If You Have This Investing “Problem,” I’ve Got the (8.4%-Yielding) Fix

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If You Have This Investing “Problem,” I’ve Got the (8.4%-Yielding) Fix

Sometimes as income investors we face a situation that sounds like a good problem to have: We have to pick among a group of very impressive investments!

That’s obviously much tougher than, say, picking between a stock or fund with a winning record and another with a losing one.

But when you think about the investment choices you’ve made over the years, I think you’ll find that picking between options that seem equally good is actually what you’ve had to do most of the time.

To get into how to make a call when you face this situation, we’re going to use my favorite high-income plays: closed-end funds (CEFs), which routinely yield 8%+.… Read more

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15 Huge Dividends (7.6%+) That Are “Too Good to Be True”

With stocks back in “climb” mode (at least for now!), it could seem like a good time to look for a hedge against the next downturn.

If you’re looking for hedges that also pay big dividends, you might be considering resource funds—especially those in oil and gas, or maybe even gold.

Today I’m going to show you why you should resist this strategy, or at least be very careful about it. Closed-end funds (CEFs), which yield 8.3% on average today, are my beat at my CEF Insider service, so I’ll use CEFs (which we love, especially outside the resource space!)… Read more

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In a Nosebleed Market These Cheap Dividends Dish Up to 14%

With the market at nosebleed valuations, where can we look for value and yield?

Let’s turn to our favorite three-letter acronym. C-E-Fs.

As usual we have a handful of closed-end funds (CEFs) getting no love from Wall Street. This is perfect for us as we’re talking about dividends up to 14% and discounts between 10% and 15%.

In other words, these fat payers are trading for 85 to 90 cents on the dollar. Let’s discuss.

Gabelli Dividend & Income Trust (GDV)
Distribution Rate: 5.8%
Discount to NAV: 15.0%

We begin with Gabelli Dividend & Income Trust (GDV), a top-rate closed-end fund whose management team includes legendary value investor Mario Gabelli.… Read more

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Is There Any Reason to Hold a CEF Paying Less Than 5%?

Only here at Contrarian Outlook can we banter for an hour-plus about closed-end funds, utilities and oil dividends! This site is our sanctuary, my income friends.

I’m talking about our Contrarian Outlook 2024 Q2 VIP Webcast. Every quarter we fire up GoToWebinar and discuss the top high-yield stocks and bonds on my mind, along with your questions. A big thanks to my 1,151 subscriber friends who attended the meeting live.

On the call I fielded some questions about closed-end funds (CEFs) that we didn’t have time to cover. I said I’d read them all and, well, I did. So, let’s address them now.… Read more

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Quiet Government Move Will Send Oil (and This 9% Dividend) Soaring

The market volatility we contrarians have been waiting for is finally starting to show up—and we’re going to play it with a cheap energy fund paying a sweet 9.1% dividend.

These days, most investors think energy is played out. But the truth is, we’ve seen a “slow-mo” selloff, with crude tumbling about 10% from back in early April.

And we’ve got Uncle Sam on our side here, too.

This is an election year after all, and last week we got word the Biden Administration will empty the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve, set up to provide an emergency supply after Superstorm Sandy in 2014.… Read more

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How to Buy Yields up to 12% for Pennies on the Dollar

As contrarians, we search for income stocks that vanilla investors hate. Today there are not many dividend deals left. No surprise, with the market levitating since last October.

But! When we expand our search to CEFland, we do find a few closed-end funds (CEFs) left at the bottom of the bargain bin. Today we’ll discuss five that pay between 5.7% and 11.7% and trade at discounts between 12% and 18%.

In other words, these five CEFs trade for 82 to 88 cents on the dollar. Let’s explore whether each dividend is “cheap for a reason.”

General American Investors (GAM)
Distribution Rate: 5.7%
Discount to NAV: 18.4%

General American Investors (GAM) is a straightforward large-cap CEF that holds “companies with above-average growth potential.”… Read more

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Buy The Dip? Cool … But This 8.2% Dividend Almost Never Dips

Seriously. Alerian MLP ETF (AMLP) pays a dividend that is now a sizzling 8.2% (read: eight-point-two). Plus, the fund raises its payout regularly. It dishes 12% more today than it did twelve months ago!

As a result, AMLP is so popular that investors keep the price up!

Seriously, check out this quarter-ending stock price chart. AMLP’s quote may drift for a quarter, or two, max. That’s why any meanderings lower are great buying opportunities:


Source: Income Calendar

AMLP is up 19% since we added it to our Contrarian Income Report portfolio just over a year ago. Despite this stellar performance by an income stock, it may indeed be the one missed by most plain-vanilla investors.… Read more

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Did You Miss the Rally? 5 Still-Cheap Dividends Up to 12.3%

Mr. and Ms. Market are manic. Always have been, always will be. My fellow contrarian, they reminded us of this fact yet again.

Fortunately we were zigging while the broader crowd was zagging.

The herd’s “FOMO panic” last week pushed many of our stocks higher. Vanilla investors covered their ill-timed short positions and scrambled to buy bargains. Like the dividend deals we bought in October!

Did you miss out? Have cash suddenly burning a hole in your pocket? If so, no worries, a few select dividend deals remain.

I’m talking about yields up to 12.3% and discounts up to—get this—46%.… Read more

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Jay Powell’s Hands Are Tied – This 9.6% Dividend Directly Benefits

Looking to profit from oil-powered dividends? Look no further than this discounted payer dishing 9.6%.

Oil prices had plunged in recent months on recession fears. However, there’s still no recession. Oops. One point for the energy bulls.

Meanwhile, OPEC said enough “cheap” oil. On Sunday the cartel announced production cuts. Oil prices popped.

Will OPEC’s move prompt the Federal Reserve to raise rates even higher to cool demand for oil? I don’t think so because the Fed has a problem. It broke the banks! Higher rates could do more damage.

High oil is painful, but a banking crisis is worse.… Read more

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2 Ways to Play the Coming Oil Surge for 9% Dividends

All of my indicators are telling me that oil is getting set to rip higher. And when it does, we’re going to be ready with two funds throwing off outsized 9% dividend yields!

How can I be so sure the goo is a coiled spring? Well, for one, the two underrated oil funds we’ll discuss below trade at huge discounts to their “true” value. Right now, we can buy them for less than 90 cents on the dollar.

That gives our oil gains an extra boost. And if oil does break lower from here—something I see as highly unlikely—we’re still getting some nice downside protection, thanks to those very same discounts.… Read more

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