Dividend Basket

Deere & Co. (DE) Declares $0.35 Quarterly Dividend

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 03:39:00 +0000

The Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.35 a share on common stock, $1.40 annualized.

The dividend is payable May 2, 2011, to stockholders of record on March 31, 2011. The ex-dividend date is March 29, 2011.

Yield on the dividend is 1.6%.

Disclosure I am Long DE shares.

Seadrill (SDRL) Increases Quarterly Dividend to $0.675; Yields 7.3%; Declares Special $0.20 Dividend

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 03:37:00 +0000

Seadrill (Nasdaq: SDRL) has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.675 per common share, $2.70 annualized. The dividend is a 44.4% increase from the current rate of $0.4675.

Yield on the dividend is 7.3%.

The Board also declared a special dividend of $0.20 per share.

Yield on the special dividend is 0.5%.

Disclosure I am Long SDRL shares.

Colgate-Palmolive (CL) Increases Quarterly Dividend 9% to $0.58

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 03:35:00 +0000

Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.58 per common share, $2.32 annualized. The dividend is a 9% increase from the current rate of $0.53.

The dividend is to be paid on May 16, 2011 to shareholders of record as of April 26, 2011. The ex-dividend date is April 22, 2011.

Yield on the dividend is 3%.

Disclosure none.

In Bull Markets, Utility ETFs Still Have Benefits

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 14:33:00 +0000

Although the stock market has come back strong, you’ve still got good reason to think about utility exchange traded funds (ETFs) and the benefits they can offer any portfolio.

The electric utilities sector holds many dividend plays that will help cushion a growth portfolio from its occasional dips, writes YCharts for iStockAnalyst. As the the market makes gains, investors pull money out of utilities for riskier plays, which has left many utilities undervalued.

Utilities are safe, no-surprise plays. These companies used to operate as government-endorsed monopolies that control the whole chain of production through distribution. Now, deregulated electric utilities are competing for customers, and many operate in non-regulated businesses, like trading energy futures or building power plants on speculation. As a result, utilities may cut their dividends since earnings didn’t meet expectations.
For the investors who are still looking to utilities, a company’s willingness and ability to consistently payout dividends are among the top draws.
Utility ETFs are experiencing an influx in interest from boomers as they make the transition to fixed-income investments for their retirements, according to the Wall St. Cheat Sheet. Rising energy consumption and a stronger economy also adds strength to the utilities sector.

The Wall St. Cheat Sheet provides a couple of utility ETFs to keep an eye on:

Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEArca: XLU). XLU is highly liquid and a good way to diversify into U.S. utilities. It also boasts a 4.7% dividend.
iShares S&P Global Utilities Sector Index Fund (NYSEArca: JXI). JXI is a global utilities play. Though not as liquid, the fund could better be served as a long-term play. It has a respectable 2.95% dividend.
First Trust NASDAQ Smart Grid Infrastructure (NASDAQ: GRID). GRID provides exposure to the clean-energy utilities plays. It should be noted that the fund does trade at a rather low volume.

If you want to play bullish or bearish sentiment toward the sector, two options for that are:

ProShares Ultra Utilities Fund (NYSEArca: UPW). UPW is a leveraged 2x daily bull, maximizing the daily moves of the underlying index.
ProShares UltraShort Utilities Fund (NYSEArca: SDP). SDP is a leveraged 2x daily bear, a good way to play the sector if it falters short- or long-term.

For more information on the utilities sector, visit our utilities category.

Disclosure I am long XLU shares.

PowerShares to Change Tickers on Small-Cap ETFs

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 14:27:00 +0000

Invesco PowerShares and Select Sector SPDRs have reached a deal that would further differentiate their lineup of sector exchange traded funds (ETFs)

A settlement has been reached under which PowerShares will voluntarily change the ticker symbols of its nine S&P SmallCap Sector ETFs. The changes are aimed at making the PowerShares S&P SmallCap Sector ETF tickers more distinguishable from the Select Sector SPDR tickers.

The PowerShares SmallCap Sector ETFs will begin trading under the new tickers in late March 2011; everything else about the funds will remain the same. The new tickers are as follows:

Consumer Discretionary was XLYS, will become PSCD
Consumer Staples was XLPS, will become PSCC
Energy was XLES, will become PSCE
Financials was XLFS, will become PSCF
Health Care was XLVS, will become PSCH
Industrials was XLIS, will become PSCI
Information Technology was XLKS, will become PSCT
Materials was XLBS, will become PSCM
Utilities & Telecom Services was XLUS, will become PSCU

The new tickers on the PowerShares SmallCap Sector ETFs and on their intraday NAVs will go into effect before the end of March, 2011. The tickers of the fund’s underlying indexes will remain the same. The funds will still be listed on the NASDAQ.

Disclosure NONE.

Semiconductor ETFs Power Up

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 14:21:00 +0000

Semiconductor exchange traded funds (ETFs) are getting a boost from sector component Micron (NYSE: MU), but the sector may face headwinds as the short sellers and technicalities are a factor.
The semiconductor sector is doing better than it has in more than three years, but some worry that it may be nearing a top. Some analysts forecast that any pullback in the market might spark a sell-off in semis, reports Rodrigo Campos for Reuters. For now, though, the markets are flying high and we’re coming off a strong earnings season.

That often bodes well for semiconductors, beneficiaries of increased corporate IT spending.

Earlier this week the sector did get a shot of strength as shares of Micron are turning in one of the sector’s best performances, with the memory chip maker currently up by 3.8 %. Shares are on pace to close at their highest price since August of 2007, reports RTT staff writer for RTT News.

Is there a pullback in store? Maybe, but for now, you can’t deny that both SPDR S&P Semiconductor (NYSEArca: XSD) (of which Micron is 4.6%) and iShares PHLX SOXX Semiconductor (NYSEArca: SOXX) are more than 20% above their long-term trend lines.

Disclosure NONE.

Reynolds American Boosts Quarterly Dividend 8.2% To 53 Cents

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 02:06:00 +0000

Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) raised its quarterly dividend 8.2% as the tobacco company, like many other companies of late, looks to return value to shareholders.

The company boosted the dividend to 53 cents from its previous 49-cent level, bringing the annual rate to $2.12 a share.

"This increase aligns the dividend with the company's recently increased payout target and demonstrates the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders," said President and Chief Executive-elect Daniel Delen.

Many companies have been looking to return value to shareholders in recent months, using their cash piles to buy back stock or implement or boost dividends.

Earlier this month, Reynolds said its fourth-quarter profit climbed 44%, driven by higher pricing and productivity improvements.

Shares rose 0.8% to $33.50 in light premarket trading. As of Tuesday's close, the stock had risen 29% in the past year.

Disclosure None

M&T Bank announces quarterly dividend of 70 cents MTB

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 01:59:00 +0000

M&T Bank Corp. said it will pay a regular quarterly dividend of 70 cents per share. The holding company for M&T Bank said that the dividend will be paid March 31 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 28. M&T, based in Buffalo, N.Y., has paid 70-cent quarterly dividends for at least a year. The company's banks had 739 offices in the mid-Atlantic region at the end of 2009.

M&T Bank Corporation operates as the holding company for M&T Bank and M&T Bank, National Association that provide commercial and retail banking services to individuals, corporations and other businesses, and institutions. It offers business loans and leases; business credit cards; deposit products, including savings deposits, time deposits, NOW accounts, and noninterest-bearing deposits; and financial services, such as cash management, payroll and direct deposit, merchant credit card, and letters of credit.

The company also provides residential real estate loans; multifamily commercial real estate loans; commercial real estate loans; residential mortgage loans; investment and trading securities; short-term and long-term borrowed funds; brokered certificates of deposit and interest rate swap agreements related thereto; and offshore branch deposits.

In addition, it offers foreign exchange services. Further, the company provides consumer loans, and commercial loans and leases; credit life, and accident and health reinsurance; and brokerage, investment advisory, and insurance agency services. As of December 31, 2009, it had 793 banking offices in New York State, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, as well as a branch in George Town, Cayman Islands. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.

Disclosure NONE.

Kilroy Realty Corporation (NYSE: KRC) Declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.35

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 01:54:00 +0000

Kilroy Realty Corporation (NYSE: KRC) announced today that its board of directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.35 per common share payable on April 15, 2011 to stockholders of record on March 31, 2011. The dividend is equivalent to an annual rate of $1.40 per share. The board of directors also declared a dividend of $0.4875 per share on the company’s 7.80% Series E Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock for the period commencing on and including February 15, 2011 and ending on and including May 14, 2011. The dividend will be payable on May 16, 2011 to Series E preferred stockholders of record on April 29, 2011.

The board of directors also declared a dividend of $0.46875 per share on the company’s 7.50% Series F Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock for the period commencing on and including February 15, 2011 and ending on and including May 14, 2011. The dividend will be payable on May 16, 2011 to Series F preferred stockholders of record on April 29, 2011.

Kilroy Realty Corporation, a member of the S&P Small Cap 600 Index, is a real estate investment trust active in the premier office and industrial submarkets along the West Coast. For over 60 years, the company has owned, developed, acquired and managed real estate assets primarily in the coastal regions of Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, greater Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area. At December 31, 2010, the company owned 10.4 million rentable square feet of commercial office space and 3.6 million rentable square feet of industrial space. More information is available at www.kilroyrealty.com.

Disclosure None

T. Rowe Price Raises Dividend

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 01:49:00 +0000

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.’s (TROW - Analyst Report) board of directors approved a 15.0% hike in the company’s quarterly common stock dividend on Thursday. The revised quarterly dividend now stands at 31 cents per share compared with the previous amount of 27 cents. The revised dividend will be payable on March 29, to shareholders as of the close of business on March 15.

This marks T. Rowe’s 25th consecutive annual dividend increase, reflecting the company’s commitment to return value to shareholders with its strong cash generation capabilities. Prior to this revision, the company increased its dividend by 8% (from 25 cents to 27 cents per share) in February 2010.

Based in Baltimore, T. Rowe Price is a global investment management organization with $482.0 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of December 31, 2010. The organization provides a broad array of mutual funds, subadvisory services, and separate account management for individual and institutional investors, retirement plans and financial intermediaries. The company also offers refined investment planning and guidance tools.

We believe that despite active competition in markets, the company has a significant long-term upside potential based on its disciplined risk-aware investment approach which focuses on diversification, style consistency and fundamental research.

As of December 31, 2010, T. Rowe Price remains debt-free with substantial liquidity, including cash and mutual fund investment holdings of about $1.5 billion, which supports the company’s ability to continue investing for the future periods.

In 2010, the company paid roughly $278.9 million in dividends to common shareholders. Cash and cash equivalents exiting the year were $813.1 million. The company had $732.8 million in operating cash flows compared with $535.6 million as of December 31, 2009.

Earnings Recap

T. Rowe Price’s fourth-quarter 2010 earnings of 72 cents per share were significantly up from 57 cents reported in the prior-year quarter. Higher-than-expected results and better AUM were partially offset by increase operating expenses. Earnings for the quarter also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 69 cents.

Based on its current strategic projects and plans, T. Rowe Price expects capital expenditures for fiscal 2011 to be approximately $120 million for property and equipment additions. The company anticipates funding these cash expenditures from internal resources.

Nevertheless, fundamentals remain strong with a debt-free position, higher return on earnings and improving investor sentiment. Further, relative mutual fund performance was also positive and we believe that in the long run, the company’s financial stability has the potential to take advantage of the gaining traction in the economy and benefit from the growth opportunities in the domestic and global AUM.

Moreover, the dividend increase reflects T. Rowe Price’s strong cash position and shareholders’ value to the company.

Disclosure None.

NextEra Energy Increases Quarterly Dividend 10% to 55 Cents

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 01:43:00 +0000

NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE) boosted its quarterly dividend by 10%, the latest company making a move to return cash to shareholders.

The company, which serves 4.5 million customers as Florida's largest utility company and is also the largest renewable energy provider in the U.S., raised the dividend by a nickel to 55 cents a share. It's payable on March 15 to shareholders of record on March 4.

A number of companies have been boosting or implementing dividends lately, looking to return value to shareholders as they dwindle cash piles built up during the recession.

NextEra last month said its third-quarter profit dropped 25% as sales and margins declined and usage at its electric utility decreased due to weather.

Shares recently increased 0.4% to $54.45. The stock has risen 19% in the past year.

Disclosure None.

Rogers Communication (RCI.B) increased dividends by 10%

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 01:24:00 +0000

Rogers Communication (RCI) increased dividends by 10% this week bringing their dividends to $0.355 and a yield of 4.07%. Rogers is a Canandian Dividend Aristocrat and continues to reward investors. I do not hold a position in Rogers but it is on my short list and is trading near the bottom of its 52-week low.

TransCanada Corporation (TRP), another Canadian Dividend Aristocrat, also increased its dividend after a quarter that exceeded expectations. The increase of 2 cents, for a total of $0.42 per quarter, represent a 5% increase and provides TRP with a 4.42% dividend yield.

Disclosure NONE.

Cashing in on the smartphone craze New FONE ETF Debuts

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 01:12:00 +0000

Love ETFs? Love your smartphone? Well break out your iPhone, Droid or BlackBerry. Starting today, you can buy a smartphone ETF.

First Trust Portfolio launched the new ETF on Friday under the ticker FONE (FONE). It lists Samsung, Motorola Mobility (MMI) and Nokia among its major holdings. And experts are giving it a thumbs up.

"It's not heavily invested in just a few stocks," said Tom Lydon, president of Global Trends Investments and editor of ETFTrends.com. "It's pretty broadly diversified."

About a quarter of the ETF includes semiconductors, with another 23% dominated by communications equipment.

But the rest is spread out pretty well among electronic equipment, wireless services and others. And some of the bigger names aren't included among the top 10.

There's no Apple (AAPL), AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ) or Google (GOOG) among the ETF's top 10 holdings, which Lydon says "bodes well for how this index was constructed." But those names are part of both the index and the ETF, which have a total of 72 components.

The smartphone ETF is clearly a niche-y product. It's unlikely that big institutional investors will snap it up. But that might be exactly what retail investors are hungering for.

"Some of these companies are huge," said Rick Ferri, investment adviser at Portfolio Solutions.

"You're not getting a really pure play on smartphones."

The ETF comes less than a year after Nasdaq launched the NasdaqOMX CEA Smartphone Index (QFON). Since its debut in April 2010, the index has gained more than 19%.

Still, it's worth noting that this is roughly in line with how the PowerShares QQQ (QQQQ) ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq-100 and holds many of the same stocks, has done.

So investors don't necessarily need to buy the FONE ETF to cash in on the mobile craze.

Disclosure NONE.

American Water (NYSE:AWK) Declares Quarterly Dividend

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:54:00 +0000

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) announced today that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend payment of $0.22 per share. The regular quarterly cash dividend is payable on March 1, 2011 to all shareholders of record as of February 18, 2011.

"We are pleased to declare our first dividend of 2011," said Jeff Sterba, president and CEO of American Water. "American Water has a long history of paying consecutive dividends and we are glad to continue this tradition as we enter the New Year."

American Water offers a dividend reinvestment and direct stock purchase plan called American Water Stock Direct, which enables stockholders to reinvest cash dividends and purchase additional American Water common shares without any brokerage commissions or service charges. Stockholders and other persons may obtain a copy of the Plan prospectus and an enrollment form by contacting American Stock Transfer & Trust Company ("AST") at (888) 556-0423 or visiting AST's website at www.amstock.com.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. The offer is being made solely through the Plan prospectus.

Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest investor-owned U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs more than 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to approximately 15 million people in more than 30 states and parts of Canada.

Disclosure I am Long AWK shares.

Top 10 Large Cap Stocks with Highest Dividend Yield: SDRL, CTL, TEF, LO, STD, RAI, MO, T, NGG, NOK (Feb 20, 2011)

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:43:00 +0000

Below are the top 10 Large Cap stocks with highest dividend yields for the last 12 months,

SeaDrill Limited (NYSE:SDRL) has the 1st highest dividend yield in this segment of the market. Its current dividend yield is 7.10%. Its dividend payout ratio was 62.61% for the last 12 months.

CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE:CTL) has the 2nd highest dividend yield in this segment of the market. Its current dividend yield is 7.03%. Its dividend payout ratio was 93.03% for the last 12 months.

Telefonica S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TEF) has the 3rd highest dividend yield in this segment of the market. Its current dividend yield is 6.81%. Its dividend payout ratio was 63.09% for the last 12 months.

Lorillard Inc. (NYSE:LO) has the 4th highest dividend yield in this segment of the market. Its current dividend yield is 6.54%. Its dividend payout ratio was 62.74% for the last 12 months.

Banco Santander, S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:STD) has the 5th highest dividend yield in this segment of the market. Its current dividend yield is 6.27%. Its dividend payout ratio was 36.77% for the last 12 months.

Reynolds American, Inc. (NYSE:RAI) has the 6th highest dividend yield in this segment of the market. Its current dividend yield is 6.13%. Its dividend payout ratio was 80.72% for the last 12 months.

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) has the 7th highest dividend yield in this segment of the market. Its current dividend yield is 6.13%. Its dividend payout ratio was 78.28% for the last 12 months.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) has the 8th highest dividend yield in this segment of the market. Its current dividend yield is 6.02%. Its dividend payout ratio was 52.33% for the last 12 months.

National Grid plc (ADR) (NYSE:NGG) has the 9th highest dividend yield in this segment of the market. Its current dividend yield is 6.00%. Its dividend payout ratio was 65.45% for the last 12 months.

Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) has the 10th highest dividend yield in this segment of the market. Its current dividend yield is 5.93%. Its dividend payout ratio was 80.97% for the last 12 months.

Disclosure I am Long SDRL, STD and CTL shares.

Dividend Investing KMP Master Limited Partnership

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:32:00 +0000

Dividend Investing KMP or inside ya Ira KMR

So many investments to consider, so little time --- I stumbled across this gem recently (this morning).
From Kinder Morgan’s company website:

“Kinder Morgan owns or operates approximately 37,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals in North America. Our companies include Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP), Kinder Morgan Management, LLC (NYSE: KMR) and Kinder Morgan, Inc., a private company which owns the general partner of KMP.

Kinder Morgan has a large footprint of diversified and strategically located assets, and we are a market leader in most of our businesses. For example, in North America, we are:

The largest independent transporter of refined petroleum products
One of the largest natural gas transporters and storage operators
The largest independent terminal operator
The largest transporter and marketer of CO2
The largest handler of petroleum coke

Almost all of our assets are owned by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP), the largest publicly traded pipeline master limited partnership with an enterprise value of more than $30 billion. KMP is comprised of five business segments – Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, CO2, Terminals and Kinder Morgan Canada.

We have been executing the same strategy since 1997. Our business model is simple. We own, operate, expand, build and acquire primarily midstream energy assets that provide a return substantially in excess of our capital costs, and then we distribute that excess to our limited partners and general partner.

We have minimal exposure to commodity price volatility because we typically don’t own the energy products that we transport, store or handle. As a result, our businesses are relatively stable and our fee-based assets have consistently generated superb cash flow in all types of market conditions. Where we do own the commodity, such as in our CO2 business, we hedge to lessen the impact of price swings.

Our business model has worked well and KMP has delivered a compound average annual return of 25 percent to unitholders over the past 12 years. In addition to delivering value to our unitholders, our focus is on operating our assets safely to protect the public and the environment. We spend millions of dollars each year on integrity management programs and maintenance to operate our assets safely.

At Kinder Morgan, we pride ourselves on being a different kind of energy company. What makes us different?

It starts at the top with Chairman and CEO Richard D. Kinder, who earns a salary of $1 per year and does not receive a bonus, stock options or restricted stock grants. As a shareholder/unitholder, Kinder’s financial rewards are directly aligned with the company’s investors – if the company does well, he does well.

We also eliminate unnecessary overhead expenses such as corporate aircraft, sponsorships, sports tickets and executive perks. In addition, we cap senior executives’ base salaries far below industry standards. Their financial incentives, such as bonuses, are tied directly to the performance of the company and their own personal performances.

Kinder Morgan has been conducting its business transparently long before it became a corporate buzz word. To our knowledge, we are the only S&P 500 company that publishes its annual budget on its web site, which enables investors and others to follow our progress throughout the year. We also post our environmental, health and safety (EHS) performance on our web site. KMP continues to outperform the industry averages in most EHS categories.

Kinder Morgan does not have a Political Action Committee (PAC), nor do we make any political contributions. Any political contributions made by executives or employees are made individually as private citizens with their own personal money. KMR is a limited partner in and manages and controls the business and affairs of KMP. KMR has no properties and its success is dependent upon its operation and management of KMP and KMP's resulting performance.

KMI owns the general partner and limited partner units in KMP. KMI also owns 20 percent of and operates Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL), which serves the high-demand Chicago market.

Kinder Morgan has approximately 8,000 employees.” www.kne.com

Holy cow is this company for real! Lets see if they put their money where their mouth is. The stock is trading at $72.47 and has been upward trending since 2009. 52 week low was at around $63. They have also increased the quarterly dividend from $1.07 to $1.13 in the past year. KMR has a solid history of dividend increases. Not only that but their net profit margin is 15.38%.

Current dividend yield is 6.24%. I don’t see any downside to owning this stock. Pipelines wear out and need upgrading and replacement over the years but they are actively accomplishing this too. Put this in my “THUMBS UP” category.

Disclaimer I plan to purchase KMR down the road.

Digital Realty Trust Q4 FFO Rises; Forecast Boosted (DLR)

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:29:00 +0000

Data center REIT Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR) on Friday posted better-than-expected fourth quarter funds from operations and lifted its full-year 2011 forecast.

The San Francisco-based company reported fourth quarter funds from operations (FFO) of $102.91 million, or 98 cents per share, compared with $69.43 million, or 79 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, adjusted FFO was 96 cents per share.

Revenue surged more than 40% from last year to $239 million.

On average, Wall Street analysts expected smaller FFO of 91 cents per share, albeit on higher revenue of $242 million.

Looking ahead, the company boosted its full-year 2011 FFO guidance to a range of $3.80 to $3.95 per share, while analysts expect $3.85 per share for the year.

Digital Realty Trust shares were mostly flat in premarket trading Friday.

The Bottom Line
We recently added shares of Digital Realty Trust (DLR) to our recommended list. The company has a 4.86% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $56.02.

Disclosure None

Annaly Capital Still an “Outperform,” but Wary of Possible Dividend Cut (NLY)

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:22:00 +0000

Analysts at FBR Capital on Friday passed along some interesting opinions regarding real estate-related investment manager Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NLY) on Friday.
Although the firm maintained its “Outperform” rating and $20 price target on NLY, it noted a dividend cut could be in the works for the company.

An FBR analyst commented, “We reiterate our rating and price target on NLY shares despite last week’s weaker-than-expected 4Q10 earnings results. While the results give us pause as to the viability of the current dividend, we believe that shares remain attractive from a long-term, risk-adjusted total return perspective. With a historically steep yield curve, the FOMC estimated to be on hold for at least another year, and declining prepayment speeds, we continue to believe that the operating environment is set up for NLY to deliver mid-to-high teen ROEs, and likewise dividend yields, for the foreseeable future.”
Annaly Capital shares were mostly flat in premarket trading Friday.

The Bottom Line

Shares of Annaly Capital (NLY) have a 14.29% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $17.92. The stock has technical support in the $15-$17 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $20 price level.

Disclosure I am Long NLY shares.

Earnings: National Health Investors up 20% NHI

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:17:00 +0000

National Health Investors (NYSE: NHI) announced today a 20 percent increase in its normalized funds from operations.

For the fourth quarter, NHI reported a Normalized FFO of $20 million, or 72 cents per basic share, compared to $16.7 million, or 60 cents per share, a year ago. The company reported Funds From Operations of $19.7 million, compared to $18.6 million for the year-ago quarter; and net income of $17 million, compared with $16.3 million in the year-ago quarter. Analysts, on average, had estimated earnings of 71 cents per share on an FFO of $20.1 million, according to Thomson Reuters.

Murfreesboro-based National Health Investors is a long-term health care real estate investment trust based in Murfreesboro. Its portfolio includes skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, independent living facilities, medical office buildings and an acute care hospital.

Fourth quarter 2010 Normalized FFO: $20 million
Fourth quarter 2009 Normalized FFO: $16.7 million
Fourth quarter 2010 net income: $17 million
Fourth quarter 2009 net income: $16.3 million

Market reaction: NHI released it’s earnings report before the market opened Thursday. Shares closed Wednesday at $46.25. The 52-week range for the stock is $33.50 to $49.

National Health Investors, Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT), invests in health care properties, primarily in the long-term care industry in the United States. As of December 31, 2008, it had investments in real estate assets and mortgage notes receivable investments in 123 health care facilities consisting of 83 long-term care facilities, 1 acute care hospital, 4 medical office buildings, 14 assisted living facilities, 4 retirement centers, and 17 residential projects for the developmentally disabled in 17 states. The company has elected to be treated as a REIT for federal income tax purposes and would not be subject to federal income tax, if it distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its shareholders. National Health Investors, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Disclosure I am long NHI shares.

National Health Investors, Inc. (NYSE: NHI) today declared a Dividend of $.6150 cents per share

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:15:00 +0000

National Health Investors, Inc. (NYSE: NHI) today declared a Dividend of $.6150 cents per share to shareholders of record on March 31, 2011 and payable on May 10, 2011.

National Health Investors, Inc (NYSE: NHI) has paid dividends since 1991 and has a current dividend yield of 5.1%.

National Health Investors, Inc’s current dividend information as per the date of this press release is:

Dividend Declaration Date: Feb-17-2011
Dividend Ex Date: Mar-29-2011
Dividend Record Date: Mar-31-2011
Dividend Payment Date: May-10-2011
Dividend Amount: 0.615

Disclosure I am long NHI shares.

Borders Declares Bankruptcy

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 17:37:00 +0000

Borders Group (BGP) fought off filing for bankruptcy as long as possible but the bookstore chain couldn’t fight off the inevitable. Today, Borders filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection.

The bankruptcy filing is horrible news for shareholders of the company. Long suffering shareholders will be wiped out for holding onto this stock. I never understood why anyone was investing in this stock. The long-term fundamentals were horrible. The writing had been on the wall for a long time at Borders. Amazon and the e-book frenzy have killed off most bookstore chains. The last company standing intact is Barnes & Noble.

Borders bankruptcy filing is however good news for the chain. The company is seeking to close 30% of its stores and has received access to $400 million of its $505 million bankruptcy financing from GE Capital. That’s roughly 193 of its 642 stores. Borders is now trying to change its business model by getting more into digital distribution and selling more non book products.

I still don’t see how Borders will reinvent itself. The company is years behind Amazon in the digital distribution game and remains behind Barnes and Noble in the traditional bookstore business. I just don’t think that the market is big enough for Borders to be a viable player.

Back in December of 2008, Borders Group was included in my post about Dead Companies Walking. Since that time Borders and Blockbuster have gone bankrupt. The next big chain that I expect too bankrupt is Rite Aid. The company is suffocating under its massive debt load. Rite Aid’s terrible same store sales numbers can only be explained away by management for so long.

What national chain do you expect to go belly up next?

Disclosure None

Fidelity Increases Commission-Free ETFs to 31

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 17:33:00 +0000

Consumers everywhere agree – price wars are the best wars on the planet. The ETF trading commission price war makes ETF investors happy and their wallets a little thicker. Fidelity today (2/16/11) announced the addition of five more iShares ETFs to its $0 commission lineup. This brings the total quantity of commission-free ETFs for Fidelity’s online customers to 31, consisting of Fidelity’s own Nasdaq Composite Tracking Stock (ONEQ) and 30 iShares products.

The complete list of iShares with free online trading at Fidelity now includes these ETFs:

iShares iBoxx Yield Corporate Bond (HYG)
iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend (DVY)
iShares Dow Jones EPAC Select Dividend (IDV)
iShares Dow Jones Real Estate (IYR)
iShares MSCI ACWI ex US (ACWX)

Sixteen months ago, the first salvo in this war was yet to be fired. Today four major players have a lot at stake. The history is brief but eventful:

Schwab Creates Watershed Event with Commission-Free ETFs on 11/3/09 by launching its first ETFs and introducing commission-free trading. Schwab has since extended its lineup several times.

Fidelity responded three months later on 2/2/10 by teaming up with iShares to offer 26 Commission-Free ETFs at Fidelity while lowering commissions on other ETFs. Fidelity expanded its menu today.

Vanguard Entered the ETF Free Trading War three months later (5/4/10) by making its own line of ETFs available to Vanguard Brokerage customers without commissions. Vanguard continues to aggressively launch new ETFs with no commissions for its brokerage customers.

The Launch of Ameritrade’s ETF Supermarket on 10/8/10 was the most sweeping to date, including eight different sponsors and 101 ETFs and ETNs.

Disclosure I am Long HYG shares.

REIT ETFs: The Best of All Worlds?

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 17:29:00 +0000

If you’re on the market for an investment that’s been strong in recent months, kicks off nice dividends and, oh, also has relatively low risk, REIT exchange traded funds (ETFs) could be for you.
Real estate investment trusts, or REITs, generate some of the highest yields and were one of the best performers last year, writes David Fessler for InvestmentU. For instance, the Vanguard REIT ETF (NYSEArca: VNQ), which holds around 100 different REITs, gained 24% in 2010. The S&P 500, on the other hand, gained 12.8%.

Here’s the case for REITs:

In a low interest rate environment, REITs do relatively well because they borrow money at low rates, buy high-interest, long-term assets and investors would profit from the spread. With unemployment just below 10%, zero inflation and “quantitative easing,” the low interest rate environment may stick around for a while longer.
REITs are required by law to distribute 90% of taxable income to their shareholders, which gives investors a stable dividend yield.
Recently, the Vanguard REIT index surged in activity as investors dived into the market on speculation of increased M&A activity, according to PR USA. Chatter on M&A activity rose when ProLogis confirmed that it was talking with rival AMB Property about a possible merger.

While dividends on REITs are rather attractive, note that companies may cut,slash or suspend dividends at anytime, with little or no notice.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY) and American Capital Agency Corp. (NYSE: AGNC) are two REITs that stand out from the rest of the market, as stated by iStockAnalyst. Annaly owns, manages and finances real estate investments, with assets backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Like Annaly, American Capital also holds securities backed by Fannie and Freddie, along with Ginnie Mae. REITs that don’t invest in government-backed securities usually carry higher implied risk and little or no difference in yields.

There are plenty of worth REIT funds to choose from; it only depends on what you’re willing to pay, what kind of yield you want and what corner of the REIT market most interests you.

Vanguard REIT ETF (NYSEArca: VNQ) has the second-best yield among REIT ETFs currently, at 4.2%. Half of the fund goes to retail REITs and specialized REITs, with smaller allocations going to office, residential and diversified REITS. It also has one of the lowest expense ratios among REIT funds: 0.10%.

Schwab U.S. REIT ETF (NYSEArca: SCHH) boasts a low 0.13% expense ratio. This ETF just launched. It’s made up of mortgage REITs, finance companies, commercial and residential real estate brokers, homebuilders and more.

SPDR Dow Jones REIT (NYSEArca: RWR) is the largest of all REIT ETFs, has a 3.3% yield a 0.20% expense ratio. Its holdings are primarily apartment, malls, office, health care and diversified REITs.

For more information on REITs, visit our REITs category.

Disclosure I am Long VNQ, AGNC, and NLY shares.

3 Approaches to Dividend ETF Investing

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 17:22:00 +0000

If you’re looking for some payouts in addition to returns, you could do a lot worse than to explore dividend exchange traded funds (ETFs). These companies can generate the returns investors crave at a better rate than the broad market.

There are more than 30 dividend ETFs trading today (you can find them all on our ETF Analyzer), but they’re not all created equal.

Charles Lewis Sizemore for Benzinga reports that there are three different strategies to choose from to complement your investing goals:

High dividend yield. Exposure to this type can be found in iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index (NYSEArca: DVY), which focuses on stocks that pay the highest current yields.

High dividend growth rate. This kind of dividend can be found in Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEArca: VIG). It looks beyond dividend yield, choosing stocks with a demonstrated history of rising dividends. Selection criteria differs from fund to fund.

Dividend weighting. You can get this in WisdomTree LargeCap Dividend ETF (NYSEArca: DLN). DLN does not follow market-cap weighted strategy nor equal weight strategy for deciding the size of its respective stock positions; instead, it calculates the amount of cash each company pays in dividends and weights its portfolio accordingly.

Disclosure NONE

MLP ETFs: A Fixed-Income Alternative

noreply@blogger.com (Ghostpinkid) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 17:19:00 +0000

Are you looking for a stable and relatively high yield fixed-income asset? Then you may want to take a gander at master limited partnerships (MLPs) exchange traded funds (ETFs), which have only recently come to market.

If you’re unfamiliar with this sector, here’s the short of it: MLPs are a great way to play the energy industry with the added benefit of regular dividend payouts and investment appreciation.
Wells Fargo Senior Energy MLP Analyst Michael Blum believes that MLPs still have plenty of potential, with strong business fundamentals, distribution growth and attractive yields, writes Brian Sylvestor for Investor Ideas.

Those are the basics. Now here’s what you really need to know about this sector that’s more than likely new to you:

There are different kinds of MLPs. Exploration and production (E&P) MLPs plays produce oil and natural while gather and processing (G&P) MLPs deal in extracted natural gas liquids (NGLs). G&P MLPs benefit from rising oil prices and low natural gas prices.
Around 80% of distributions received from MLPs will be tax deferred until the asset is sold. MLPs are also equities, which means there is an upside in the price. Additionally, MLP distributions may change. Blum forecasts a 5% medium distribution growth for the MLP sector over the next couple of years.
MLPs are slightly sensitive to interest rate changes – a spike in interest rates will cause MLPs to underperform, so watch for any hints of Federal Reserve action on that front. MLPs are also correlated to commodity prices, with a higher correlation toward rising crude oil – certainly an advantageous situation these days.
Short-term bursts won’t affect MLPs too much because they operate based on volume of oil or natural gas shipped, which provide investors with predictable and stable cash flows, reports Jim Fink for Investing Daily.
MLPs pay taxes at the partner, or unitholder, level and most of their income flow to their partners in the business, says Christine Benz for Morningstar. By gaining this tax status, MLPs must provide 90% of their income from “qualified sources,” or producing, processing, and transporting energy.
Since MLP payouts aren’t dividends, investors report income on a K-1 form, as you would with futures-based ETFs.

Now, let’s get into a few of the ETFs and exchange traded notes (ETNs):

Alerian MLP ETF (NYSEArca: AMLP): AMLP launched last September, and it’s the first MLP ETF. Until this fund came along, MLP access could only be had in ETNs. It delivers a nice yield (currently close to 6%), though its performance has been flat since launch. This fund is diversified across three primary MLPs: petroleum transportation, natural gas pipelines and gathering and processing.
Credit Suisse Cushing 30 MLP Index (NYSEArca: MLPN): MLPN owns 30 companies involved in the energy infrastructure market. Each holding in the fund starts off with a 3.33% weighting after rebalancing quarterly, making it a more equally-weighted fund instead of the more common route of cap-weighting.
UBS E-TRACS Alerian Natural Gas MLP ETN (NYSEArca: MLPG): MLPG also appeared on the market in March 2010. It has a current yield of 6.23%. Its top 10 components range between 9.7% of the total portfolio (in the case of Enterprise Products Partners) down to 4.4% (in the case of MarkWest Energy Partners).
JPMorgan Alerian MLP Index ETN (NYSEArca: AMJ): AMJ has a current yield of 5.04%. It’s a tad more concentrated than other MLP funds, however; the top two constituents account for more than 25% of the fund. If concentration is a concern for you, then you might be better off with an equally-weighted fund, or one that simply has its holdings spread out a little more.

Disclosure I am Long AMJ shares.