Value Investing News

Universal Corporation (UVV), together with its subsidiaries, operates as the leaf tobacco merchants and processors worldwide. It engages in selecting, procuring, buying, processing, packing, storing, supplying, shipping, and financing leaf tobacco for sale to, or for the account of, manufacturers of consumer tobacco products. This dividend champion has raised dividends for 39 consecutive years.

Back in late 2008 I was invited to participate in a stock picking competition, where the goal was to pick the best stocks for 2009. The picks that I selected were Kinder Morgan (O), Realty Income (O), Con Edison (ED) and Philip Morris International (PM).

Screening the Modern Graham valuation database for companies suitable for the enterprising investor. These ten companies are among the highest dividend yields in the database.

Most novice dividend investors typically are under the impression that successful dividend investing entails finding and purchasing the highest yielding stocks. This strategy is flawed, because it does not take into account the sustainability of the dividend. A company, which yields 20%, might generate a much lower yield on cost over time.

Back at the end of 2008, I was invited to participate in a stock picking competition by selecting 4 stocks. At the time I simply included the highest yielding stocks in my portfolio – Con Edison (ED), Realty Income (O), Phillip Morris International (PM) and Kinder Morgan (KMP).

Most analysts are divided on whether the 6 month advance is over or not. Dividend investors on the other hand however are not so concerned about the overall state of the market, as long as dividends are being paid indeed. The main problem with a rising market however is that it leaves fewer attractively valued stocks to enter or reinvest dividends.

It is good once again to see companies raising their dividends after last week pause and Kraft’s (KFT) announcement it was freezing its dividend at $0.29/share for the 5th straight quarter. Dividend increases are the fuel that keeps our dividend income machines running.

When companies decide to share a portion of their earnings with their shareholders, it is a sign of prudent fiscal discipline. Shareholders who are rewarded on a timely basis in the form of dividend payments are less likely to sell their holdings, even during a steep market correction.

Sequoia's (Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb) Q2 portfolio has been filed. New or increased positions include SJM, HDB, UPL, GIS, T, PCP, WAG, CHK, DHR, V, BRKb, MTD, KO, PM, JNJ, IRS, MA, JPM, IBM, PG, PEP, FELE, KFT, etc.

Back in 2008 Altria (MO) spun off its global tobacco operations in order to reduce litigation risk. The global tobacco operations are touted as a growth play on emerging markets such as China and Russia. Just because there might be an opportunity for growth, does not really mean however that this growth would materialize. Check my analysis of Altria Group (MO).

Billionaire value investor Charlie Munger always says INVERT INVERT

to find out his investing mistakes check out one investors 18 month journey

The companies I selected were representative of four high yielding sectors- real estate,energy transportation,utilities and tobacco.Despite the high yields, the dividend payments seemed sustainable enough even during the financial meltdown.The average yield on the four stocks mentioned below is 6.88%.The riskiest stock of the four seems to be Realty Income,since real estate is one of the hardest h

In the corporate world executives receive high amounts of compensation including salary, stock options, restricted stock, perks and many others, which in some cases could amount to millions of dollars. It is often argued that executives of large Fortune 500 corporations get a large paycheck as an incentive to perform well in order to reward shareholders with increased wealth.

Tweedy Browne's Q1 portfolio has been filed. New or increased positions include KO, PM, UNP, BNI, DVN, MMM, JNJ, CTAS, GPC, T, ANAT, NSC, COP, etc.

As a S&P report recently revealed, members of its S&P 500 spent $48.1 billion in stock repurchases in the fourth quarter, a 66% decline from the $141.7 billion spent during the fourth quarter of 2007. This, despite the fact that cash levels stand at record highs.