Search Results
The Worst Reasons To Sell A Stock
An article on when to sell a stock would not be complete without some discussion about what I consider to be the worst reason to sell a stock. Ironically, this reason may be the one that is most commonly implemented by investors.
Microsoft Important Lessons in Valuation: Part 1
Before I get too deep into this article, I want to start out by stating that Microsoft (MSFT) has long been one of my favorite companies. Many years ago, I invested in Microsoft as a pure growth stock and sold it in 2000 when it became dangerous overvalued after making a very healthy long-term profit.
Answering the Question: When to Sell a Stock-Part 1A
The most common complaint that I have heard from investors over my 49+ years in the financial services industry is as follows: “Everyone wants to tell me what to buy and when, but no one ever tells me when to sell.”
Beware the Valuations of The Dividend Kings Fortress Portfolio
One of the great benefits for subscribing to The Dividend Kings service are the carefully-selected portfolios presented in our portfolio tracker. However, I want to caution the subscriber that these portfolios should not be looked at as simply cut-and-paste investment options.
Principles for Designing A Dividend Growth Portfolio for Retirement: Part 1
This article is a refresh and an update of an article I originally posted in 2015. However, the principles I am presenting are timeless and worthy of being revisited. Moreover, I have updated the supporting examples to more precisely reflect our current market environment.
Debunking the Growth Beats Value or Value Beats Growth Myths
One of my greatest pet peeves as a long-time investment professional is the industries’ notion that stocks can be generally categorized into only two styles commonly referred to as growth investing or value investing.
Nice Work Dividend Sensei – But I Choose Lowe’s
I am a firm believer and ardent supporter of conducting comprehensive research and due diligence on any company (stock) you might consider investing in. However, I have also experienced the reality that far too many investors make their decisions based on opinions, emotions or vague ideas about a company...
Ignore Political and Economic Forecasts: Mind Your Owned Businesses
In his Berkshire Hathaway 1994 annual report Warren Buffett said ignore political and economic forecasts. I considered this one of the more profound pieces of investment advice and wisdom that I ever came across.
Target Corp.: Defying the Retail Apocalypse
My personal anecdotal experience suggests that many investors operate under the fallacy: “my mind’s made up – don’t confuse me with the facts.” This behavior often results from only reading the headlines while skimming over the in-depth analysis that is truly needed to make a sound or prudent investing decision.
Avon is Calling: Invest In The Growth or Speculate On The Takeover
Avon’s Historical Operating Results and Price Action Since 2008 Avon’s earnings have continuously eroded and its stock price has followed. Moreover, after its dividend grew for many years, the company cut it by 18 ½% for 2012, slashed it an additional 68% in 2013 and then eliminated their dividend altogether in 2016.
McKesson Corp, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Cardinal Health Corp., CVS Health Corp: Medical Distributor
This is a follow-up to my first article in a continuing series where I will be identifying and presenting dividend growth stocks for an above-average long-term total return objective.
Invest in AmerisourceBergen for its Growth and Valuation – Speculate in a Potential Takeover
This is the first in a continuing series where I identify and present dividend growth stocks for an above-average long-term total return objective. Throughout this series I will be illustrating that there are several prudent sources of long-term return and there is also luck or chance.
3M Company: Finally, a Great Dividend Growth Company Becoming a Good Investment!
I find it serendipitous that after just completing a 19-part series on how highly valued the general market is, I get the pause that refreshes. Now please don’t read more into my words than are being offered. I still believe that the market at large is fully valued.
4 Transportation Sector Research Candidates: Do You Dare Have Your Money Travel With These Stocks?
As a rule, I have never been very fascinated by the Transportation Sector. This is especially true regarding airlines and air transport companies. Nevertheless, there are two airlines and two air freight carriers in the Transportation Sector that I felt comfortable featuring in this article.
5 Rare Fairly Valued Companies in the Technology Services Sector: Part 17
Technology Services Sector covered in this article is a sector where overvaluation is rampant. In other words, this is currently a hot sector where sound valuation has been thrown out the window in favor of what I can only describe as hype and speculation.
Is the Death of Retail Trade Greatly Exaggerated? Part 16
Simply Google the phrase “what effect is Amazon having on retail” and you’ll discover a significant amount of information, articles and theories. Personally, I found the following article written by Susan Ward that articulated the sales of brick-and-mortar versus online to be quite illuminating.
12 Exceptional Investments in the Process Industries Sector: Part 14
One of the main goals of this series of articles is to illustrate the significant differences between individual stocks, and the significant differences between different sectors. Therefore, from this perspective, I have been attempting to illustrate the “nature of the beast” for each of the sectors I have covered.
Are stocks in the Non-Energy Minerals Sector Investable? Part 13
The Non-Energy Minerals Sector is mostly comprised of very cyclical and typically commodity-based companies. Consequently, very few companies in this sector offer the consistency and predictability that prudent and/or conservative investors might require.
10 Fairly Valued MLPs: Are the High Yields Worth the Risk and Effort? Part 12
A major goal of this series on sectors is to illustrate the reality that it is a market of stocks rather than a stock market. With this article I am technically covering the Industrial Services Sector.
Undervalued Growth and Dividend Growth in Health Technology: Part 11
Although many Health Technology Sector companies have significantly outperformed the market on a long-term basis, they have significantly underperformed the market since the beginning of 2015.
There is More Value to be Found in the Finance Sector than in any other Sector: Part 9
I found more value in the Finance Sector than I did in any other sector that I screened. All in all, I identified 131 attractively valued companies out of the 1,888 companies in the Finance Sector.
16 Dividend Income Opportunities in the Energy Minerals Sector, but Beware the Nature of the Beast:
The Energy Minerals Sector is comprised of 619 companies. And, as it is with every sector, they come in all shapes, sizes and colors. However, a common attribute that is shared by most companies in this sector is a significant amount of cyclicality in their operating results, i.e., earnings and cash flows.
9 Opportunities in Electronic Technology, The Future of Everything: Part 7
My primary objective is to illustrate how different individual companies are from each other, and even how different companies operating in the same sector can be. It is a market of stocks not a stock market.
Is There Real Value in These 7 Distribution Services Companies? Part 6
As I stated in previous articles in this series, my primary objective is to provide the reader with a clear perspective of just how different individual stocks are and how different companies operating in different sectors are.
9 Inexpensive Consumer Services Sector Stocks: Part 5
As I stated in the introduction in Part 4 of this series, my primary objective is to provide the reader with a clear perspective of just how different individual stocks are and how different companies operating in different sectors are.
11 Investable Consumer Non-Durables: Finding Value in Food, Footwear, Apparel, Alcohol and Tobacco:
My primary objective with this series of articles (identifying attractively valued stocks in different sectors) is to provide the reader with a clear perspective of just how different individual stocks are and how different companies operating in different sectors are.
Finding Value In Consumer Durables – A Very Diverse Sector: Part 3
This is part 3 of a series where I have conducted a simple screening looking for value over the overall market based on industry classifications and subindustry classifications reported by FactSet Research Systems, Inc.
Finding Value In The Communication Sector Is Easy Today – Finding Growth Is A Different Matter (Pa
This is part 2 of a series where I have conducted a simple screening looking for value over the overall market based on industry classifications and subindustry classifications reported by FactSet Research Systems, Inc.
Love Bear Markets – Look at All the Value It Has Brought Us! Part 1
Although most investors hate bearish stock market activity, value investors – like yours truly -relish them. Moreover, bearish market activity becomes especially welcome after extended periods of high valuation like we have been experiencing since calendar year 2014. High valuations make it very difficult for value investors to find attractive common stock investments.
Have these 5 Best Defense (Stocks) Become the Best Offense (Stocks)?
Nothing clears the pallet of a diehard value investor better than a good old-fashioned bear market. In calendar year 2018 – and especially December 2018 – we were given what I would call a bear market. However, not all bear markets are the same.
Don’t Be a Stock Market Victim!
The primary objective of this article is to help the reader put this recent bad market in perspective and simultaneously provide lessons in valuation and how to think about stock prices. There have been many sage pieces of wisdom that have been provided to investors by investing greats.
9 More A Rated or Better Attractively Valued Dividend Growth Stocks
In part 2B of my current series on building and diversifying a dividend growth portfolio I presented 20 dividend growth stocks. However, in the FAST Graph analyze out loud video I only covered 11 of the 20 companies, one for each of the major sectors. As a result, I have had requests to provide a FAST Graph analyze out loud video on the remaining 9 companies.
Diversifying by Sector: 20 High-Quality Attractive Dividend Growth Stocks Rated A- Or Better (Part 2
Introduction This current series of articles could be summarized as a review of ways to construct and diversify a common stock portfolio. In part 1 found here I discussed various viewpoints on how many stocks a portfolio should hold. In Part 2A found here I presented and discussed Peter Lynch’s 6 general categories of stocks.
Did IBM Buy Red Hat at a Fair Price?
On October 23, 2015 I wrote an article titled “Retirees: I Did Not Buy IBM to Sell; It’s about the Dividend Income Stupid.” At the time I published the article, I was long International Business Machine (IBM) and remain long today. With the article I attempted to illustrate why I was including IBM in retirement portfolios.
Stock Selection Options by Category: Part 2A
In part 1 of this series titled “How Many Stocks Should I Own?” found here, I focused primarily on how many stocks an investor might need to hold in a stock portfolio for adequate diversification. In this part 2, my focus will shift to category selections.
How Many Stocks Should I Own? Part 1
One of the most commonly asked questions I receive from investors is: how many stocks should I put in my portfolio? This is a widely debated subject that is most commonly referred to as concentrated versus widely diversified portfolio construction.
IBM Fundamental Analysis by the Numbers
All investing is not done with the same objectives or goals in mind. This applies to investing in common stocks just as it does to investing in real estate, commodities, fixed income vehicles, fine art or collectibles – and any other investment that comes to mind. There are times when investors are looking for maximum total return, which is often automatically associated with buying a stock.
Building a Dividend Growth Portfolio from Scratch: 15 A Rated or Better Fairly Valued Opportunities
We remain in one of the longest bull markets in history. Generally, with bull markets stocks tend to become highly valued. Additionally, we also continue to find ourselves in a low interest rate environment based on historical standards.
Earnings Growth Drives Total Return and Dividend Income
This article was inspired by an interesting debate between two commenters on my most recent article “Why a 15 P/E Ratio Represents Fair Value for Most (Not All) Companies: FedEx – Part 2.” In a nutshell, the argument revolved around whether dividends were a driver or a contributor to total return.
Why a 15 P/E Ratio Represents Fair Value for Most (not all) Companies: FedEx Part 2
One of my favorite Warren Buffett quotes is “investing is most intelligent when it is most businesslike.” The reason this quote resonates so much with me is because I believe it represents the essence of value investing.
Sound Valuation Is More Important Than Time In The Market: Part 1
I believe that two of the most important investing principles that prudent investors should embrace are valuation and time in the market. Consequently, the title of this article is mildly misleading, because both concepts are extremely important towards achieving long-term investing success. In other words, I believe attempting to argue the importance of one over the other is a waste of time and energy.
Here’s Why Valuation Determines Total Dividend Payments for Overvalued Stocks: Johnson & Johnson
In my most recent article a reader made a comment where a question was asked that I believe deserved a good answer. The following excerpt of the comment really reached out to me because this person claims to have been asking this question for 5 years without receiving a good answer.
WEC Energy Grp Inc. and NextEra Energy Inc.: My 2 Favorite Utility Companies, But I Hate Their Stock
It is quite easy to get caught up, and quite hard to avoid getting caught up in a great bull market like the one we are currently in. However, it’s important to remind ourselves that: “everybody is a genius in a bull market.”
7 China-based Stocks for High Growth at a Reasonable Price
China has rapidly become the second largest economy in the world – second only to the United States, and by some calculations the largest. As a result, China also has some of the fastest-growing publicly traded companies on the planet.