All-Time Market Highs Complicate The Yield Hunt – By Brian Nelson, CFA
Our Dividend Growth Portfolio (see page 5) continues to post strong results, with several names hitting fresh all-time highs over the past few weeks. With our cash balance relatively high, we anticipate to capitalize on any material pullback by adding to existing positions or opening new ones. We’ve had our sights on a few names on our watchlist (page 12) that we believe could add some outperformance and diversification to our portfolio.
Although market fundamentals remain relatively strong, the increase in equity prices has had the unfortunate effect of making attractive yields scarcer. Strong earnings performance during the first quarter has pushed down the yields of some of our favorite names, including Microsoft and Intel, which now yield less than 3% and 4%, respectively—which is not a bad thing.
Conversely, we’re a bit disappointed by free cash flow generation at ConocoPhillips, and we may have to find a replacement in the oil sector.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1 All-Time Market Highs Complicate The Yield Hunt
1 Pitney Bowes Dividend Cut (ticker: PBI)
2 Procter & Gamble’s Third Quarter Stalls (ticker: PG)
3 Exxon Mobil Struggles For Growth (ticker: XOM)
4 PC Weakness Fails to Crush Microsoft (ticker: MSFT)
5 Our Dividend Growth Portfolio
6 Qualcomm’s Fall Is Baffling (ticker: QCOM)
7 Apple: Capital Allocation Can’t Shake Bearish Sentiment (ticker: AAPL)
9 Intel Struggles With The PC Market Slumping (ticker: INTC)
10 McDonald’s Struggles In The First Quarter (ticker: MCD)
11 Stocks with High VBI Ratings and Strong Dividend Growth Prospects (see article for tickers)
12 Our Dividend Growth Watch List
13 Yields to Avoid
14 GE Posts Another Record Backlog, But Organic Growth Falters (ticker: GE)
15 Coca-Cola Grows Earnings And Restructures (ticker: KO)
16 About Our Dividend Cushion™
19 Featured Reports: Exxon Mobil, Microsoft, United Technologies, Verizon
23 Our Valuentum Buying Index
26 Valuentum Definitions