Income investors got an early holiday gift in October, when Kraft was split into two: A high-growth international snack-food business — Mondelez International (Nasdaq: MDLZ) — and Kraft Foods Group (Nasdaq: KRFT), a North American packaged-food business that’s more focused on paying nice dividends to shareholders.#-ad_banner-# The deal was structured as a tax-free spinoff, with Mondelez shareholders receiving one Kraft share for every three Mondelez shares held. At the time of the spinoff, Kraft was North America’s fourth-largest packaged-food company, with reported revenue… Read More

Income investors got an early holiday gift in October, when Kraft was split into two: A high-growth international snack-food business — Mondelez International (Nasdaq: MDLZ) — and Kraft Foods Group (Nasdaq: KRFT), a North American packaged-food business that’s more focused on paying nice dividends to shareholders.#-ad_banner-# The deal was structured as a tax-free spinoff, with Mondelez shareholders receiving one Kraft share for every three Mondelez shares held. At the time of the spinoff, Kraft was North America’s fourth-largest packaged-food company, with reported revenue of $19 billion in 2011. As two separate entities, Mondelez now owns the Oreo, Cadbury and Nabisco snack food brands, while Kraft hung on to its familiar household U.S. brands — Oscar Mayer, Miracle Whip and Velveeta. The deal was intended to unlock shareholder value, and now the “new” Kraft is a far more enticing income investment than the “old” Kraft. For starters, the $27.4 billion company was launched from a position of strength, with three-quarters of its revenue earned from product categories where Kraft is either the… Read More

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) can add diversification, stability and generous yields to any portfolio. This is particularly true this year, with the REIT sector returning nearly 18%, as a result of the improving real estate market. The fact that REITs have no risk of dividend tax hikes related to the “fiscal cliff” makes them even more appealing… Read More

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) can add diversification, stability and generous yields to any portfolio. This is particularly true this year, with the REIT sector returning nearly 18%, as a result of the improving real estate market. The fact that REITs have no risk of dividend tax hikes related to the “fiscal cliff” makes them even more appealing investments. This is because REITs never qualified for the Bush-era dividend tax cuts. Instead, REITs benefit from no corporate income tax, which results in higher dividend payments for investors. This also reduces the cost basis of the initial investment, since the dividends aren’t taxed until shares are sold.#-ad_banner-# A downside to the strong performance in the REIT sector this year has been gradually-declining yields. At present, retail REITs… Read More

As I’ve said many times before, investors can find plenty of rich yields in telecom stocks. Predictable subscriber demand gives these companies plenty of cash flow to support high dividends. In addition, telecom companies currently benefit from the rollout of the 4G technology, which is exponentially expanding data usage. In an earlier article, I listed the highest-yielding stocks by industry and a few telecoms I considered suitable candidates for further research. But it’s important to take a closer look at these stocks, simply because a high… Read More

As I’ve said many times before, investors can find plenty of rich yields in telecom stocks. Predictable subscriber demand gives these companies plenty of cash flow to support high dividends. In addition, telecom companies currently benefit from the rollout of the 4G technology, which is exponentially expanding data usage. In an earlier article, I listed the highest-yielding stocks by industry and a few telecoms I considered suitable candidates for further research. But it’s important to take a closer look at these stocks, simply because a high yield doesn’t necessarily mean high quality. Buying a stock based on its yield alone is extremely risky. Just as you would never buy a car without looking under the hood, you should never buy a stock without evaluating all of its fundamentals. My closer look at the highest-yielding telecom stocks revealed several potential values and a few high-risk dividend traps. Here they are… 1. Portugal Telecom Yield: 14.6% Portugal Telecom (NYSE: PT), the largest telecom operator in Portugal has been… Read More

Lodging real estate investment trusts (REITs) are in the early stages of what promises to be a multiyear recovery that is creating profit opportunities for dividend investors.#-ad_banner-# A key hotel metric, revenue per available room (RevPAR), is forecast to rise 6% this year and next year, reversing a trend of double-digit declines during the recession. The… Read More

Lodging real estate investment trusts (REITs) are in the early stages of what promises to be a multiyear recovery that is creating profit opportunities for dividend investors.#-ad_banner-# A key hotel metric, revenue per available room (RevPAR), is forecast to rise 6% this year and next year, reversing a trend of double-digit declines during the recession. The premium hotel segment is expected to experience even stronger gains, according to a PriceWaterhouseCoopers study. These gains are being fueled by an improving U.S. economy, increasing business and vacation travel, and anemic growth in the supply of new hotels. The lodging sector struggled during the recession, and difficulties in obtaining financing kept hotel developers on the sidelines. As a result, the domestic supply of new hotel rooms grew only 0.5% in 2011 and 2012, well below the 25-year average annual growth rate of 2.6%. There has not been… Read More

In China, economic prosperity has created a new class of affluent consumers with a nearly insatiable appetite for goods and services. For example, consider the $7.1 billion bid that China’s largest meat processor made last week for America’s largest hog farmer and pork producer. Shuanghui International Holding is looking to… Read More

As Europe emerges from recession, investors are flocking to the region’s stocks to take advantage of current low valuations. Since July, when European bankers pledged to prevent a eurozone collapse, funds flowing into European stocks have risen by $5.5 billion, which is nearly equal to the total investment last year and the first year of big inflows into European stocks since 2007.#-ad_banner-# Part of the appeal is the… Read More

As Europe emerges from recession, investors are flocking to the region’s stocks to take advantage of current low valuations. Since July, when European bankers pledged to prevent a eurozone collapse, funds flowing into European stocks have risen by $5.5 billion, which is nearly equal to the total investment last year and the first year of big inflows into European stocks since 2007.#-ad_banner-# Part of the appeal is the possibility of further interest-rate cuts. This month, the European Central Bank lowered its main rate to a record low. A weak currency also helps European exports. In the past five years, the euro has depreciated 20% against the U.S. dollar. The main appeal, however, is the bargain prices on some blue-chip European stocks, which currently trade at average price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 12.5 and well below the S&P’s P/E of 19. Income investors can take… Read More

As Europe emerges from recession, investors are flocking to the region’s stocks to take advantage of current low valuations. Since July, when European bankers pledged to prevent a eurozone collapse, funds flowing into European stocks have risen by $5.5 billion, which is nearly equal to the total investment last year and the first year of big inflows into European stocks since 2007.#-ad_banner-# Part of the appeal is the… Read More

As Europe emerges from recession, investors are flocking to the region’s stocks to take advantage of current low valuations. Since July, when European bankers pledged to prevent a eurozone collapse, funds flowing into European stocks have risen by $5.5 billion, which is nearly equal to the total investment last year and the first year of big inflows into European stocks since 2007.#-ad_banner-# Part of the appeal is the possibility of further interest-rate cuts. This month, the European Central Bank lowered its main rate to a record low. A weak currency also helps European exports. In the past five years, the euro has depreciated 20% against the U.S. dollar. The main appeal, however, is the bargain prices on some blue-chip European stocks, which currently trade at average price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 12.5 and well below the S&P’s P/E of 19. Income investors can take… Read More

Shares of Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS) have produced only meager returns for investors in recent years, but all that may be changing. That’s thanks to an ambitious growth plan that may boost cash flow by 50%… Read More

It’s not only energy companies that profit from rising U.S. oil production. An often-overlooked energy sector that is also quietly raking in record profits is oil and gas refining. Only a handful of pure-play refineries are left in the United States. Many have either… Read More

It’s exciting to see the major stock indexes breaking through to new highs. The icing on the cake? Dividend stocks are also setting new records. As an… Read More