JW.A

An Important Measure of Leverage for Dividend-Growth and Income-Oriented Shareholders, One That Is Dividend-Adjusted

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As more and more investors rely on company dividends for income, dividends, in our view, have become more debt-like commitments in nature, especially from the perspective of dividend-growth or income-oriented shareholders. Years ago, we rolled out a measure of financial leverage that considers both the company’s debt and the present value of its future expected cash dividend obligations, which, in the eyes of die-hard dividend-growth or income-oriented shareholders, may be implicitly assumed to be debt-like commitments in substance. We think this leverage ratio can be used in conjunction with the Dividend Cushion ratio to gain additional insight into the dividend-paying financial health of an entity. Note: There is often great confusion with respect to published measures of financial leverage, and … Read more

You Already Own Whatever Your Investment Will Pay You in Dividends

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“Business owners across the world know that their business is not more or less valuable because they paid themselves a higher distribution this quarter.” – Brian Nelson, CFA Image Source: Images Money Stocks are generally valued on the present value of all their future free cash flows, which already include future dividend payments. A company’s dividend policy may impact an investor’s eagerness to pay a higher price for shares on the basis of a higher yield, but the dividend is a symptom of future free cash flows (and therefore intrinsic value), not a driver behind it. where A (t) is an Enterprise Free Cash Flow (1) at year t,                 B (0) is a Total Debt at time 0,                 … Read more

3 Substantial Benefits of Dividend Growth Investing

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Dear members: There are three primary benefits of a well-executed dividend growth strategy, one that is carried out with prudence and care and one that pays careful attention to the intrinsic value of the stock and its critical cash-based components. Albert Einstein is reported to have called compound interest the “eighth wonder of the world,” but dividend growth investing has the potential to offer long-term investors so much more! Let’s explain. 1) Reinvested Dividends Compound Over Time Over the past decade, I have grown to appreciate the compounding dynamics of reinvested dividends on appreciating stocks even more than historical studies have revealed. The strategy of dividend growth investing not only benefits from the reinvestment of dividends into the purchase of … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week June 25

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending June 25. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week Alico (ALCO): now $0.50 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.18. Bancolombia S.A. (CIB): now $0.072 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.064. Darden Restaurants (DRI): now $1.10 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.88. Empire (EMLAF): now CAD 0.15 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.13. Fifth Street Asset Management (FSAM): now $0.014665 per share final dividend, was $0.0145. First Bancorp (FNLC): now $0.32 per share quarterly dividend, … Read more

Walking Through the Calculation of the Dividend Cushion Ratio

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A cow for her milk, A hen for her eggs, And a stock, by heck, For her dividends. An orchard for fruit, Bees for their honey, And stocks, besides, For their dividends. – John Burr Williams, “The Theory of Investment Value” (1938) Executive Summary: We believe the Dividend Cushion ratio is one of the most helpful tools an income or dividend growth investor can use in conjunction with qualitative dividend analysis. The ratio is one-of-a-kind in that it is both free-cash-flow based, considers balance sheet health, and is forward looking. Since its development in 2012, we estimate its efficacy at ~90% in helping to forewarn readers of impending dividend cuts. For companies where Valuentum reports are available, the Dividend Cushion ratio can be found in a stock’s Dividend … Read more

ICYMI — Dividend Growth Strategies Struggle

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Image: A large cap growth ETF (orange) has significantly outperformed an ETF tied to a dividend growth strategy, the SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY), which mirrors the total return performance of the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index. — By Brian Nelson, CFA — To no surprise to many members, several dividend growth strategies have faced tremendous pressure during 2020. The Journal recently wrote a piece on the topic, but from our perspective, the problem with many dividend growth strategies is that they tend to be balance-sheet agnostic and pay little attention to traditional free cash flow expectations, focusing only on the yield itself, sometimes dismissing future fundamentals in favor of historical growth trends and the inferior EPS-based dividend payout ratio. — In many dividend-targeted … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending June 26

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending June 26. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week Andlauer Healthcare Group Inc. (ANDHF): now $0.05 per share quarterly dividend. ARMOUR Residential REIT (ARR): now $0.10 per share monthly dividend, was $0.09. AT&T 4.750% PFD SER C (T.PC): now $0.2969 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.2408. Delmar Bancorp (DBCP): now $0.025 per share dividend. Deswell Industries (DSWL): now $0.09 per share semi-annual dividend, was $0.08. Dynex Capital, Inc. 6.9% Series C PFD (DX.PC): now $0.4313 … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending June 28

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending June 28. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week Empire (EMLAF): now CAD 0.12 per share quarterly dividend, was CAD 0.11. First Bancorp (FNLC): now $0.30 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.29. Glacier Bancorp (GBCI): now $0.27 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.26. Hingham Institution for Savings (HIFS): now $0.39 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.38. Investar (ISTR): now $0.0551 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.0525. John Wiley & Sons (JW.A): now $0.34 per share … Read more

Brace for More Volatility

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Image shown: The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) since August of last year. The markets have broken through key support levels, and now support has become resistance. Volatility remains heightened since the low-vol ETN blew up in February. This article is the introduction to both the Dividend Growth Newsletter and High Yield Dividend Newsletter, both of which will be released today due to the holiday January 1. By Brian Nelson, CFA Markets are facing big pressure on the trading session January 3. There’s more to the story than rising interest rates. There’s more to the story than the US-China trade war. There’s more to the story than concerns about the political environment. Price-agnostic (indexing and quant) trading, as I outline in … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending June 23

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised/lowered their dividends during the week ending June 23. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week ALPS | Dorsey Wright Sector Momentum ETF (SWIN): now $0.05305 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.03923. ALPS Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF (ENFR): now $0.2405 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.15615. ALPS Emerging Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (EDOG): now $0.312 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.095. ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF (EQL): now $0.32887 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.27069. ALPS International Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (IDOG): … Read more