These Tax-Free 7.7% Dividends Just Grew 30%+ Overnight

The Contrary Investing Report

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

These Tax-Free 7.7% Dividends Just Grew 30%+ Overnight

Some of our favorite high-yield dividends just did something stunning: They sent their investors’ payouts soaring—in some cases by more than 30% overnight.

All of these high-paying dividend growers are municipal bond funds, a corner of the market many folks see as boring—if they know about it at all.

I don’t know what’s “boring” about a payout that leaps double-digits in one go—and hands us a 7%+ tax-free dividend, to boot!

That’s exactly what’s happened at a slew of “muni” focused closed-end funds (CEFs) in the last month or so. (Municipal bonds are issued by state and local governments to fund infrastructure projects).… Read more

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The Surprising “Signal” These 8% Dividends Give Before They Soar

Closed-end funds (CEFs) are my No. 1 income plays for a reason that goes beyond their huge dividends: We can tap these off-the-radar (for now!) funds for big price gains, too.

We do this in my CEF Insider service using a time-tested CEF tactic: Buy CEFs trading at discounts to net asset value (NAV, or the value of their portfolios), then sell them at par or, better yet, a premium.

This isn’t rocket science: We’re following the oldest investor play there is: Buy low and sell high! To do it, we’re letting the discount to NAV, a critical CEF metric, be our guide.… Read more

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The Surprising “Signal” These 8% Dividends Give Before They Soar

Closed-end funds (CEFs) are my No. 1 income plays for a reason that goes beyond their huge dividends: We can tap these off-the-radar (for now!) funds for big price gains, too.

We do this in my CEF Insider service using a time-tested CEF tactic: Buy CEFs trading at discounts to net asset value (NAV, or the value of their portfolios), then sell them at par or, better yet, a premium.

This isn’t rocket science: We’re following the oldest investor play there is: Buy low and sell high! To do it, we’re letting the discount to NAV, a critical CEF metric, be our guide.… Read more

Read More

Insiders Are Pouring Cash Into These 6%-12% Dividends

Who cares what financial “pundits” are yapping about? Show us the money. Show us what the insiders are scooping up!

I was going to say “cue the Drake meme.” Let me go ahead and tee that up.

Insider buying, generally speaking, is more predictive than insider selling. The C-level types may sell stock to buy new boats or bribe their kids’ way into college. (Ha!)

But when these guys and gals buy, it’s for one reason. They believe their stock’s price is undervalued, and that it’s due to pop.

Insider buying activity has been quiet of late. No surprise there: The market is setting new highs on the regular, and many execs are nervous about buying when their stocks are at or near all-time highs.… Read more

Read More

Insiders Are Pouring Cash Into These 6%-12% Dividends

Who cares what financial “pundits” are yapping about? Show us the money. Show us what the insiders are scooping up!

I was going to say “cue the Drake meme.” Let me go ahead and tee that up.

Insider buying, generally speaking, is more predictive than insider selling. The C-level types may sell stock to buy new boats or bribe their kids’ way into college. (Ha!)

But when these guys and gals buy, it’s for one reason. They believe their stock’s price is undervalued, and that it’s due to pop.

Insider buying activity has been quiet of late. No surprise there: The market is setting new highs on the regular, and many execs are nervous about buying when their stocks are at or near all-time highs.… Read more

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Time to Profit From the 8% “Wallflowers” of the Dividend World

I’ve dedicated my career to closed-end funds (CEFs) because in a way, these high-yield investments saved my life: Using these funds to get an 8% income stream from my portfolio gave me the confidence I needed to quit my academic job well over a decade ago.

I started writing about CEFs after that, mostly out of surprise and confusion: Why weren’t these reliable income plays—which yield 8.2% on average now—more popular?

Well, after over a decade of talking to economists, bankers, fund managers and other experts, I’ve come to realize they should be more popular, and that they probably would be after a big shock to markets made them irresistible.… 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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The “Electrify Everything” Trend Is Real: These Dividends Will Win Big

The media hype machine is in overdrive, pushing utility stocks as a savvy way to play AI’s growth. You’ve no doubt seen these headlines (or some of the hundreds of others like them):

  • “The Unlikely Stocks That Became a Hot Bet on AI” –The Wall Street Journal
  • “AI Could Drive a Natural Gas Boom as Power Companies Face Surging Electricity Demand” –CNBC
  • “Utility Stocks Could Be Headed for a Decade of Strong Growth, Driven by Data, AI” –Barron’s

Before we go further, let me say right off the hop that we contrarians never chase headlines—we’re always looking to buy value first and foremost—high-yielding stocks that are washed out, in other words.… Read more

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The “Sleepy” 8%-Yielding Corner of the Market Is Finally Waking Up

I’ve been covering closed-end funds (CEFs) for more than a decade. Through that time (and still today!) I’ve been shocked at how many people sleepwalk right past these incredible income plays, and the big dividends (and upside) they offer.

CEFs are publicly traded and highly regulated, like mutual funds or ETFs. The key difference? Big dividends! The 500 or so CEFs out there yield 8.4% on average, and they’ve historically have yielded 7%+.

They work by investing in the kinds of assets most of us own already—stocks, bonds and real estate mostly. They then hand out the resulting profits as dividends.… Read more

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Bet on Small Businesses (And Get Paid 9%+ Every Year!)

These small business lenders trade publicly—and offer payouts between 10.5% and 13%.

You have our attention.

We’ll discuss three stocks in the space in a moment. First, let’s address why these companies exist.

When small businesses need cash, they typically don’t dial up their banks. Increasingly, they turn to a small subset of private equity-esque companies for help. These unique companies throw off double-digit yields and can often be found trading for less than they’re worth. Not bad when we’re talking dividends up to 13%!

My Favorite Way to Collect Big Checks From Small Businesses

Once upon a time, when small businesses held out their hands for much-needed growth capital, banks were the only game in town.… Read more

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