Value Investing News

For investors in dividend growth stocks, The Broad Dividend Achievers™ Index is one of the most widely used resources. With 211 stocks on the 2012 list, it is certainty one of the largest lists and contains most stocks listed on other similar lists. In addition, to the mainstream dividend growth stocks, The Broad Dividend Achievers lists many up and coming stocks that...

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It seems that every financial adviser or financial publication is proclaiming that you should own dividend stocks. Each are eschewing the virtues of dividend stocks from their own perspective. To that I have two questions:

Utility dividend stocks. When you hear those words what do you think of? Long considered the domain for "widows and orphans", utilities have developed a somewhat stodgy reputation. Why are utilities considered good for widows and orphans? Here a few reasons:

Most CEOs give lip-service to their commitment to shareholders, but what happens when times are hard. When the economy turns down and the future looks bleak, will the company hoard cash and stop its dividend or put action behind its words? The key to successfully selecting dividend growth stocks is the ability to identify companies that will not only maintain but grow their dividend.

Over the last several years many companies have chosen to not raise their dividend, while some decided to cut their dividend and some even decided to stop paying a dividend. In some cases their financials did not warrant the change. As investors in dividend growth stocks, we want to look for companies with a positive dividend culture.

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Driven by computers that cost more than the average person will earn in their lifetime the investment markets move at light speed. To keep pace hedge funds, mutual funds, institutional investors and multi-billion dollar money managers spend large sums of money on high-tech tools to give them an edge. So, what chance does a small individual investor have?

When selecting income investments, the three most important questions to answer are : 1.) Is the investment increasing its dividend each year, 2.) Is the increase likely to continue into the future and 3.) Are you being compensated for the risk you are taking? When you answer yes to all three of the questions, you just might have found an excellent income investment.

The dividend achievers index consists of US stocks which have raised their dividends each year for at least a decade. Over the past 20 years, this index has managed to outperform the S&P 500 by half a percentage point annually. The dividend achievers index is a great list of dividend stocks as a start.

Last year I introduced the Stock Ideas list and it has proven to be immensely popular. The list consists of Dividend Aristocrats, US Broad Dividend Achievers and U.S. Dividend Champions. Here are some highlights on this year’s changes: