Author Archive: Brett Owens

We can’t take every dividend we see at face value. Especially when we’re talking about 8%, 9% and even 10% yields.

Bull markets, government stimulus, money printing and the scent of all-time highs might give the impression that any stock is safe. Unfortunately that isn’t the case. Even in a bull market, there are dividend traps paying 8% to 10% that’ll sink despite the broader rising tide.

The market might have taken a deep breather earlier this spring, but multiple expansion hardly slept a wink. Thanks to battered earnings, the S&P 500 has only gotten more expensive as the year has rolled on.… Read more

Earlier this year, we added Synovus (SNV) to our Contrarian Income Report portfolio. We’ve enjoyed 36% total returns—including a couple of fat dividends—in the six months since. On a yearly basis, these gains annualize to 75%.

“Can we do this every time?” subscribers have asked?

That’s asking a bit much, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. (My young daughters know this well, because they are not shy about asking to eat ice cream at every meal!)

After all, if we reach for 75% yearly gains and have to “settle” for 17.5% profits, we’ll take that. It’s really about the process and stacking the probabilities in our favor on each given dividend purchase.… Read more

Even with the S&P 500 back on the rise, we still have a shot at serious upside. And we’ll double up our dividends in short order, too. We’ll do it by snagging some of the fastest-growing payouts on the planet.

That’s not all—we’ll also buffer our payouts against the next crash by stocking up on companies with “fortress” balance sheets, specifically firms whose cash holdings dwarf their debt. Dividend-payers like these—I’ve got four examples for you below—will (eventually) dole out their cash to us in three ways:

• Investing in the business,through R&D spending and capital expenditures, fueling their earnings per share (EPS) and, by extension, their share prices.

The mortgage. The car payment. The power bill. The cell phone bill. Your regular dividend check.

One of these things, I’m sorry to say, is not like the others.

While almost every one of your obligations comes once a month across all 12 months of the year, most stocks or funds you can invest in will pay you just four times a year.

If you’re still working, you’re probably thinking “no big deal.” That’s true—your job pays you once or twice a month, so who cares when you collect dividends? You’re not touching your 401(k) or IRA now anyway.

But retirees know the struggle.… Read more

It was a simpler time years ago in America when my grandfather shared some nutritional advice with me:

“So, you’ve got the tomato sauce. Tomatoes. They’re good for ya,” as he put out his thumb to indicate the count was now one.

“And the cheese,” he continued. “Dairy. That’s good, too.”

Two fingers on grandpa’s right hand reflected the updated count.

“Plus the bread. That’s another group.”

Three points for pizza being good for you. My 12-year-old self was thrilled! I informed my parents about the good news on our car ride home from grandma and grandpa’s.

“You are not having pizza for every meal,” they quickly dismissed my nutritional news.… Read more

Election chaos—especially after Friday’s bombshell—could be a knockout blow for this market bounce. I’m worried. And going by our Contrarian Outlook mailbag, plenty of readers are, too.

A typical question goes like this: “Brett, what should I buy/hold/sell if X/Y/Z happens after November 3?”

Now we have to add the president’s positive coronavirus test into the mix!

Rest easy—I’ve got you covered. Today we’re going to talk about two stocks you could hold through 2021, 2022, 2023, and beyond. These companies’ current dividends are much higher than the S&P 500 average. But the real story is their dividend growth, which will triple up your income stream in short order.… Read more

Dividend safety matters more than ever today. And we can’t take the continued presence of a payout for granted, either. There are still shoes waiting to drop on dividends that are widely thought to be “secure.”

But how do we verify dividend safety?

The answer is simple: We look for stocks that are throwing cash at shareholders like it’s no big deal. By “following the money” we’ll also find shares that are:

• On pace to double their dividends every few years, with
• The safest dividends to boot.

The conventional wisdom says you can trust companies with entrenched, long-growing dividends because they have a reputation to uphold.… Read more

Is it time to buy the dip?

Almost. And when we do, let’s not just “buy” an index fund (or worse, a lame ETF!) and “hope” that we timed it right. No, no, we contrarian income seekers can do better.

Let’s instead choose investments that cash flow. In a moment we’ll talk about one that yields 7.4%.

And let’s not buy them at mere “face value” either. Only the unsophisticated first-level types, as our man Howard Marks calls these marks, pay full price! We can, and should, demand discounts in addition to the pullback.

The major indices have officially “corrected” from their September highs (which is typically defined as a 10% decline).… Read more

Finally—a selloff! It’s the perfect time for us to add secure monthly dividend stocks to our portfolio now that their valuations have landed back here on Planet Earth. I’m talking about every-30-day payers with dividends that annualize up to 7.1%.

Their price decline has increased their dividend yields, giving us a shot at a terrific combo: higher yields, monthly payouts and price upside. Yes, you read that right. We don’t have to “settle” for 7.1% yields that are paid to us monthly. By buying right, we can capture some price gains, to boot.

Monthly Dividend Stocks Make Sense for Retirees—and Aspiring Retirees

If you’re relying on your portfolio for income, monthly dividends are a godsend, because managing your cash flow from stocks paying quarterly is a total headache.… Read more

Are you trying to grind out a livable retirement on dividends alone? It’s possible, and it doesn’t require millions and millions already in the bank. (Even today, with interest rates in the tank.)

However, we must step outside the mainstream to achieve this. After all, why mess around with a standard $15,600 a year in retirement income when we can “supersize” that annual yield haul up to $108,000?

The “standard” $15.6K is what we get listening to mainstream financial advisors and pundits, and buying the vanilla ETFs that they recommend. The latter $108K is what we can achieve with a little bit of original thinking.… Read more