The Market’s a Ripoff Right Now, But These 4 High Yielders Aren’t

The Contrary Investing Report

Investing and Trading News, with a Contrarian, Sarcastic Twist!

The Market’s a Ripoff Right Now, But These 4 High Yielders Aren’t

Will the stock market finish the year higher or lower?

Who cares?!

Paying attention to “the market” is a hopeless effort in 2025. The explosion of AI implementation plus the policies from Trump 2.0 are creating winners and losers in the economy.

So why buy a basket when we can cherry pick the undervalued front runners?

Even better? Some are cheap! As I write, four big dividend payers (dishing divvies between 5% and 6%) are trading at bargain-basement valuations. Let’s start with the most established of the four-pack, trading for less than its annual sales…

Sonoco Products (SON)
Dividend Yield: 5.2%

Sonoco Products (SON) is a packaging dinosaur turned value play.… Read more

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The Market’s a Ripoff Right Now, But These 4 High Yielders Aren’t

Will the stock market finish the year higher or lower?

Who cares?!

Paying attention to “the market” is a hopeless effort in 2025. The explosion of AI implementation plus the policies from Trump 2.0 are creating winners and losers in the economy.

So why buy a basket when we can cherry pick the undervalued front runners?

Even better? Some are cheap! As I write, four big dividend payers (dishing divvies between 5% and 6%) are trading at bargain-basement valuations. Let’s start with the most established of the four-pack, trading for less than its annual sales…

Sonoco Products (SON)
Dividend Yield: 5.2%

Sonoco Products (SON) is a packaging dinosaur turned value play.… Read more

Read More

The Market’s a Ripoff Right Now, But These 4 High Yielders Aren’t

Will the stock market finish the year higher or lower?

Who cares?!

Paying attention to “the market” is a hopeless effort in 2025. The explosion of AI implementation plus the policies from Trump 2.0 are creating winners and losers in the economy.

So why buy a basket when we can cherry pick the undervalued front runners?

Even better? Some are cheap! As I write, four big dividend payers (dishing divvies between 5% and 6%) are trading at bargain-basement valuations. Let’s start with the most established of the four-pack, trading for less than its annual sales…

Sonoco Products (SON)
Dividend Yield: 5.2%

Sonoco Products (SON) is a packaging dinosaur turned value play.… Read more

Read More

Why Your Friends Are Losing $2,300 on Every $10K They Invest in Stocks

Selling on fear is a habit that’s so easy to fall into (especially now!). But giving in to it could cost you a lot: as much as $2,300 on every $10K invested.

And if you’re investing for income (as we are!), you face a double hit.

Not only do investors almost always get the timing wrong, but they cut off their income stream, too! When you’re holding our favorite income plays, closed-end funds (CEFs) yielding 8%+, it’s especially damaging.

I mention this now because I was reading a recent report from Morningstar that put the potential damage from this mistake into dollars and cents.… Read more

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A 12.5% Divvie for the Government Restart

My kids were minting money. One dollar for a regular bookmark. Two bucks for a fancy one!

Designed on the spot at the school bazaar. Took all of ten minutes. Aside from “labor,” the margins were huge. Paper and markers provided by the school.

The storefront? Courtesy of the school. Foot traffic from the local community! A captive, motivated audience!

The venture, Books and Marks (LLC?), also sold used books! Donated by parents and the campus, of course. Perfect margins for the operation.

The only thing that could slow this cash cow was 3pm—the end of the bazaar. Pack up the books, and the extra marks.… Read more

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The 1 “Killer” AI Dividend (7.9%) Almost No One Knows About

We’ve got a sweet deal on one of my favorite AI dividends (current yield: 7.9%). And it’s not just because of last week’s stock market drop—though that does help.

Truth is, the bargain on this stout fund has been hanging around for a while now. But it’s on borrowed time indeed. We need to make our move.

Forget NVIDIA: This Is the Best AI Buy on the Board 

The AI play in question is the Cohen & Steers Infrastructure Fund (UTF). It’s the closed-end fund (CEF) behind that 7.9% dividend (which, by the way, pays monthly).

In addition to the dividend, we like UTF because it’s a “tollbooth” play on AI.… Read more

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This 21% Dividend Yield Looks Great (Until You See This 1 Ugly Chart)

Today we’re going to run a simple “rinse and repeat” trade that—time and time again—gives us income investors what we all really want:

High—but sustainable—dividends, plus a nice capital gains “bonus.”

In other words, the full package of income and upside. In investing, this combo goes by the name total return, and it’s what we really need to focus on to build a portfolio that lets us retire with true peace of mind.

Most investors know this, but then quickly forget it when they run up against a stock with a massive yield, like the 21.1% (!) payout on Prospect Capital Corp.… Read more

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This 21% Dividend Yield Looks Great (Until You See This 1 Ugly Chart)

Today we’re going to run a simple “rinse and repeat” trade that—time and time again—gives us income investors what we all really want:

High—but sustainable—dividends, plus a nice capital gains “bonus.”

In other words, the full package of income and upside. In investing, this combo goes by the name total return, and it’s what we really need to focus on to build a portfolio that lets us retire with true peace of mind.

Most investors know this, but then quickly forget it when they run up against a stock with a massive yield, like the 21.1% (!) payout on Prospect Capital Corp.… Read more

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Market Disaster Prep Plan: 5 Low-Vol Dividends Paying Up to 8.6%

Each of my kids collected more than three pounds of candy on Halloween Night. Three-plus pounds! Their efforts were not superhuman by my best late-80s-to-early-90s estimation.

We are going to have these bags until Easter.

The candy hangover was real. Both YMCA basketball games played “the day after” were utter disasters for their dad and coach.

Sugar-high crashes are real. Which is why we are talking “sleep well at night” dividends paying up to 8.6% today.

Don’t be Coach Brett the day after Halloween. If you’re worried about a Wall Street sugar withdrawal, the time to prepare ye ‘ol portfolio is right now.… Read more

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This “AI-Powered” Strategy Gives Us 8% Dividends, and an Early Retirement, Too

If you’re retired (or planning your retirement—which, of course, we all are!), I have great news: You can probably take a lot more out of your nest egg every year than you think.

I’m talking about safely withdrawing 8% or more from your portfolio—without the prospect of living a lot longer than your money does!

We can thank an unlikely wealth generator for this turn of events: AI.

Before you ask, no, I’m not talking about putting a chatbot in charge of your finances! I’m talking about a low-key way the tech is helping retirees (and near-retirees) boost both their investment income and their net worth, leading to that huge 8%+ withdrawal rate we just talked about.… Read more

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