Author Archive: Brett Owens

26 days.

That’s how much diesel America has in its collective tank. Imagine that: a fuel that powers the shipment of goods pretty well everywhere. And only 26 days of it left.

It’s a crisis no one is talking about. Except folks in the shipping business. Or those who’ve had to buy home heating oil (a diesel derivative) recently.

Okay, I’ll admit I’m being a tad dramatic, as that 26-day figure is a rolling number: new diesel is added at one end as it’s burned at the other. But even so, the amount of diesel in storage has sunk to its lowest levels in 70 years.… Read more

Thank you, bear market. Thanks to a terrible 2022, we have four dirt-cheap dividend payers dishing up to 9%.

These are cash cows I’m talking about. Companies that gush free cash flow and shovel it back to us in the form of big yields.

Earnings are accounting numbers. Cash flow is real life.

And it’s not out of deals, either—in fact, over the past few days, I’ve kept increasingly close watch over a four-pack of cash cows with high yields of up to 9% and deliciously low prices.

But given a still-dangerous market environment, we need to focus on quality.… Read more

“Hey Brett. How’s the weather out there in California?”

My usual reply is “warm and sunny.” Simple. Gives the asker what they expect and keeps the pleasantries moving along.

If I was one for small talk, I would be tempted to mix in a confusing and way-too-detailed response. Like this:

“The weather? Well, Sacramento hit a low of 27 degrees in the early morning hours of February 24. And we cooked at an extreme 116 degrees on September 6. It has been quite the 12 months!”

Twelve months? Who cares about 12 months? Well, bond funds do.

Last week, we highlighted the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT): “It (TLT) boasts a 4.1% yield and has some serious upside potential.”… Read more

Now is the best time to roll out our favorite dividend “hack.” It’s a sneaky-smart strategy that lets us “time” the market for soaring dividend payouts (and a steady drip of price gains, too).

Our plan consists of two simple steps, which we’ll look at now. Then I’ll name two stocks that are perfect for this strategy. Both look set to roll out big dividend hikes soon.

Step 1: Buy Just as a Payout Hike Is Announced

We’ll start by “timing” our buys just as dividend hikes are announced. That’s a veteran move because a company’s stock almost always rises with its payouts—a predictable pattern I call the Dividend Magnet.… Read more

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

One week ago, money-printer-turned-inflation-hawk Jay Powell told the world he was going to keep hiking interest rates. And more than he thought his Federal Reserve needed just two months ago.

Yes, even higher interest rates. Obviously more bad news for bonds, right?

It depends. Let’s explore the second level take, because Jay’s outlook is actually bullish for a select slice of fixed income.

Our inspiration, as always, is renowned value investor Howard Marks, chief of Oaktree Capital Group, with $164 billion under management. Marks’ writing has won acclaim from legendary peers such as Joel Greenblatt, Jeremy Grantham, Seth Klarman and even Warren Buffett.… Read more

We’ve finally got something (two things, in fact!) working for us dividend investors in this dumpster-fire market:

• The midterm elections, which always bring a buying opportunity (as we’ll see below) and …

• The calendar, as stocks post most of their gains in the six months starting November 1.

The last time this “double-profit” setup appeared, after the 2018 midterms, we tapped it for a 57% return. That win was driven by a payout that grew quarterly.

Now we’ve got a chance to pull off the same feat again—with the same ticker we used then, too! This kind of opportunity is very rare indeed—only appearing once every four years.… Read more

As contrarian income seekers we buy when yields are high and prices are low. Today, we’re going to explore a three-pack of dividend funds that pays 8.5%.

This is “retire in style” income. We put a million dollars in these plays and get paid $85,000 per year. Plus, we keep our principal intact.

And wait, there’s more. The cheapest of these three funds is currently trading for just 89 cents on the dollar. Yes, that’s an 11% discount to the value of its underlying holdings.

Too good to be true? Or bottom-fishing bargain? Let’s explore my preferred dividend strategy and these three dividend machines.… Read more

$500K can be enough money to retire on. Even as early as age 50!

The trick is to convert the pile of cash into cash flow that can pay the bills. I’m talking about $35,000 to $40,000 per year or more in dividend income on that nest egg, thanks to 7% and 8% yields.

These are passive payouts that show up every quarter or, better yet, every month. Meanwhile, we keep that $500K nest egg intact. Or, better yet, grind that principal higher steadily and safely.

Got more in your retirement account? Cool—more monthly dividend income for you!

We’ll talk specific stocks, funds and yields in a moment.… Read more

We contrarian dividend buyers love it when an insider loads up on their own (ideally washed out!) stock. Especially when that stock is:

1. Throwing off its highest yield in years.
2. Growing its payout at a 9% annualized rate, and …
3. Tied to one of the biggest megatrends there is: our never-ending addiction to mobile data.

We’re seeing all three of the above with cell-tower REIT Crown Castle International (CCI), which has been knocked down some 37% in this selloff. That’s driven its yield up to 4.4%—just a shade below all-time highs!

A Megatrend Stock With a Mega-Yield

The insider? One Matthew Thornton III, a member of Crown Castle’s board who has a lot of skin in the game.… Read more