3 Shunned Stocks With Dividends Growing 206%+

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: March 9, 2021

There’s a quiet shift happening in the market, and we’re going to tap it for some big, and growing, dividends, plus serious price upside, too.

Here’s what I mean: after tech ran the show all of last year, fanboy (and -girl) faves like Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Tesla (TSLA) are cooling off, and other corners of the market are making a play for the lead role.

Big Tech Rolls Over …

Here’s more proof that a big shift is underway: all through last year, the S&P 500 as a whole powered higher. But if your portfolio is properly diversified, you know that this gain was a mirage.… Read more

This 5% Dividend Will Bounce on the Rising-Rate Scare

Michael Foster, Investment Strategist
Updated: March 8, 2021

We’re contrarians first and foremost here at Contrarian Outlook, so when we hear the latest “sure thing” from the mainstream crowd, we get more than a little suspicious.

So it goes with the recent round of selling on the stock markets, which has been driven by the “certainty” that interest rates will skyrocket, and higher rates will crush demand for stocks, especially the tech stocks that have driven the market’s rebound from the March 2020 crash.

Does this view stand up (sneak preview: no)? And what should we contrarians do in response (sneak preview: buy what everyone else is selling—particularly through a group of funds sporting some very impressive dividend yields).… Read more

Should We Buy These Hotel REITs Before Their Dividends Return?

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: March 5, 2021

These popular dividends were taken away in 2020. But rumors of a payout comeback are swirling, and the best time to buy these stocks may be right now.

Before America goes on a vacation binge, that is. See, these dividend payers will directly benefit from travelers being rereleased into the wild. We have been homebound for nearly a year now. (Sorry for the reminder!) But brighter days are ahead, and I know that my family is already booking out travel into 2022.

Should we pick up some hotel stocks while we’re online? After all, hotels will naturally benefit from our restlessness, as will their landlords—the real estate investment trusts (REITs) that were tossed aside this time last year.… Read more

These Stimulus-Powered Investments Could Soar 53%+

Michael Foster, Investment Strategist
Updated: March 4, 2021

There’s $2 trillion in cash headed straight into the US economy, and today we’re going to grab a share, both in the form of price gains and dividends.

I’m talking about the latest stimulus plan that’s made its way through the House of Representatives.

While plenty of folks fret over the rise in public debt this $1.9-trillion plan brings—and that’s a real concern—it’s a problem for another day. The cash is needed to get the economy through to the other side of the current crisis.

And pretty well all of this package is set to get spent through direct payouts to people and organizations that will spend it, with the headline item being $1,400 in stimulus checks (or about $1.1 trillion in all) going to taxpayers.… Read more

Floating Rate Bonds: The Retirement Play for 2021?

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: March 3, 2021

My friends and I couldn’t have been more excited about our college commencement speaker. Fresh off an electrifying cameo in the 2003 comedy movie Old School, James Carville’s next act was Cornell University.

At 21 years old, we had no idea what Carville actually did for a living. (Answer: Political consultant.) And though he was an engaging and entertaining speaker, I don’t remember a single word the “Ragin’ Cajun” said. Too bad, because he has had some major wisdom to impart.

Ten years earlier, Carville made an observation that is more prescient now than ever. After watching bond investors rebuff President Clinton’s economic stimulus proposals because they demanded a higher interest rate for US Treasuries, Carville coined this gem:

“I used to think that if there was reincarnation, I wanted to come back as a president or the pope or as a .400 baseball hitter.

Read more

This Stock Has a “Hidden” 6.1% Yield (and Rises With Interest Rates)

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: March 2, 2021

Today we’re going to bulk up our dividends—and position ourselves for some nice gains—with a group of stocks that pay us four ways as interest rates head skyward:

  1. By paying a dividend;
  2. By growing their dividend;
  3. By repurchasing shares, and;
  4. Through the pure profits they “bank” (hint!) as rates rise.

Let’s take that fourth point first, because as you likely know, the 10-year Treasury rate—which drives rates on everything from mortgages to car loans—is en fuego, having surged from 0.9% to more than 1.5% in less than two months.

Granted, a 1.5% Treasury rate would be considered low pre-pandemic. But now it has us choking on our morning coffee!… Read more

The Ultimate U.S. Recovery Play: 10% Dividends and Upside Ahead

Michael Foster, Investment Strategist
Updated: March 1, 2021

Patriotism is rarely a good guide when making investment decisions, but these days it just might be, as Americans now have a terrific reason to buy US stocks.

That would be a surge in vaccinations that’s put the US ahead of most of the world on the road to recovery, while at the same time, US stocks are lagging behind their global competitors. This is a disconnect contrarians like us can use to position ourselves for some nice gains and big dividends in the months ahead.

US Vaccinations Ramping Up

Source: Bloomberg

Right now, we’re seeing an average of about 2.5 million doses being distributed across the US per day, meaning we could hit the bottom edge of herd immunity in about 50 days.… Read more

How to Turn Rising Rates Into a 9% Annual Payday

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: February 26, 2021

Anyone up for a 10.2% payout? One that is powered by profits that should actually rise alongside interest rates?

If so, I’ve got a three-letter acronym for us:

B-D-C.

Business development companies provide debt, equity and other financing to small and midsized companies, effectively acting as banks because banks often don’t want to take on that level of risk. And because they’re primarily investing in companies that aren’t on public markets, BDCs serve as de facto private equity investments—but ones that retail investors like us can get in on!

BDC structures are similar to real estate investment trusts (REITs). Both were created by Congress—REITs in 1960, BDCs in 1980.… Read more

This Low-Key Fund Is the Hottest Retail Play of 2021 (Yields 7.1%)

Michael Foster, Investment Strategist
Updated: February 28, 2021

One of the great things about closed-end funds (CEFs) is that there’s one out there we can use to tap just about any trend—and turn it into a nice 7.1%+ dividend payout.

Take the surge in retail we saw last month. Despite the pandemic, Americans are hitting the stores again (with many doing so online):

Retail Sales Surge

In January, retail sales jumped 5.3%, far ahead of economists’ expectations of 1.2% gains. This was helped by a 0.7% sales drop in December, but it’s undoubtedly the result of the latest round of stimulus checks.

Retail ETF Soars, But Its Dividend Leaves Much to Be Desired

That’s great news for retailers because it proves that consumers are spending their COVID aid money instead of hoarding it.… Read more

Rising Rate Dividend Plays Paying Up to 9.8%

Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: February 24, 2021

On Sunday night, our old friend exclaimed to my wife and me: “How have you all been??”

It’d been, well, almost a year since we’d been to her bar. We had plenty to catch up on with our drink-slinging pal as we sipped and snacked. Back on the home front, our babysitter had recently resurfaced and appeared to have bedtime under control. It was nice to have a throwback evening, the type we all took for granted just 12 months ago.

In the interim, many income investors have, likewise, taken low long-term rates for granted. Not we contrarians, of course.… Read more