Value Investing News

For many people the S&P 500 and U.S. Stock Market are synonymous terms. While in reality the U.S. stock market is much larger with public companies numbering in the thousands. The S&P 500 Index is owned and maintained by Standard & Poor's, a division of McGraw-Hill. The index was first published in 1957 and is the second most recognized index in the U.S.

Verizon Communications Inc. offers wireline, wireless and broadband services primarily in the northeastern United States. It acquired MCI in 2006 and has since sold or spun off non-core assets. Alltel was acquired in early 2009. Linked here is a detailed analysis and commentary.

The Pocket Change Portfolio (PCP) was first introduced on September 13, 2008 as a real money dividend income portfolio funded by the "pocket change" earned from my various online endeavors. Each month I report on the portfolio's progress and update its holdings. Total dividends received during the month were...

As we start a new year, this is the time that people make their resolutions. In addition the timeless resolutions of losing weight, quitting smoking, start exercising, et. al, some people are resolving to get their finances in order in case the economy turns down in 2012. Here is one more resolution may want to consider...

I am not a stock trader; I am a dividend and value based long-term buy-and-hold investor. When I add a stock to my dividend portfolio, it is my intention to hold the stock forever. I am not smart enough to time the daily gyrations of the stock market. When stock prices start dropping, our primal instinct of flight kicks in and we want to sell. In many cases that is the time to be buying.

The S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats is the most recognized list of dividend stocks. The Dividend Aristocrats index is designed to measure the performance of S&P 500 constituents that have followed a policy of consistently increasing dividends every year for at least 25 consecutive years. This index is a member of the S&P Dividend Aristocrats index series.

The Pocket Change Portfolio (PCP) was first introduced on September 13, 2008 as a real money dividend income portfolio funded by the "pocket change" earned from my various online endeavors. Each month I report on the portfolio's progress and update its holdings. Total dividends received during the month were $309.83, consisting of:

There is perceived safety in size. Giant corporations aren't randomly grown. Instead, they are carefully built through superior management and foresight. Often these are more mature companies that also offer stability and predictability, usually at the expense of dynamic growth. These are your mega-cap stocks.

When looking at the companies in the Communications Services sector it is a dichotomy of haves and have nots. About half the companies have very high yields, while the other half have low yields. Some are more heavily tied to the declining "land-line" industry, while others are aggressively growing their wireless business.

While the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats may be the most recognized list of dividend stocks, it is certainty not the largest. Since the Dividend Aristocrats list is limited to only stocks included in the S&P 500 Index, many smaller stocks are excluded. To expand the population of potential investments, many investors look at the dividend growth stocks included in Broad Dividend Achievers™ list.

Dividend stocks are sometimes referred to as defensive stocks since many investors flee to them in an economic downturn. Their dividends, if sustainable, provide a minimum level of positive return. This cushions the downward pressure from the market. But what happens when the market turns up?

Payback is the amount of time needed for an investment to earn its cost, undiscounted. Once you earn back your investment, some might say you are in a no-lose situation. I wouldn’t go quite that far, but you have found an investment that that has provided you a good historical revenue stream, and hopefully it will continue to do so in the future.

Not all stock in the S&P 500 Index pay dividends, but many of the best known dividend growth stocks are part of the index. This week week, I screened my dividend growth stocks database for stocks that are members of the S&P 500 and have a yield of 5% or more. The results are presented below:

AT&T Inc. (formerly SBC Communications) provides telephone and broadband service and holds full ownership of AT&T Mobility (formerly Cingular Wireless). AT&T Corp. was acquired in late 2005 and BellSouth in late 2006. Linked here is a detailed analysis and commentary.

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The Pocket Change Portfolio (PCP) was first introduced on September 13, 2008 as a real money dividend income portfolio funded by the "pocket change" earned from my various online endeavors. Each month I report on the portfolio's progress and update its holdings. Total dividends received during the month were...