dividend investing posts
Posted Jul 7th 2009 12:00PM by Steven Halpern
Filed under: Pfizer (PFE), Newsletters, AT and T (T), Caterpillar (CAT), Verizon Communications (VZ), duPont(E.I.)deNemours (DD), Merck and Co (MRK), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT), DJIA, Stocks to Buy
"Following last year's dismal market performance, investors are looking for something they can be sure of in the year ahead; and for income investors, that means finding a safe and rewarding dividend yield," says Carla Pasternak.
In her High Yield Investing, she offers a fascinating review to find the "safest dividend in the Dow." Here's her assessment.
"The 30 members of Dow Jones Industrial Average represents some of the strongest names in America. So these corporate titans are a good place to start searching for the safest dividend.
"The first step in the process is not to look at the Dow at all, but to start with the 10-year Treasury note, currently yielding 3.86%.
Continue reading The safest dividend in the Dow
Posted Jun 25th 2009 3:50PM by Steven Mallas
Filed under: Earnings reports, Campbell Soup (CPB), Kellogg Co (K), ConAgra Foods (CAG), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT)

Food processor
ConAgra (NYSE:
CAG), whose products share space at the supermarket with
Kraft (NYSE:
KFT),
Kellogg (NYSE:
K), and
Campbell Soup (NYSE:
CPB), is down in Thursday's afternoon trading by over 6% as I write this. The company released earnings for the fourth quarter earlier this morning. Sales increased 8% according to the
press release. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations came in at 41 cents per diluted share. This result benefited from an extra week.
The per-share profit compared very favorably to the 18 cents earned in last year's similar quarter. However, in terms of analyst expectations, the performance was relatively unimpressive. Earnings.com indicates that 41 cents is what the market was looking for.
Continue reading ConAgra only meets expectations, but is stock cheap?
Posted Jun 23rd 2009 1:30PM by Steven Halpern
"Most of the government 's proposed changes for the financial markets aren't new or needed; but what will happen will be a boost for some and a bane for others," says Neil George.
Long-known in the newsletter community for his expertise in income investing, the advisor has just launched a new blog service, Stocks that Pay You. Here, he looks at some winners and losers from the current proposals for financial regulation.
George says, "In my view, these supposedly massive changes amount to window dressing. Banks and other related firms can continue to do what they've always done: cherry pick regulators and play off one regulator against another.
"So, unless we get the government actually empowering the guys down the line inside all of these agencies and departments, don't look for any big changes, because - while the players and the names might be changing - the contest is staying the same.
Continue reading Income ideas: Winners from financial regulation
Posted May 28th 2009 3:20PM by Steven Mallas
Filed under: Earnings reports, Kellogg Co (K), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT)
Heinz (NYSE: HNZ), whose supermarket colleagues include Kraft (NYSE: KFT) and Kellogg (NYSE: K), reported Q4 numbers earlier today. Can't say they were the stuff of a growth investor's dreams. Earnings per share came in at $0.55 versus $0.61 in Q4 of last year. The top line had trouble because of currency effects. Sales dropped over 5%. However, organic revenues increased over 5%. Unfortunately, volume decreased 2%. As can be seen, things aren't totally awesome at Heinz.
The company came in one penny ahead of expectations according to my earnings preview. Other sources say Heinz essentially met expectations. No matter what, management has its work cut it out for it in terms of offsetting currency woes and getting those volume stats on the rise.
Continue reading Heinz has a lackluster Q4
Posted May 28th 2009 8:40AM by Steven Mallas
Filed under: Earnings reports, Office Depot (ODP), OfficeMax Inc (OMX), Staples Inc (SPLS)
Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) issued its Q1 report on Wednesday. Call me unimpressed. It beat earnings estimates by a penny, coming in at 22 cents on an adjusted basis. Sure, that's what investors want to see. They want the bottom line to go beyond expectations.
But there isn't a lot of excitement to be had with the Staples story. According to the press release, that 22-cent figure represented a decline of 27% in per-share profit. Furthermore, there's weakness in terms of same-store sales. In the North American market, comps dipped 8%. On the international front, comps went down by 14% in Europe.
Continue reading Staples beats analysts in Q1, but tough economy causes decline in comps
Posted May 23rd 2009 4:10PM by Steven Mallas
Filed under: Earnings reports, Campbell Soup (CPB), Kellogg Co (K), General Mills (GIS), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT)
Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) served up a tasty broth of estimate-beating soup this past Friday. According to Trey Thoelcke's earnings preview, the market was looking for $0.42 per share and $1.8 billion in net sales. Well, according to Jon Ogg's coverage, Campbell delivered $0.48 per share and roughly $1.7 billion in net sales. So, revenues came in somewhat soft, but the bottom line was a success as far as Wall Street was concerned.
One thing Campbell investors want to look at is the gross margin. This metric tells you how the company is doing in terms of cost control. The press release stated that gross margin went up to an adjusted 40.3%. Last year at this time, management reported a gross margin of 38.6%. Pricing helped out, as well as efficiency initiatives. It's cool to see that Campbell can leverage price actions to propel its gross margin. It shows the power of its brand equity.
Continue reading Campbell Soup goes beyond expectations in Q3 -- buy/sell?
Posted May 13th 2009 9:00AM by Steven Mallas
Filed under: Earnings reports, Walt Disney (DIS), Media World, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
Last week, World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) reported its Q1 results. Above all, investors interested in this business look at one thing: cash flow. Why? Take a look at WWE's dividend yield.
As of Tuesday's close, the stock was yielding almost 13%! That's high. And a high dividend yield often indicates that a dividend cut may be in the offing -- the theory being that if the yield were sustainable, then buyers would rush in, and their activities would eventually lower the yield by driving the price higher.
Well, WWE hasn't had a great time of it when it comes to cash flow. I found this out when I examined the company's third quarter. Net cash from operations, unfortunately, has been overpowered at times by the dividend obligation. In fact, according to the Q4 report (pdf file), operational cash flow for 2008 dropped significantly to roughly $36 million, and the dividend obligation was over $80 million.
And that was before capital investments. That's sort of like the Undertaker throwing Mankind off the top of a steel cage. In other words, it's not pretty, folks.
Continue reading World Wrestling Entertainment: How was the cash flow in Q1?
Posted May 5th 2009 3:20PM by Steven Halpern
Filed under: Newsletters, Mutual funds, Stocks to Buy, Housing, Recession
"Investors have fared well in US Treasuries, the top-performing asset class in 2008 with returns approaching 6.8%; but for new money Treasuries seem less compelling given the current paltry yields," says Benjamin Shepard.
In Personal Finance, explains, "To capture higher yields while taking advantage of the security of government debt, we're adding Fidelity Ginnie Mae (FGMNX) to our bond holdings."
"Government debt still makes sense from a safety standpoint, particularly if you're able to realize higher yields. Debt issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) is the way to do that.
Continue reading Government backing boosts Ginnie Mae fund
Posted May 1st 2009 3:00PM by Steven Halpern
Filed under: Newsletters, Mutual funds, ETF Investing, Oil, Stocks to Buy, Recession
"Duff & Phelps Utility & Corporate Bond Trust (NYSE: DUC) owns a nice blend of corporates, utility, and mortgage-backed securities," notes income expert Bryan Perry in his growth & income oriented Cash Machine advisory.
"These types of securities are getting more attention with the notion of an economic recovery occurring late this year, implying a higher demand for power and thus a rebound in the utility sector as a whole.
"If investors can lock in a 7.5% yield through this senior debt holder of major global utilities, then you can rest assured that the monthly dividend, which was raised this month, is secure.
Continue reading Utility returns from Cash Machine
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