"They don't get much more blue-chip than General Electric (NYSE: GE)," says Nilus Mattive. I his top-notch Dividend Superstars, he takes a look at the industrial gain which offers an indicated yield of 4.4%.
"GE is the only company that has remained in the Dow Jones Industrial Average from day one, the company was founded in 1890 by none other than Thomas Alva Edison to market his various inventions.
"GE's broad diversification is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it affords the firm plenty of protection from a major decline in any one business.
"On the other, it has led to a very complicated enterprise with inherently limited growth prospects. Yet despite the company's size, it has still managed to increase its revenues internally by about 9% a year.
"Housing starts have swooned, foreclosures have jumped and home prices saw their steepest drop in 26 years," notes income expert Carla Pasternak, who nevertheless is suggesting a real estate investment.
"REITs and housing are both real estate, but that's where the likenesses begin and end. Property-holding equity REITs invest in commercial real estate. And commercial properties continue to generate steady cash flow from rental income, thanks to long-term leases.
"Above-average dividends are what allow REITs to pack a punch. These companies must distribute at least 90% of their profits to shareholders, making them especially attractive to income investors.
"Founded in 1992, Omega manages a $1.3 billion portfolio of over 200 hospitals and nursing homes in diverse locations across 28 states. The company leases the properties to established healthcare operators.
In the latest issue of his industry leading No-Load Fund Investor, fund expect Mark Salzinger reviews convertible bond funds, highlighting his two favorites.
"Convertibles are hybrid securities, often slight below investment grade, which can be redeemed for stock at a predetermined price and quantity.
"Because their values are often closely correlated to the value of the underlying equities, convertible bonds have more capital appreciation potential also more volatility than plan vanilla corporate bonds. However, because the value of their interest payments creates a floor of value, they tend to be less volatile than stocks.
"Our top convertibles pick is Fidelity Convertible Securities. The fund has been managed by Tom Soviero since 2005, since when it has generated an annualized return of 11.7% vs. 5.7% for Merrill Lynch All Convertible Index.
"Soviero is one of Fidelity's best portfolio managers. He favors convertibles that trade in line with the movements of the underlying equity's price and he wants the underlying equity to have an inexpensive valuation.
"The market is pricing publicly-traded partnerships as if they're headed for bankruptcy," says Neil George who sees high yield and value in select issues. Here's two ideas from The Partnership Letter -- a global infrastructure play and a real estate investment trust.
"There are some darn good partnerships out there that are indeed worth the near-term risk, even amid the probability of lower stock prices.
"Partnerships are characterized by high cash generation and the maximization of depreciation and other tax deductions. They then pay out as much cash as possible to unitholders. And with prices so low, we get to buy into assets that in many cases are worth a lot more in terms of liquidation value.
"Although Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) recently posted an 18% drop in its first-quarter earnings, I remain a long-term bull on the shares," notes Nilus Mattive in the income and growth oriented Dividend Superstars.
"Results were hurt by tougher generic competition for the company's blood-pressure drug Norvasc and allergy treatment Zyrtec. Pfizer pulled in $0.41 a share in the quarter, but would have earned $0.61 excluding costs associated with two acquisitions.
"A lot of investors are treating the poor earnings as a death knell for the company, especially since Lipitor - PFE's biggest product - will also lose patent protection in 2010. However, I've watched countless drug stocks go through these cycles before, and I continue to believe it's smarter to buy when things look the worst.
"This is still the world's largest drug company ... it still delivers big, fat dividend checks ... and it is making strong moves to reorganize its operations and focus on new drug development. For all those reasons, I remain positive on the shares."
Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.
Each year, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Stocks Report.
The top conservative pick for 2007 from income specialist Carla Pasternak is The Zweig Total Return Fund (NYSE: ZTR). The editor of High Yield Investing says, "ZTR is a diversified closed-end fund that seeks a high total return (dividends, interest, and capital gains) by investing in both stocks and bonds
"Over half of ZTR's portfolio is in risk-free U.S. Treasuries. The balance is mostly in blue-chip dividend-payers. The Treasury bonds carry the highest credit rating possible with virtually no risk of default. They have an average duration of about six years, making the fund well positioned for a stable interest rate environment.
"The fund has paid dividends every month for the past two decades. Its latest monthly payment of $0.043 a share equates to $0.52 annually, providing a 9% yield at current share prices. A 1.02% management fee brings the effective yield to 8%.
Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.
The iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index (NYSE: DVY), an exchange-traded fund, is the top conservative idea for 2007 from Leonard Goodall, editor of No-Load Portfolios. He explains, "I like this ETF for two reasons.
"The first reason is that the fund, as the name implies, guarantees a cash flow to investors. The fund's strategy is to buy companies that pay a larger-than-average dividend and that have a record of consistently raising their dividend. The provision of current income is often a high priority goal for conservative investors.
"The second reason is that the fund provides a good probability of achieving capital gains for the long-term investor. There is abundant evidence that dividend-paying stocks outperform other stocks over time. A major reason for this is that dividends provide a cushion against price declines during bear markets.
"ETFs have given the individual investor the ability to target specific needs in a portfolio. This fund was the first of the dividend-oriented ETFs. There are a number of new ones entering the market; this one, however, is established and its annual expense ratio of just .40 is still the lowest available. It has a one-year annual return of 17.1% and a three-year average annualized return of 13.9%."
To see Leonard's favorite speculative ETF for 2007, click here.
Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (NYSE: BAM) is the favorite conservative stock from Gordon Pape, editor of Internet Wealth Builder. He explains, "Brookfield is an international conglomerate with interests in real estate, power generation, and infrastructure.
"Although its headquarters are in Toronto, its major holdings are in the U.S. and include such blue-ribbon office properties as the World Financial Center in New York and the Bank of America Plaza in Los Angeles. All told, the office portfolio holds 65 premier properties in North America and Europe. The company also owns some $1 billion in residential assets.
"On the power generation side, Brookfield has 137 hydro-electric stations in North America and Brazil with almost 3,700 megawatts of installed capacity. The company is also involved in the development of several wind power projects in Canada.
"I first recommended Brookfield's predecessor company, Brascan, back in 1997, and since the share price has increased more than five times. That's a great history, but there is much more to come from this well-managed company. Currently the stock pays a quarterly dividend of $0.16 a share. Buy this one for income and long-term growth."
To see Gordon's top speculative idea for 2007, click here.
Each year, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Stocks Report.
Ares Capital (NASDAQ: ARCC) is the favorite speculative stock for 2007 from income specialist Carla Pasternak. The editor of High Yield Investing says, "Ares is a business development company that invests in private or thinly traded companies.
"Known as BDCs, these companies either buy an equity interest in promising firms, or they provide them with loans at above-average rates. Since going public in October 2004, Ares has built a $900 million portfolio of debt and equity securities, with a take in about 50 privately owned businesses.
"Ares is one of the fastest dividend growers I have seen. It has raised its dividend every single quarter for the past year, and its quarterly payouts have increased 33% in just two short years since the company paid its first dividend.
"If you annualize Ares' latest declared quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, that brings the security's payout to $1.60 per share ($0.40 x 4 payments), giving the stock a forward yield of 8.3%. However, if you add in the $0.10 special dividend paid at the end of 2006, ARCC yields 8.8%.
Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) is the top conservative investment for 2007 from Todd Salamone, editor of Equity WealthBuilder. He observes, "With the Dow utility average trading at all-time highs amid a low interest rate environment, it is amazing that utility stocks have received little attention.
"Meanwhile, Duke is a strong name in the sector. Not only does it offer strong capital appreciation potential, but the 3.87% yield rates among the top dividend yields in the group.
"In January 2007, the company plans on spinning off its natural gas operations into a new, publicly traded company called Spectra Energy. The move is designed to unlock value in both the natural-gas operation and the electric utility, with the streamlined businesses expected to operate more efficiently. This spin-off, therefore, is a positive catalyst for the upcoming year.
"From a technical perspective, DUK has become a relative-strength leader, outperforming the Dow Jones Utility Average since October 2005. Turning to DUK's sentiment backdrop, an earnings miss in early November 2006 did little to derail the shares.
Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.
Canadian Oil Sands Trust (TSX: COS) is the favorite speculative idea from from Gordon Pape, editor of Internet Wealth Builder.
The advisor notes, "It may seem strange to select a company that owns more than 36% of the Syncrude Oil Sands Project in Alberta as a speculative pick but that's where we are with Canadian energy trusts as a result of the government's October 31 announcement that they would be subject to a 31.5% tax starting in 2011.
"Most of the trusts have seen their market prices clobbered as a result, but not this one. It's actually trading above where it closed on the afternoon prior to the announcement. There are three reasons for this. First, the price of oil has risen recently. Second, there is general expectation that the trust will raise its distributions next year (the current rate is C$0.30 a quarter).
"Finally, there is the asset value. Whatever happens to COS in terms of its corporate structure in the future, it will remain one of the preeminent players in the Oil Sands. Unless you think America is going to stop running on oil sometime soon, this is a stock you want to own for both income and growth."
To see Gordon's top conservative investment idea for 2007, click here.
"They don't get much more blue-chip than General Electric (NYSE: GE)," says Nilus Mattive. I his top-notch Dividend Superstars, he takes a look at the industrial gain which offers an indicated yield of 4.4%. 
To see Leonard's favorite speculative ETF for 2007, 
To see Gordon's top speculative idea for 2007, 
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