Category Archives: Dividend Achiever Watch List

U.S Dividend Watch List: December 8, 2017

Previous Year Performance Review

In our ongoing review of the NLO Dividend Watch List, we have taken the top five stocks on our list from December 9, 2016 and have checked the performance one year later. The top five companies on that list can be seen in the table below.

Symbol Name 2015 Price 2016 Price % change
KMB Kimberly-Clark Corp. 114.61 120.11 4.8%
MDT Medtronic 73.35 81.07 10.5%
CLX Clorox 115.29 145.23 26.0%
HRL Hormel Foods Corp. 34.39 37.24 8.3%
PPL PP&L Corporation 33.51 34.50 3.0%
      Average 10.5%
         
DJI Dow Jones Industrial 19,756.85 24,329.16 23.1%
SPX S&P 500 2,259.53 2,651.50 17.3%

The top five companies gained 10.5% on average. The best performer was Clorox (CLX) which rose 26.0%. Clorox's P/E at the time of our watch list publication was 23, a high multiple for large company. One of theory we have been pondering about is the exceptional return from high P/E stocks that appear on our watch list. More assessment of this thesis is to come.

Although the average gain didn't exceed the market return of 17.3% from S&P500 or the Dow Jones Industrial gain of 23.1%, we consider return of more than 10% to be satisfactory.

The worst performer is a utility holding company,PP&L Corporation (PPL). Interestingly, PP&L is appearing on this week watch list as shares fell from $40 to $34.50. One story our team is discussing has to do with the energy usage pertaining to mining of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency. Could this be the catalyst that propel utilities companies to higher profitability? It's certainly possible. This article on WIRED highlights important data point in that regard.

U.S Dividend Watch List: December 8, 2017

The relentless bull market marched forward. There's little sign of slowing down but a correction surely is in the future and healthy. The difficulty of seeking viable new investment in this environment is challenging but not impossible. Every now and then, the market give us the opportunity to establish a position. Many of those companies can be found by tracking our watch list for fundamental and track its technical for better timing. Below are companies on our list this week. Continue reading

U.S Dividend Watch List: November 10, 2017

The market is making an attempt to best the 2,600 level on S&P 500. Will wait and see if the bull could make this happen and closed the year above that level. This has been a slow and steady incline since 2,400 mark back in August. A correction to 50 days SMA, which is the range of 2,550, is probable and healthy. We do hope that some kind of correction is in the near future. When that occurs, we have 66 companies on the list as a starting point. Continue reading

U.S. Dividend Watch List: November 3, 2017

Top Five Watch List Performance Review

In our ongoing review of the NLO Dividend Watch List, we have taken the top five stocks on our list from November 4, 2014 and have checked the performance one year later. The top five companies on that list can be seen in the table below.

Symbol Name 2015 Price 2016 Price % change
CLX Clorox 113.35 128.11 13.0%
KMB Kimberly-Clark Corp. 112.29 110.79 -1.3%
PBI Pitney Bowes Inc 14.25 11.25 -21.0%
DBD Diebold 21.10 18.35 -13.0%
RLI RLI Corp. 54.79 58.95 7.6%
      Average -3.0%
         
DJI Dow Jones Industrial 17,888.28 23,539.19 31.6%
SPX S&P 500 2,085.18 2,587.84 24.1%

Prior Year Performance Review

The top five companies from last year's list were outperformed by the market. The strength of this bull market has propelled the market to its all-time high. We believed that Clorox (CLX) and Kimberly-Clark (KMB) were quality companies worth considering as income producing asset while Pitney Bowes (PBI) should be placed under speculative category. Reviewing the performance table above and we believed our initial assessment was accurate.

The other two companies we mentioned were CVS Caremark (CVS) and Nike (NKE). Despite some negative news on Nike, the company performed well while CVS fell 16% for the year.

U.S. Dividend Watch List: November 3, 2017

It appears that nothing can slow or stop this bull market from marching forward. Growth and momentum stocks are in the range while value strategy is left in the dust. That's precisely the situation we are in. Despite that, we remain true to this strategy and will continue to seek quality company at a reasonable price. Below are 63 companies trading at or near its yearly high. Continue reading

U.S Dividend Watch List: October 20, 2017

The bull market march on this week. The S&P 500 is only 25 points away from 2,600. Though it is difficult to find quality companies to purchase at a discount price when the market is at the all-time high, we managed to put together a list of high quality companies which pay dividend trading near their yearly low. Below are list of 30 companies for this week. Continue reading

U.S Dividend Watch List: September 22, 2017

Previous Year Performance Review

In our ongoing review of the NLO Dividend Watch List, we have taken the top five stocks on our list from September 23, 2016 and have checked the performance one year later. The top five companies on that list can be seen in the table below.

Symbol Name 2015 Price 2016 Price % change
WFC Wells Fargo & 45.74 54.25 18.6%
TROW T. Rowe Price Group 65.92 86.69 31.5%
GCI Gannett Co Inc 11.75 8.05 -31.5%
NPBC National Penn Bancshares 10.72 10.72 0.0%
CVS CVS Caremark Corp 90.60 79.63 -12.1%
      Average 1.3%
         
DJI Dow Jones Industrial 18,261.45 22,349.59 22.4%
SPX S&P 500 2,164.69 2,502.22 15.6%

The top five companies on our underperformed the market due to loss from Gannett Co (GCI) and CVS Caremark (CVS). We didn't elaborated on these companies but did highlighted two that out performend the market. Wells Fargo (WFC) and T.Rowe Price (TROW) were both mentioned by our team. Lucky for us, they have gained 18.6% and 31.5% respectively. At the time, we thought that the issue Wells Fargo faced regarding fraudulent account was a one-time problem. Continue reading

U.S Dividend Watch List: September 1, 2017

There are 50 names on the list this week. We hope that you find companies that suit your investment strategy. Continue reading

U.S Dividend Watch List: August 18, 2017

It has been an interesting week to say the least. With political unrest occurring while the markets continue to stay at or near the all-time highs. However, the rally was short lived and markets sold off nearly -3% from the high by the end of the week. The market breadth, based on the number of companies on our watch list, is telling a different story. There are 61 names on the list this week which is the most we've had since the start of this year. Continue reading

U.S Dividend Watch List: August 4, 2017

Previous Year Performance Review

In our ongoing review of the NLO Dividend Watch List, we have taken the top five stocks on our list from August 5, 2016 and have checked the performance one year later. The top five companies on that list can be seen in the table below.

Symbol Name 2015 Price 2016 Price % change
GCI Gannett Co Inc 12.27 8.96 -27.0%
NPBC National Penn Bancshares 10.72 10.72 0.0%
CCBG Capital City Bank Group 13.84 21.32 54.0%
BF-B Brown-Forman Corp. CL 'B' 48.75 48.52 -0.5%
WFC Wells Fargo & 48.68 52.84 8.5%
      Average 7.0%
         
DJI Dow Jones Industrial 18,543.53 22,092.81 19.1%
SPX S&P 500 2,182.87 2,476.83 13.5%

Little was said about the top five companies in prior year. The one actionable item from our commentary was additional purchase of Carbo Ceramic (CRR) which didn't pan out well as oil supply continue to exceed demand. Despite that, the top five companies on our list returned 7% on average. The largest gain came from small regional bank Capital City Bank (CCBG). The biggest decline occurred in Gannett (GCI).

U.S. Dividend Watch List: August 4, 2017

The Dow reached another milestone breaking above 22,000 mark and closed the week at an all-time high. As a student of Dow Theory, it would be interesting to see Dow Jones Transport achieve the same mark. Despite that, we are still a continuation of a bull market. Below are companies on our watch list which we use as a starting point for our investment research. Continue reading

U.S Dividend Watch List: July 21, 2017

Previous Year Performance Review

In our ongoing review of the NLO Dividend Watch List, we have taken the top five stocks on our list from July 22, 2016 and have checked the performance one year later. The top five companies on that list can be seen in the table below.

Symbol Name 2015 Price 2016 Price % change
AXS Axis Capital Holdings Ltd 53.56 65.00 21.4%
WFC Wells Fargo & 48.32 54.17 12.1%
FNB F.N.B. Corp. 12.13 13.29 9.6%
TIF Tiffany & Co. 62.00 93.71 51.1%
HFC HollyFrontier Corporation 24.12 27.32 13.3%
      Average 21.5%
         
DJI Dow Jones Industrial 18,570.85 21,580.07 16.2%
SPX S&P 500 2,175.03 2,472.54 13.7%

The top five companies from our list one year ago gained on average 21.5%. The biggest contributor to this gain came from Tiffany & Co. (TIF) which rose 51.1%. We took a bullish bet on Tiffany last year with a call option that turned out to be a well timed speculation. You can find more detail about that transaction here.

U.S. Dividend Watch List: July 21, 2017

It's another record week for the market as both the Dow Jones Industrial and S&P 500 reached all-time high. Interestingly, we believe that market breadth may be weakening as more more companies (more than 40) are appearing on our watch list. Similar condition last year produced 7 companies on our watch list. Our team would urge caution as new positions are established and existing positions are accumulated. If one are to start accumulating, we suggest start with companies on our watch list. Continue reading

U.S Dividend Watch List: July 7, 2017

Previous Year Performance Review

In our ongoing review of the NLO Dividend Watch List, we have taken the top five stocks on our list from July 8, 2016 and have checked the performance one year later. The top five companies on that list can be seen in the table below.

Symbol Name 2015 Price 2016 Price % change
HFC HollyFrontier Corporation 22.72 27.09 19.2%
NPBC National Penn Bancshares 10.72 10.72 0.0%
STT State Street Corp. 53.23 90.87 70.7%
STBA S&T BanCorp. 24.34 36.92 51.7%
AXS Axis Capital Holdings Ltd 53.98 64.13 18.8%
      Average 32.1%
         
DJI Dow Jones Industrial 18,146.74 21,414.34 18.0%
SPX S&P 500 2,129.90 2,425.18 13.9%

The average return of the top five companies were exceptional at 32.1%. We were somewhat bullish about financial sector due to the large number of financial companies on our list. As such, we pointed our readers to Financial Sector ETF (XLF) which rose 32% for the year. Such strategy eliminated individual share risk. However, doing so would preclude you to more lucrative gain from shares of the like of State Street (STT) and S&T BanCorp (STBA)

Other notable companies include Tiffany (TIF), Target (TGT), Brown-Forman (BF-B), and Cardinal Health (CAH). Only Tiffany managed a positive return for the year. We may be blinded by our personal bias but we believe that these names still offer great value proposition for any income investors.

U.S. Dividend Watch List: July 7, 2017

There was some volatility in the market this week. Though the market ended the week relatively flat, the VIX rose 14% for the week. We urge readers to take caution as correction could occur at any moment. Our strategy is to utilize our watch list as a starting place for research. Below, you will 47 companies on our watch list. Continue reading

U.S. Dividend Watch List: June 23, 2017

Previous Year Performance Review

In our ongoing review of the NLO Dividend Watch List, we have taken the top five stocks on our list from June 24, 2016 and have checked the performance one year later. The top five companies on that list can be seen in the table below.

Symbol Name 2015 Price 2016 Price % change
CAH Cardinal Health 75.23 79.68 5.9%
STBA S&T BanCorp. 24.04 35.36 47.1%
TIF Tiffany & Co. 60.09 91.79 52.8%
GS Goldman Sachs Group 141.86 217.19 53.1%
HFC HollyFrontier Corporation 24.16 27.15 12.4%
      Average 34.2%
         
DJI Dow Jones Industrial 18,011.07 21,394.76 18.8%
SPX S&P 500 2,113.32 2,438.30 15.4%

The performance of the top five companies were exceptional. The best performing stock was Goldman Sachs (GS) which gained 53%. Our take on the financial sector was wrong as we specifically urged readers to hold off on this sector for several months. Shares of Goldman did not fall below $139.50.

Trailing Goldman by a fraction of percentage point is Tiffany & Co. (TIF) whose shares rose 52.8%. Share price closed the week at $91.79 and we said last year that our fair value estimate for this company is around $100. Our assessment for Tiffany have proven to be correct and profitable as we were long Tiffany at the time of writing.

The worse performer was Cardinal Health (CAH) which gained only 5.9%. We thought shares should trade closer to $85 but that was wishful thinking on our part. Despite that, the company continued to provide dividend as income to shareholders.

U.S. Dividend Watch List: June 23, 2017

It was an uneventful week for the market and we're in the waiting mode to see of the S&P can break above 2,450 mark. At the end of the week, there are 36 companies on our dividend watch list. Continue reading

U.S. Dividend Watch List: June 16, 2017

It seems that even the Fed can't move the market with interest rate hike as the market was flat for the week. Despite the market being near its all-time high, our work of searching companies at their new low doesn't stop. Below, you will find a list of companies with good historical record of dividend paying company trading at or near its yearly low. Continue reading

U.S. Dividend Watch List: May 26, 2017

Previous Year Performance Review

In our ongoing review of the NLO Dividend Watch List, we have taken the top five stocks on our list from May 27, 2016 and have checked the performance one year later. The top five companies on that list can be seen in the table below.

Symbol Name 2016 Price 2017 Price % change
CALM Cal-Maine Foods 45.74 40.65 -11.1%
HFC HollyFrontier Corporation 26.96 24.77 -8.1%
CAH Cardinal Health 78.15 73.10 -6.5%
NPBC National Penn Bancshares 10.72 10.72 0.0%
TIF Tiffany & Co. 62.54 86.18 37.8%
      Average 2.4%
         
DJI Dow Jones Industrial 17,873.22 21,080.28 17.9%
SPX S&P 500 2,099.06 2,415.82 15.1%

The S&P 500 rose +15.10% in the last year. However, the top five companies on our watch list gained only +2.40% due to underperformance of 4 companies. The worst performer was Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) which is a major producer of eggs. We thought that the bottom was near at the time but we were proven wrong. Falling not far behind was HollyFrontier (HFC) which fell -8.10%. We didn't believe the company was providing enough margin of safety until it traded below book value. Refining is a difficult business but the utilization rate is approaching full capacity (100%, see data) which suggests that pricing should firm up in the near future. We are not suggesting an outright buy at this level but a purchase here is clearly better than last year.

U.S. Dividend Watch List: May 26, 2017

Another week and it's another all-time high for the S&P 500. The index rose +1.40% for the week. We ended the week with 37 companies on our watch list this week. Continue reading

U.S. Dividend Watch List: May 12, 2017

Prior Year Performance Review

In our ongoing review of the NLO Dividend Watch List, we have taken the top five stocks on our list from May 13, 2016 and have checked the performance one year later. The top five companies on that list can be seen in the table below.

Symbol Name 2015 Price 2016 Price % change
WASH Washington Trust BanCorp. 35.00 49.20 40.6%
HFC HollyFrontier Corporation 28.12 27.64 -1.7%
STBA S&T BanCorp. 24.33 34.89 43.4%
CAH Cardinal Health 76.25 72.90 -4.4%
FFIC Flushing Financial Corp. 19.57 28.95 47.9%
      Average 25.2%
         
DJI Dow Jones Industrial 17,535.32 20,896.61 19.2%
SPX S&P 500 2,046.61 2,390.90 16.8%

Watch List Review

The average gain for the top five companies was 25.2% driven mainly by regional bank. The three banks gained more than 40%. The worse performer was Cardinal Health (CAH) which declined 4.4%. Our perspective then was that financial sector was near the bottom and urged our readers to assess ETF. In addition, we provided our readers with several companies to consider. Those companies combined for average gain of 15% where the S&P 500 gained 16.8%.

U.S. Dividend Watch List: May 12, 2017

The bull run continued to push forward and them market touched its all-time high this week but closed the week slightly down. There are 35 companies on our dividend watch list this week. Continue reading

U.S. Dividend Watch List: May 5, 2017

After spending months trading in range, it appeared that the market is ready for a breakout to the upside as the S&P 500 closed the week at its all-time high of 2,399. It is going to be an interesting week as the market look to break above 2,400. Below are 30 companies on our watch list this week. Continue reading