Kiplinger's Personal Finance writer Carolyn Bigda looks at a trio of favored blue chip stocks, each providing investors with yields above 5%.
Steve Halpern: We are here today with Carolyn Bigda of Kiplinger's Personal Finance. How are you doing, Carolyn?
Carolyn Bigda: I am fine, thank you.
Steve Halpern: In your recent article for Kiplinger's, which just hit the newsstands this week, you look at what you call Steady Eddie stocks, long-term dividend payers, and for this article, you focus on stocks yielding 5% or more. First off, you look at AT&T (T). Could you explain what the attraction behind that idea is?
Carolyn Bigda: Sure. AT&T is paying just north of 5%, which is a pretty big yield for telecom, and the company—as you said earlier—these are Steady Eddies.
And the company has raised its dividend consecutively for 29 years, which is a pretty good record. You have a pretty reliable dividend payer with a very attractive yield.
Best Japanese Companies To Buy Right Now: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. Its Global Technology Services segment provides IT infrastructure and business process services, including strategic outsourcing, process, integrated technology, and maintenance services, as well as technology-based support services. The company?s Global Business Services segment offers consulting and systems integration, and application management services. Its Software segment offers middleware and operating systems software, such as WebSphere software to integrate and manage business processes; information management software for database and enterprise content management, information integration, data warehousing, business analytics and intelligence, performance management, and predictive analytics; Tivoli software for identity management, data security, storage management, and datacenter automation; Lotus software for collaboration, messaging, and so cial networking; rational software to support software development for IT and embedded systems; business intelligence software, which provides querying and forecasting tools; SPSS predictive analytics software to predict outcomes and act on that insight; and operating systems software. Its Systems and Technology segment provides computing and storage solutions, including servers, disk and tape storage systems and software, point-of-sale retail systems, and microelectronics. The company?s Global Financing segment provides lease and loan financing to end users and internal clients; commercial financing to dealers and remarketers of IT products; and remanufacturing and remarketing services. It serves financial services, public, industrial, distribution, communications, and general business sectors. The company was formerly known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. and changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. IBM was founded in 1910 and is based in Armonk, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
Low dividends are easier to pay
When you look at the rest of the low-payout-ratio list, you'll see similarly conservative dividend practices. Disney (NYSE: DIS ) has just a 22% payout ratio, but its dividend yield is just 1.2%, despite having the huge profit engines of Marvel-based movies and its blockbuster media network to rely on. Similarly, IBM (NYSE: IBM ) has made great strides in the tech industry, diversifying early beyond its former reliance on hardware and scoring much more lucrative high-margin business in other sectors. But even after a recent dividend increase, IBM still yields less than 2%. - [By Johanna Bennett]
Technology stocks performed well on Wednesday. Former Dow component Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) rallied after a better-than-expected earnings report. International Business Machines (IBM) led gainers in the Dow industrials.
Top Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Chevron Corporation(CVX)
Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Stocks went nowhere today after making back early losses, as Chevron (CVX) and Wal-Mart (WMT) gained, while Visa (V) and Boeing (BA) fell.
REUTERSThe S&P 500 gained 0.03% to 1,868.20, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.07% to 16,340.08. Chevron’s 1% gain, which came after being added to the Focus List at Credit Suisse, and Wal-Mart’s 0.8% rise helped balance out�Visa’s 0.5% fall and� Boeing’s 1% drop, which came after UBS cut its price target. Tesoro (TSO) jumped 4.1% to $54.50 after oil prices fell, making the refiner the S&P 500′s biggest winner.
Once again, concerns about China are reputed to have driven early weakness in the stock market. Rhino Trading Partners’ Michael Block expresses his concern about the falling Chinese yuan:
…cheaper Chinese exports could wreak havoc on non Chinese exporters around the world.� The most obvious losers would be South Korean, Japanese, U.S. and European stocks that are heavy exporters to countries other than China…In the U.S., I am concerned about export heavy sectors like autos and steel the most.� Given the weaker yuan and lower Chinese purchasing power, consumer companies selling into China, whether they be luxury goods makers or QSRs, are also ones to avoid here.
The big picture is that this could end up being an issue that affects everyone going into this November.� If a weaker CNY causes U.S. exports to fall and jobs and GDP suffer, you better believe that protectionism becomes a byword going into mid term elections and then beyond that into the 2016 campaign.� �The risk of this escalating into a full scale currency war is the biggest risk that China�� new path may entail.�� And yet I see good reasons for why it will happen.� China may have no choice but to give it a try.� Any questions or comments, please contact me.
Hey, maybe I wasn’t wrong when I wrote about China’s problems hitting t
- [By Matt Thalman]
Shares of Chevron (NYSE: CVX ) are down 1% after the company announced that it would attempt to sell its rights to two offshore oil fields near Nigeria. That part of the world currently has a number of oil fields on the selling block, so it's unlikely that Chevron will receive a premium for the rights. A number of the world's largest oil companies have all been slowly moving out of the region, as Nigeria's government is involved in the area's oil business, and many have claimed that it is overrun with corruption.
- [By Robert Rapier]
Seadrill Partners is presently the only offshore drilling services company structured as a partnership, although international offshore drilling contractor�Ocean Rig�(Nasdaq: ORIG) has plans to drop down assets into an MLP this year. The Seadrill Partners IPO involved a drop down of four drilling rigs from the parent — two semi-submersibles (the West Aquarius and the West Capricorn), one tender rig (the West Vencedor), and one ultra-deepwater drillship (the West Capella). These drilling rigs are under long-term contracts with major oil companies such as�Chevron�(NYSE: CVX),�Total�(NYSE:TOT),�BP�(NYSE: BP) and�ExxonMobil�(NYSE: XOM).
Top Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Apple Inc.(AAPL)
Apple Inc., together with subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players, as well as sells related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications worldwide. The company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, it sells third-party Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores; and digital content and applications through the iTunes Store. The company sells its products to consumer, small and mid-sized business, education, enterprise, government, and creative markets. As of September 25, 2010, it had 317 retail stores, including 233 stores in the United States and 84 stores internationally. The company, formerly known as Apple Computer, Inc., was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Evan Niu, CFA]
By broadening its horizons, Amazon is taking a clear shot at the gaming community within Google's Android camp. Even though both companies operate Android-based ecosystems, this is effectively a move at cross-platform warfare. The search giant just made a similar push in May when it announced Google Play Game Services at Google I/O, which integrates across Android, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) iOS, and Web platforms. Apple's Game Center, which is only available for iOS, has also grown, to 240 million users.
- [By Doug Ehrman]
Earlier this week, Facebook (NASDAQ: FB ) announced the roll out of 'Chat Heads' as a new feature available through Facebook Home for both Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ) Android and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) iOS. While the feature is already gaining popularity, the way it operates within each environment is very different. Beyond Chat Heads, other features of Home are already gaining traction, suggesting that the smartphone landscape is about to change again. If early indications are accurate, Facebook has positioned itself brilliantly for the way forward and deserves a place in your portfolio.
- [By MONEYMORNING.COM]
Retail Stocks to Watch No. 5: Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL)
One-year retail sales growth: 11%
Total 2013 U.S. sales: $26.6 billion
The rocky ride for Apple stock last year had little connection to its steady U.S. retail sales, which rose 11% last year. Apple's retail stores have proven astonishingly successful, and sell more per square foot - $4,551 - than any other retailer. (Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) is third at $3,043 per square foot.) Apple's iPhone 6, due to be unveiled Sept. 9, will probably push the tech giant's retail sales growth even higher in 2014. AAPL closed at $103.30.
Top Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In Right Now: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)
McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) has fallen more than 1% on a downgrade from Janney Capital, which cut earnings expectations by half a percent and reduced same-store sales estimates for June and July. The fast-food giant has struggled to keep growth up despite headwinds in some international markets and increased competition within the U.S. market.
- [By Mark Yagalla]
Considering that Yum! Brands has more than 40,000 restaurants globally compared to McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) 35,000 locations,�can these new menu items help Yum! Brands catch up to McDonald's in total sales?
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