc. (MYE) declares $0.13/share quarterly dividend, 44.4% increase from prior dividend of $0.09. Forward yield 2.68%. Payable April 1; for shareholders of record March 10; ex-div March 6.

First Capital, Inc. (FCAP) declares $0.21/share quarterly dividend, 5.0% increase from prior dividend of $0.20. Forward yield 4.09%. Payable March 31; for shareholders of record March 17; ex-div March 13.

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (RNR) declares $0.29/share quarterly dividend, 3.6% increase from prior dividend of $0.28. Forward yield 1.24%. Payable March 31; for shareholders of record March 14; ex-div March 12.

Xcel Energy Inc (XEL) declares $0.30/share quarterly dividend, 7.1% increase from prior dividend of $0.28. Forward yield 4.06%. Payable April 20; for shareholders of record March 20; ex-div March 18.

Post Properties Inc. (PPS) declares $0.36/share quarterly dividend, 9.1% increase from prior dividend of $0.33. Forward yield 2.96%, Payable April 15; for shareholders of record March 31; ex-div March 27.

Sherwin Williams Co. (SHW) declares $0.55/share quarterly dividend, 10.0% increase from prior dividend of $0.50. Forward yield 1.15%. Payable March 14; for shareholders of record March 3; ex-div Feb. 27.

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW) declares $0.44/share quarterly dividend, 15.8% increase from prior dividend of $0.38. Forward yield 2.18%. Payable March 28; for shareholders of record March 14; ex-div March 12.

Geo Group, Inc. (GEO) declares $0.57/share quarterly dividend, 3.6% increase from prior dividend of $0.55. Forward yield 7.08%. Payable March 14; for shareholders of record March 3; ex-div Feb. 27.

Foot Locker, Inc. (FL) declares $0.22/share quarterly dividend, 10.0% increase from prior dividend of $0.20. Forward yield 2.27%. Payable May 2; for shareholders of record April 17; ex-div April 15.

FMC Corporation (FMC) declares $0.15/share quarterly dividend, 11.1% increase from prior dividend of $0.14. Forward yield 0.82%. Payable April 17; for shareholders of record March 31; ex-div March 27.

Copa Holdings, S.A. (CPA) declares $0.96/share quarterly dividend, 31.5% increase from prior dividend of $0.73. Forward yield 2.67%. Payable March 17; for shareholders of record Feb. 28; ex-div Feb. 26.

Columbia Sportswear Company (COLM) declares $0.28/share quarterly dividend, 12.0% increase from prior dividend of $0.25. Forward yield 1.42%. Payable March 18; for shareholders of record March 7; ex-div March 5.

Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) declares $0.37/share quarterly dividend, 8.8% increase from prior dividend of $0.34. Forward yield 2.89%. Payable March 11; for shareholders of record Feb. 28; ex-div Feb. 26.

Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PEG) declares $0.37/share quarterly dividend, 2.77% increase from prior dividend of $0.36. Forward yield 4.23%. Payable March 31; for shareholders of record March 7; ex-div March 5.

Westlake Chemical Corporation (WLK) declares $0.252/share quarterly dividend, 12.0% increase from prior dividend of $0.225. Forward yield 0.78%. Payable March 18; for shareholders of record Feb. 28; ex-div Feb. 26.

Danaher Corporation (DHR) declares $0.10/share quarterly dividend, 300% increase from prior dividend of $0.025. Forward yield 2.40%, Payable April 25; for shareholders of record March 28; ex-div March 26.

AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. (AFSI) declares $0.20/share quarterly dividend, 42.9% increase from prior dividend of $0.14. Forward yield 2.40%. Payable April 14; for shareholders of record April 1; ex-div March 28.

Genuine Parts Company (GPC) declares $0.575/share quarterly dividend, 7.0% increase from prior dividend of $0.5375. Forward yield 2.67%. Payable April 1; for shareholders of record March 7; ex-div March 5.

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ReLooking Target's Chart

2/20/2014

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A lot has already been said about Target's troubles these last few months concerning their security breach along with its potential and probable affect on revenues and earnings. On 22 Dec 2013 I wrote an article titled "Walmart, Target and Family Dollar" in which I discussed many of these problems affecting Target. The troubles with their Canadian stores have also been well documented and discussed on the various financial websites. In fact there's an excellent article published on TheDIV-Net about Target titled "Why Do I Keep Adding To Target" which discusses all of these problems and is well worth reading. In response I think Target has done a pretty good job working with banks and credit card companies attempting to insulate their customers against fraud by offering free credit monitoring and identity theft protection as well as new credit cards with built in microchip technology to replace the magnetic strips. I also think that Target will eventually solve their Canadian problems and their customer base will once again return and support the store because Target continues to offer value to their customers everyday.
"A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be."
-- Albert Einstein, Physicist
Since I'm convinced that a company like Target, which is a member of the Dividend Aristocrats, is fundamentally sound and will continue to be so for many years to come, I only need to know if it's appropriate to buy the stock at its current price. For me, that means viewing the  price chart and trying to discover what it's trying to tell me. I want to know what the reality of the stock's price chart is saying and not what I think it should be telling me. As anyone can see from the chart below it appears that the stock has bottomed out at $52.25 and is starting to head back up. It's also obvious that the RSI bottomed out during the first week of February and turned up. The MACD bottomed out during the first week of February and turned up crossing the signal line on approximately the 10th of February. It can also be seen that the ADX reversed directions during the first week of February. These things alone would tell the astute investor that the stock had turned the corner and the preponderance of investors were pushing the stock up rather than down. 

Yesterday saw a nice increase in the stock price on nice volume pushing the stock price above the 20 day moving average and adding even more confirmation that the stock is moving up. The only thing to notice at this point is that the stock will probably find resistance as it tries to move through $61.00. For a trader this is important information but for a dividend growth investor, all that is needed to know is that this stock is on sale and that this is about as cheap as the price is going to get. 

What all this means to me is that I missed the short term bottom on this stock but also that  it's not too late to get in even at this slightly elevated price. I don't ever want to get into a stock on its way down and it's difficult, if not impossible, to know where the bottom is until after the stock has actually bottomed out and started heading back up. Unfortunately I missed the bottom but not by much and luckily I'm not too late to take advantage of this "sale" on the price of this security. This is exactly what I intend to do. I'll be looking to enter this stock today or tomorrow (Friday) with the intent of gaining a foothold in a very good company at a very good price. That's the purpose of technical analysis and that's what value investing is all about. 

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Target (TGT) Daily Chart
Update
02/21/2014

Yesterday and today were excellent entry points into this stock. Dividend yield is just slightly over 3.00% the P/E ratio is just over 15, the price per dividend ratio is just over 32, and the payout ratio is sitting at 46%. In addition to all of this, weekly options are offered on this stock and they are being priced such that premiums of around 1% can be captured for selling a one week covered call. At this price this stock offers both future capital gains as well as an enormous opportunity to enhance that 3% dividend with multiple times that yield from selling covered call options.   
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AT&T

2/18/2014

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I feel like I'm a couple of days late in my timing in writing something about AT&T (T). This stock could have been bought for as little as $32.00 in the last few days. This is a great company that's bottoming out and should have been bought last week, but I was occupied by other things going on in my life, like my job. AT&T is a name familiar to anyone whose ever used a telephone so it really doesn't need any introduction, but for all those others, here's a short summary.
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AT&T provides telecommunications services to consumers, businesses, and other providers in the United States and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Wireless, Wireline, and Other. The Wireless segment offers various wireless voice and data communication services, including local wireless communications services, long-distance services, and roaming services. It also sells various handsets, wirelessly enabled computers, and personal computer wireless data cards through its owned stores, agents, or third-party retail stores; and accessories comprising carrying cases, hands-free devices, batteries, battery chargers, and other items to consumers, as well as to agents and third-party distributors. The Wireline segment provides data services, such as switched and dedicated transport, Internet access and network integration, U-verse services, and data equipment; businesses voice applications over IP-based networks; and digital subscriber lines, dial-up Internet access, private lines, managed Web-hosting services, packet services, enterprise networking services, and Wi-Fi services, as well as local, interstate, and international wholesale networking capacity to other service providers. This segment also offers voice services consisting of local and long-distance services for various business applications, which include sales, reservation centers, or customer service centers; and wholesale switched access service to other service providers. The Other segment provides application management, security services, integration services, customer premises equipment, outsourcing, government-related services, and satellite video services. The company was formerly known as SBC Communications Inc. and changed its name to AT&T Inc. in November 2005. AT&T, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is based in Dallas, Texas.
AT&T is a member of the List of Dividend Aristocrats and has been increasing it's dividends for 30 years. It's also one of the two dominant players in the telecommunications industry (along with Verizon). As a core telephone company, AT&T's move into the delivery of internet access and television delivery these last few years has broadened and secured their place in the future of American business and the American family.

Unfortunately AT&T's revenues and earnings haven't been very interesting for a number of years because they seem to generally be going nowhere, but it's a solid company with a growing dividend currently yielding 5.60%. That dividend, however, has experienced a rather tepid growth rate (DGR) these last few years that has barely kept up with inflation (3 Yr DGR of 2.30%, 5 Yr DGR of 2.38%, 10 Yr DGR of 2.84%). Fortunately the dividend is relatively generous and for those needing current income this is a great company to accumulate. 

This is also a company with a very low beta of .33 so there's not that danger of a highly volatile security that needs to be monitored constantly. For those interested in swing trading this stock would easily allow for trading against the Bollinger Bands to add significantly to the yield provided by the dividend. For those not interested in swing trading this security has listed stock options which can provide a nice opportunity to sell covered calls off current holdings. Whichever way an investor decides to approach this stock, with a little work this stock provides a nice way to earn 10% or better annually. 

If you're a growth investor rather than an income investor, you'll probably pass on this company. But this is a solid company that's been around for more than 100 years and isn't going anywhere anytime soon. I see this security as a core holding for any portfolio. 

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AT&T Weekly Chart
Good Luck and Good Trading.
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Increasing Dividends Last Week

2/15/2014

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Update: For a current and complete list of weekly dividend increases, see the "Dividend Increases" section of this web site or simply click here. 
Recently a number of companies declared dividends and a few of them even increased their distributions. Below is the list of those companies that increased their dividends during this past week. 
NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) declares $0.725/share quarterly dividend, 9.8% increase from prior dividend of $0.66. Forward yield 3.11% Payable March 17; for shareholders of record Feb. 28; ex-div Feb. 26.

Vulcan Materials Company (VMC) declares $0.05/share quarterly dividend, 400.0% increase from prior dividend of $0.01. Forward yield 0.30% Payable March 10; for shareholders of record Feb. 24; ex-div Feb. 20.

Timken Co. (TKR) declares $0.25/share quarterly dividend, 9.0% increase from prior dividend of $0.23. Forward yield 1.67% Payable March 7; for shareholders of record Feb. 24; ex-div Feb. 20.

Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) declares $0.20/share quarterly dividend, 33.3% increase from prior dividend of $0.15. Forward yield 1.03% Payable March 10; for shareholders of record Feb. 28; ex-div Feb. 26.

Weingarten Realty (WRI) declares $0.325/share quarterly dividend, 6.55% increase from prior dividend of $0.305. Forward yield 4.29% Payable March 14; for shareholders of record March 6; ex-div March 4.

Equifax Inc. (EFX) declares $0.25/share quarterly dividend, 13.6% increase from prior dividend of $0.22. Forward yield 1.39% Payable March 14; for shareholders of record Feb. 25; ex-div Feb. 21.

United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) declares $0.67/share quarterly dividend, 8.1% increase from prior dividend of $0.62. Forward yield 2.78% Payable March 11; for shareholders of record Feb. 24; ex-div Feb. 20.

j2 Global, Inc. (JCOM) declares $0.2625/share quarterly dividend, 2.9% increase from prior dividend of $0.2551. Forward yield 2.24% Payable March 10; for shareholders of record Feb. 24; ex-div Feb. 20.

Regal Entertainment Group (RGC) declares $0.22/share quarterly dividend, 4.8% increase from prior dividend of $0.21. Forward yield 4.60% Payable March 14; for shareholders of record March 4; ex-div Feb. 28.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) declares $0.72/share quarterly dividend, 12.5% increase from prior dividend of $0.64. Forward yield 3.12% Payable April 15; for shareholders of record March 10; ex-div March 6.

American International Group Inc (AIG) declares $0.125/share quarterly dividend, 25.0% increase from prior dividend of $0.10. Forward yield 0.99% Payable March 25; for shareholders of record March 11; ex-div March 7.

TAL International Group (TAL) declares $0.72/share quarterly dividend, 6.0% increase from prior dividend of $0.68. Forward yield 6.65% Payable March 24; for shareholders of record March 3; ex-div Feb. 27.

Forrester Research, Inc. (FORR) declares $0.16/share quarterly dividend, 6.7% increase from prior dividend of $0.15. Forward yield 1.81% Payable March 19; for shareholders of record March 5; ex-div March 3.

Service Corporation International (SCI) declares $0.08/share quarterly dividend, 14.3% increase from prior dividend of $0.07. Forward yield 1.78% Payable March 28; for shareholders of record March 15; ex-div March 12.

First West Virginia Bancorp, Inc (FWV) declares $0.20/share quarterly dividend, 5.3% increase from prior dividend of $0.19. Forward yield 4.70% Payable March 17; for shareholders of record March 3; ex-div Feb. 27.

Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI) declares $0.4575/share quarterly dividend, 5.2% increase from prior dividend of $0.435. Forward yield 4.43% Payable April 4; for shareholders of record March 14; ex-div March 12.

Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR) declares $0.83/share quarterly dividend, 6.4% increase from prior dividend of $0.78. Forward yield 6.37% Payable March 31; for shareholders of record March 14; ex-div March 12.

Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (SIAL) declares $0.23/share quarterly dividend, 7.0% increase from prior dividend of $0.215. Forward yield 0.97% Payable March 14; for shareholders of record Feb. 28; ex-div Feb. 26.

Computer Modelling Group Ltd. (CMDXF) declares $0.19/share quarterly dividend, 5.6% increase from prior dividend of $0.18. Forward yield 3.04% Payable March 14; for shareholders of record March 7; ex-div March 5.

Robert Half (RHI) declares $0.18/share quarterly dividend, 12.5% increase from prior dividend of $0.16. Forward yield 1.82% Payable March 14; for shareholders of record Feb. 25; ex-div Feb. 21.

Curtiss-Wright Corporation (CW) declares $0.13/share quarterly dividend, 30.0% increase from prior dividend of $0.10. Forward yield 0.88% Payable April 10; for shareholders of record March 27; ex-div March 25.

L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. (LLL) declares $0.60/share quarterly dividend, 9.1% increase from prior dividend of $0.55. Forward yield 2.12% Payable March 17; for shareholders of record March 3; ex-div Feb. 27.

1st United Bancorp, Inc. (FUBC) declares $0.02/share quarterly dividend,100% increase from prior dividend of $0.01. Forward yield 1.08% Payable March 7; for shareholders of record Feb. 24; ex-div Feb. 20.

NN, Inc. (NNBR) declares $0.07/share quarterly dividend, 16.7% increase from prior dividend of $0.06. Forward yield 1.58% Payable March 14; for shareholders of record Feb. 28; ex-div Feb. 26.

Xilinx, Inc. (XLNX) declares $0.29/share quarterly dividend, 16% increase from prior dividend of $0.25. Forward yield 2.50% Payable June 4; for shareholders of record May 14; ex-div May 12.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (LPLA) declares $0.24/share quarterly dividend, 26.31% increase from prior dividend of $0.19. Forward yield 1.82% Payable March 10; for shareholders of record Feb. 24; ex-div Feb. 20.

Globe Specialty Metals Inc. (GSM) declares $0.075/share quarterly dividend, 9.09% increase from prior dividend of $0.06875. Forward yield 1.70% Payable March 12; for shareholders of record Feb. 26; ex-div Feb. 24.

Owens & Minor Inc. (OMI) declares $0.25/share quarterly dividend, 4.2% increase from prior dividend of $0.24. Forward yield 2.90% Payable March 31; for shareholders of record March 17; ex-div March 13.

Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (JKHY) declares $0.22/share quarterly dividend, 10% increase from prior dividend of $0.20. Forward yield 1.56% Payable March 12; for shareholders of record Feb. 26; ex-div Feb. 24.

Hasbro, Inc. (HAS) declares $0.43/share quarterly dividend, 7.5% increase from prior dividend of $0.40. Forward yield 3.43% Payable May 15; for shareholders of record May 1; ex-div April 29.

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    I am an Individual Investor with specific interest in long term growth and then enhancing my returns with income from dividends and derivatives. I don't recommend stocks to anyone (it's a good way to lose friends) and no one reading this should misinterpret my blog as a recommendation for any type of investment. I am writing this solely for myself and my kids.

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