Sell Now! 20 Dicey Dividends for 2024

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I don’t want to be the messenger of bearish news to kick off the new year. But, as a card-carrying contrarian, I can’t help it either.

We should sell our dicey dividends now. While the market is high.

The best time to buy was October, when vanilla investors were fearful. We discussed “backing up the truck” to buy anything and everything week after week after week.

CNN’s Fear and Greed Index (FGI) had bottomed out at 16 out of 100, an Extreme Fear reading only seen during stock market panics:

1 Rally and 3 Months Ago: Extreme Fear

Meanwhile the bastion of basic financial thinking, MarketWatch.com,… Read more

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I don’t want to be the messenger of bearish news to kick off the new year. But, as a card-carrying contrarian, I can’t help it either.

We should sell our dicey dividends now. While the market is high.

The best time to buy was October, when vanilla investors were fearful. We discussed “backing up the truck” to buy anything and everything week after week after week.

CNN’s Fear and Greed Index (FGI) had bottomed out at 16 out of 100, an Extreme Fear reading only seen during stock market panics:

1 Rally and 3 Months Ago: Extreme Fear

Meanwhile the bastion of basic financial thinking, MarketWatch.com,… Read more

Read More

We’re heading towards the most telegraphed recession of all time. At least in recent memory.

So should we sell everything? Not exactly. Granted, recessions are usually bad for stocks. Vanilla investors who own nothing-but-ETFs are in a tough spot.

But since you’re reading this, I assume:

  1. You pick stocks better than a robotic ETF.
  2. You’re not scared of a stinkin’ recession. You’re here looking for high-yield exceptions to the “sell everything” rule.

I appreciate that about you, my fellow contrarian. If I thought rules applied to me, I would have made it past age 26 in Corporate America! This is why we get along so well.… Read more

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Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are retirement makers right now. Many are paying dividends that are three or even four times the market average.

Plus, these landlords are cheap. They are trading at multiples of cash flow that make them bargains compared with the S&P 500.

Why are these deals available? Rising rates.

In the near term, higher rates mean higher costs of capital for REITs, and more competition for income (as bond yields rise, too). That has knocked real estate stocks down—which is great news for us dividend investors, because it means they pay more.

Today, we’re going to look at a surprising three-pack of REITs that yield 3x to 4x the broader stock market and are outrunning not just the sector over the past few months, but the much better-performing S&P 500.… Read more

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There’s a famous experiment called “the marshmallow test.” In it, scientists give little kids a marshmallow along with a choice: Eat the treat immediately, or wait 15 minutes to get a SECOND marshmallow to snack on.

The test has been repeated several times over the years, and the results are pretty simple: Kids who delay their gratification for bigger rewards are typically more successful and more well-adjusted in the long run.

And let’s face it, we all know kids who wouldn’t even listen to the instructions and simply stuff that marshmallow in their face as soon as the adult leaves the room.… Read more

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In this zero point nothing yield environment, investors will scratch any post possible, attempting to unearth yield in sometimes all the wrong places.

Within my world of coverage (REITs), it’s a struggle to find attractive yields in that 5% plus range, something that used to be a lot simpler in more normal interest rate environments.

Today, the Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ) yields 2.6%, double that of the S&P 500 index. It’s not BAD, but it’s not what many of us need when planning out our retirement income.

I’ve seen an adventurous retiree or two dip their toes into those REITs yielding above 6%, grasping for yield, however ignoring all the risks associated with a dividend more than double the sector average.… Read more

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Another hand went up. I pointed for the next question.

When you consider dividend investments, Brett, what is more important in your opinion:

  • The current yield and value of the stock itself, or
  • The “engine” that is driving the business and the profits?

“Great question,” I replied. “The business engine. Always consider where the cash flow is coming from, first.”

In other words, if the business is humming, the dividends will be there. And as the payout keeps chugging along, so will the stock price. A dividend will protect the stock from downside and, with growth, provide a sweet kicker of upside.… Read more

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2020 is finally in the books, and many REITs (real estate investment trusts) remain in the bargain bin. Is it time to buy these generous dividend payers and bet on a 2021 rebound?

Savvy contrarians that we are, we’re focusing on REITs because they are the one part of the market that was left behind as everyone rushed back into stocks in the back half of 2020.

Normally, REITs more or less track the blue-chip index, but when COVID-19 crushed these landlords’ tenants, that changed in a big way: investors sold REITs—and they’re still on the mat.

REITs Fall Behind

That orange line is the price return of the benchmark Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ), which yields 4% today—a massive payout in today’s zero-point-nothing interest-rate world.… Read more

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Can we income seekers safely get back into REITs (real estate investment trusts) next year?

With the yield on the S&P 500 about to drop to a sad 1.5% (thanks, Tesla (TSLA) addition), renewed REIT-hope sure would be nice! The landlord industry index Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ) pays 3.5%. That’s a dividend oasis in this zero-point-nothing world.

Once upon a time, VNQ performed in-line or better than the blue-chip index. It was a pretty good deal, as you could double your dividend and keep up with the Joneses’ portfolio with less heartburn.

Then, April 2020 came along, tenants stopped paying rents, and REITs-at-large got crushed:

A Good REIT Run While It Lasted

Does the fork-in-the-road above represent a paradigm shift or relative value?… Read more

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There is a proven way to grab sturdy double-digit dividends in this income-starved market.

Today we’re going to follow it. The secret? Take a contrarian approach to a group of stocks most folks have (wrongly) soured on. Those stocks would be real estate investment trusts (REITs), which yield just over 4%, on average, putting the 1.7% paid by the typical S&P 500 stock to shame.

And if you make the simple move I’ll show you shortly, you could easily triple that 4% payout! You’ll give yourself a solid chance of beating the typical REIT investor’s returns, too.

I’ll give you names and tickers in a minute, but let’s talk first about an obvious trap most investors are falling into with REITs these days.… Read more

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