Despite the market's continued struggles with low trading
volumes (finally saw a bit of tick higher today), we had more green
on the screen today than we've had so far this week. We're didn't
have much in the way of economic data spurring today's move,
however.
Earnings results from the likes of PetSmart (
PETM
) and Cisco Systems (
CSCO
) helped push the indices higher.
Cisco also raised its dividend payout nicely
. A Wall Street analyst upgrade also boosted shares of Monsanto (
MON
). On the flipside, Wal-Mart Stores (
WMT
) did not participate in the buying after investors were a bit
disappointed with their results.
Awaiting the Inevitable Opportunities
One of the reasons I'm excited to wake up each morning is that I
know, deep down inside, that there are so many potential
opportunities in business and investing that can come our way.
On the business end of things here at Dividend.com, we can see
how well our hard work pays off. Compared to what I see out there
in the financial media and research space, we know we are gaining
great traction in the form of new readers and subscribers. We're
out-working and out-hustling all the major firms on Wall Street,
along with the mainstream financial media as a whole. The quality
of the service we bring to investors is second to none. We're
completely unbiased and never pull punches when it comes to telling
investors the truth about the markets and business landscape in
general. You can count on us to always bring you the "straight
dope" about what we see going on out there.
We know investors are tired of lax investment research and
analysis. How many times do we need to see analysts downgrading
stocks like Groupon (
GRPN
), Radio Shack (
RSH
), or other stocks that have recently cratered - long past their
initial Buy call was first placed? There are plenty of people in
our financial field that are completely out of touch with the
reality of the economy and marketplace. We'll never be a part of
that crowd.
Major analysts are often too busy pushing the company/broker's
agenda (albeit selling confusing products that are only "exclusive"
investments to that firm's client base). When clients get duped
into buying the wrong investment ideas (think mortgage-backed
securities or the Facebook IPO), they end up sometimes needing to
sell their quality investment ideas to ease the pain of their
losses. This is where we as analysts look at names that have maybe
sold off too much and make sense from a risk/reward standpoint. Or
look at a momentum trader who suddenly decides he/she too needs to
be chasing yield, quickly lunging at the next great trade of the
day, only to dump their "spur of the moment" yield play they
mistakenly thought would be a core part of their long-term
portfolio.
To have success in these markets, we need patience and
persistence in our everyday approach: the patience to not chase
investment plays that have little upside and much more downside,
and the persistence to come back day after day to check to see if
an opportunity has arrived. Dividend investors (and all income
investors, really) know that getting caught up in any particular
euphoria can be dangerous to one's ability to build wealth over
time. We have read the numerous headlines the last few years
praising dividend stocks up and down, but we do our best to temper
the enthusiasm to a more realistic level. Instead, we stay the
course of finding the best investment ideas at any current time
that we feel good about new capital going into.
Commercial Property and the Liquidity Trap Hitting
Investors
I follow other areas of investment interest along with the stock
market, and commercial real estate is another popular area for
income investing. Commercial and multi-family buildings come to
mind when looking for income, but commercial property specifically
has seen some real carnage over the past 5-10 years for investors
and builders alike.
In the early- to mid-200s, many investors got caught up on the
hype of the real estate bubble. Far too many new office buildings
were built across the country, and builders and investors had
unrealistic expectations for their cap rates (essentially the rate
of return on a real estate investment property based on the
expected income versus the purchase price). Additionally,
far-too-optimistic upside projections only added more fuel to the
fire.
Today, the glut of inventory in the commercial side of the
market is immense, and many investors who bought near the top of
the market will need to come crashing back to reality if they're
looking to sell right now. At a time where cash is truly king in
real estate (but when isn't it?), too many current property owners
are poorly positioned to have any chance to get their money to work
for them. The pride of not wanting to take a loss, especially a
sizable one, prevents many investors from at least getting back
some of their liquidity. Such is a terminal problem when it comes
to any investment. The smartest investors realize that the first
offer may very well be the best offer they get, and decide to cut
their losses early rather than endure the continued pain. This
point brings me to the next topic of discussion below.
Sell When You Can, Not When You Have To
In the end, whatever type of income investor you may be
(dividend stocks, real estate, businesses), you can never take your
eye off the ball. Perhaps more importantly, you should never make
decisions based solely on what has worked in the past.
Take your cue from the equity markets, and recognize the lessons
being learned in corporate America, where companies and entire
industries have seen their very existence wiped off the face of the
map in just a few short years. Other companies/industries are just
hanging on by a thread. Eastman Kodak and General Motors, for
example, are two mega-brands that worked well for investors for
decades, only to go totally bankrupt recently.
Many other well-known brands and businesses have also seen their
best days. So too, have their share prices. We are in an
environment where change happens more rapidly than ever before, and
for those unprepared to be flexible in their thinking, the end game
is fatal. Carefully consider where your stock portfolio, real
estate holdings, or small business can realistically be in the next
few years and adjust your plan accordingly. I can't put it any
simpler than that.
25 Years of Dividend-Increasing Stocks
We recently updated our list of dividend stocks that have been
paying out dividends for 25 years or more. Be sure to check out
the latest list of names here
.
Dividends Really Matter
Financial blog DailyReckoning.com recently took a look at the
difference dividend payouts made in the overall return investors
saw throughout the prior decades. Here are some of the
highlights:
- The Nasdaq is down 28% since the end of 1999. Even the "blue
chip" S&P 500 stocks are down 15% during that time frame…until
you add back those "boring" dividends. With dividends included, the
S&P 500′s 15% loss flips to a 6% gain.
- Without dividends, the S&P 500 index would have produced a
loss for the 25 long years from August 1929 to August 1954. Then
again, without dividends, the S&P 500 produced a 5% loss during
the 13 years from September 1961 to September 1974. But with
dividends included, the S&P's loss became a 46% gain.
- Over the course of the last half-century, dividends have
contributed more than half of the stock market's total return -
56%, to be exact.
Of course, you can't discuss the potency of dividend investing
without making mention of how awesome compound returns are. I can't
stress enough the power of compound interest: you take a small
amount of money and turn it into a large amount over time. Finding
the right companies at the right price points which not only grow
earnings, but also grow their dividend payouts as well!
New Watchlist Article Out Today
Be sure to check out our weekly Top 50 High-Yield Watchlist
Names post that is out today, exclusively for
Dividend.com Premium
members. This list gives readers a good idea of what stocks we're
watching behind the scenes here for potential upgrades.
Go Beyond This Newsletter
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remember that with our
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service, the newsletter is just one small component of what we
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service:
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Best Dividend Stocks List
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Watchlist
allows you to track the performance, news, and upcoming dividend
payouts of the particular stocks you care about.
- Finally, we offer the most complete and easy-to-use dividend
data on the web. Many subscribers use this data as part of a
"Dividend Capture" trading strategy, but long-term investors can
use it to keep track of impending payouts. Just visit our
Ex-Dividend Calendar
for a complete outlook on which companies will be paying out
soon.
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Thanks for reading, and I'll see you tomorrow!
Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the
Best Dividend Stocks
, as well as a detailed explanation of
our ratings system here
.