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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Fair value is really a simple concept. Given some select information such as dividends, dividend growth, holding period, discount rate and few other inputs, one can easily calculate the fair value of a stock. As with most simple things, the devil is in the details - the inputs must be correct to calculate a reasonable fair value, otherwise, garbage in, garbage out.

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To make our world easier to understand and explain, we like to organize and categorize things into groups for ease of reference. Dividend Stocks are no different. They can be placed into a few categories based on their historic performance and expectations for the future. Here are three broad categories and some representative selections from each:

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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. As a long-term buy-and-hold investor, most of my evaluation efforts are aimed at determining when to buy a stock. However, sometimes selling a stock is the right thing to do, and we need to be adept at identifying those times.

At one time or another, we all have thought, ‘If only knew this when I was younger.’ I purchased my first dividend stock for income in 2003. Like many newly converted income investors, I was chasing yield. I quickly built a portfolio consisting of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) and high yield, high risk stocks.

In an economic downturn many investors turn to dividend stocks which are sometimes referred to as defensive stocks. These stocks offer sustainable dividends providing the investor with a minimum level of positive return, which helps buffer the downward pressure from the market. But what happens when the market turns up?

Fair value is really a simple concept. Given some select information such as dividends, dividend growth, holding period, discount rate and few other inputs, one can easily calculate the fair value of a stock. As with most simple things, the devil is in the details – the inputs must be correct to calculate a reasonable fair value, otherwise, garbage in, garbage out.

I am a firm believer that asset allocation plays a significant part in a portfolio’s long-term results. Recently, I received a question asking if you could have a diversified portfolio of dividend stocks. It is an interesting question that deserves further examination.