One of my dividend stocks (KSS) reported their earnings yesterday morning. I have to admit, that when I read them I thought, "why do I own this stock?". Margins are down, sales are flat, outlook was so-so. About all they could say was they were managing their internal expenses. I was thus surprised when the stock spiked up 90 cents in the first 30 minutes. I wondered if people had read the same report I had read, or rather expectations were SO low that anything was ok? I was tempted to sell, but I find my dividend stocks to be stickier (meaning I am willing to tough it out) for me. Of course, short term the sale would have been the right move, it ended up down a percent or so.
The reason I did not sell, is because I am trying to have a diversified portfolio. Kohl's is my only retail stock. I did look at a couple of others, including M, BKE and CATO - all of which pay a modest dividend. But I felt they were all about the same. They are all trading at about 10x next year's earnings. BKE and CATO have the cleanest balance sheets. I do think Kohl's competes directly with JC Penney, and with all due respect to the new Apple guy they hired, I feel JCP is lost. So I remain with KSS.
Wrong Again
At the start of the week, I profiled a group of MFI dividend stocks and stated I would have to hold my nose if I were to buy them. Well, they have had a strong first week, up about 5.5% thus far. Too bad that is just make-believe gains.
| Ticker | Mcap | Dividend | Price | Yield | Initial Price | Change |
| GNI | 105 | 15.00 | 69.20 | 21.7% | 68.40 | 1.2% |
| PDLI | 927.48 | 0.60 | 7.00 | 8.6% | 6.68 | 4.8% |
| PETS | 195.22 | 0.60 | 9.72 | 6.2% | 9.50 | 2.3% |
| STRA | 861.81 | 4.00 | 73.00 | 5.5% | 69.98 | 4.3% |
| HRB | 4,673.90 | 0.75 | 16.12 | 4.7% | 15.60 | 3.3% |
| STX | 11,737.10 | 1.28 | 33.09 | 3.9% | 29.96 | 10.4% |
| SAI | 3,980.88 | 0.48 | 12.00 | 4.0% | 11.44 | 4.9% |
| MANT | 773.44 | 0.84 | 22.23 | 3.8% | 20.25 | 9.8% |
| GME | 2,121.24 | 0.60 | 16.83 | 3.6% | 15.75 | 6.9% |
| RTN | 18,230.12 | 2.00 | 55.96 | 3.6% | 54.28 | 3.1% |
| NSU | 677.59 | 0.10 | 3.79 | 2.6% | 3.33 | 13.8% |
| JCOM | 1,356.20 | 0.86 | 28.73 | 3.0% | 29.55 | -2.8% |
| MSFT | 246,485.20 | 0.80 | 30.50 | 2.6% | 29.19 | 4.5% |
My portfolio was very flat yesterday, up eight basis points. I think we are officially in the Dog Days of August.
I did have XOM go x-dividend for me yesterday. That is a stock I wish I had bought more of - it is a relatively small holding in my portfolio, but has done well. Next week is a busy x-dividend week, I have six stocks going x dividend and placing another $1,819 in my pocket (of course I will just re-invest those dividends):
| Stock | Shares | x Date | Div/Share | Est New Shares | Amount |
| BHK | 2,994 | 8/12/12 | $ 0.07 | 14.0 | 219 |
| FSC | 2,678 | 8/13/12 | $ 0.10 | 24.0 | 257 |
| JQC | 4,717 | 8/13/12 | $ 0.07 | 33.0 | 316 |
| MPC | 575 | 8/14/12 | $ 0.35 | 4.0 | 201 |
| MSFT | 959 | 8/15/12 | $ 0.20 | 6.0 | 192 |
| PRE | 1,023 | 8/17/12 | $ 0.62 | 8.0 | 634 |
| OIBAX | 3,837 | 8/30/12 | $ 0.02 | 12.0 | 81 |
| O | 548 | 8/30/12 | $ 0.15 | 1.0 | 80 |
| KSS | 909 | 9/4/12 | $ 0.32 | 5.0 | 291 |
| CSQ | 5,329 | 9/8/12 | $ 0.07 | 37.0 | 373 |
| HFC | 1,069 | 9/8/12 | $ 0.15 | 4.0 | 160 |
Posts
2 comments:
Marsh - part of the problem with the MFI list is that it seems to include inappropriate stocks. E.g., GNI is a trust that will be dissolved in about 3 years, which likely explains its very high yield. JG's book talked about excluding non-US stocks, and yet his list includes some ADRs. If you start a real dividend MFI portfolio, what will be your criteria?
i would certainly not buy a GNI. I would actually think hard about any trusts as they do not really fit the mold of a company (like Jason's Bubble Gum shop) that can re-invest and expand their profits. Regarding ADRs, I would consider them, but it would limited to certain countries, such as Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Israel and a few others. I did a study once by country and found that only a few countries are thel ones to avoid.
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