Value Investing News

Screening the Modern Graham database for the 10 most undervalued companies.

With the market up strongly year to date after hitting a multiyear bottom in March, it is hard for investors to get excited about current dividend yields of 3%-4%. It is even harder to convince an investor that a 3% yielder which manages to raise distributions by 10% annually over the next 7 years would lead to a yield on cost which is twice the current yield right now.

Investing in dividend stocks provides the investor with continuous feedback. As time passes, dividend investors see their income steadily grow. You do not have to wait five to ten years to determine if the strategy is working.

Last week we saw further market volatility as major indexes continued extending their losses for October, which could turn out to be the worst month for the markets since 1938. There was an announcement from S&P which decreased the expected dividend growth for 2008 to 1.20% and also provided a cautionary outlook for dividends and earnings in 2009.

You can't have a retirement plan until you have a retirement vision. It would seem to me that there are a lot or retirement plans out there but very few retirement visions. Here are a few select companies that have recently provided their shareholders positive feedback by raising their cash dividends: