Monday May 18, 2015

I will be on vacation until June 1, 2015.

Calls expired on 5/15/2015 and I had no stocks assigned.  I will look for new covered calls, discount bonds and Dividend Machines for me and to share with you when I return.

TheMoneyMadam

Benefit from holding WPZ in retirement account

MLP's are often recommended for taxable instead of qualified retirement accounts to take advantage of the MLP tax structure.

Here is a case where it may be better to have held WPZ in a retirement account.

TheMoneyMadam

Williams deal means higher taxes, lower income for some investors http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/2522066?source=ansh-d $WMB, $WPZ, $KMI

Next 2015 Dividend Machine WASH

For every expert opining that interest rates are going up, you can find another who is convinced they are not.    I know that predicting interest rate direction can make a fool of the best trained and intentioned economist.   

 Predicting interest rates can also make fools of traders.  Yet, we are not traders or economists; we are income investors.   History, (see the previous Dividend Machine portfolios) suggests that we should ignore economic noise and stick to a disciplined strategy for picking our income stocks.

In this post I am profiling the next 2015 Dividend Machine.   I selected this stock using my four 2105 Dividend Machine criteria.   The connection to interest rates is based on the fact this new Dividend Machine is a regional bank.   

Theory holds that if interest rates do go up, banks will benefit from a steepening of the interest rate curve.  When long duration interest rates are greater than short duration interest rates, banks can lend out at an interest rate higher than they pay depositors.   If interest rates do not go up, this stock has a history of paying and growing the dividend.

Washington Trust, symbol WASH Dividend History

Washing Trust is a regional bank in Rhode Island.   Dividends have been paid since 1988.   During the major credit market disruptions that occurred in 2008, WASH held the dividend steady at $.21 for 11 quarters.  In March of 2011, they commenced dividend increases again.  If you look back five years to 2010 you will see the dividend increases have averaged 7.75%.

WASH Dividend Machine Fundamentals

WASH earned $2.51 during the past four quarters and paid out $1.36 in dividends.   Today it is trading at $36.87 with a dividend yield of 3.68%.  Debt to Equity ratio, D/E is 1.155 which is within industry standards.   The table below presents WASH’s Dividend Machine Fundamentals.

In addition to its Dividend Machine fundamentals, Washington Trust, WASH, provides industry diversification for a 2015 Dividend Machine Portfolio that is heavy on energy.   

Consider WASH for the income producing portion of your portfolio.

TheMoneyMadam

Portfolio Updates

May 11, 2015

I would like to post portfolio value updates but cannot due to an Excel Dividend Data download issue.  Trying to fix it.  I appreciate your patience. 

TheMoneyMadam

MHLD Maiden Holdings

May 8, 2015 Adding MHLD today.   Need to put some money to work.  MM

Maiden Holdings Ltd. MHLD next 2015 Dividend Machine

Nothing is certain but death and taxes and some say insurance.   This post is not about taxes or death but it is about insurance.

Insurance stocks have been good performers over time especially for income investors.   Re-insurance is a special type of insurance where the insurer insures other insurers.  Lloyd’s of London is probably the best known of these types of companies but we have one for you to consider for the income producing portion of your portfolio that is affordable and available.

The next 2015 Dividend Machine is Maiden Holdings, Ltd., symbol MHLD.

Maiden Holdings

MHLD operates in the U.S., Europe and other global areas to provide property and casualty insurance with re-insurance as a major portion of their business.

April 28^th, MHLD declared their next quarterly dividend of $.13 payable on July 15, to those on record July 1.   

MHLD is a small cap company with a valuation of $1.07 billion.  It is not an expensive stock.  MHLD closed today at $14.69.    MHLD was a Dividend Machine in 2014.

Dividend Increases

One of the characteristics of MHLD is the dividend growth.   Dividend growth has averaged about 20% for the past 5 years.  Dividends have been paid since 2008.  This is not a very long duration of dividend payout like Travelers, symbol TRV.    TRV has raised an average of 13.88% over the past year but the yield is only 2.15%.  Currently the dividend yield for MHLD is 3.56%

Dividend Machine Fundamentals

The table below presents the dividend machine fundamentals for Maiden Holdings Ltd.  Earnings over the past four quarters were $1.00 with the dividend payout of $.52.   This is a good coverage ratio.  D/E ratio is .39 and that is very acceptable.

MHLD is not a volatile stock and covered calls are rarely traded.   As a plain old Dividend Machine at an affordable cost, MHLD should be considered for the income producing portion of your portfolio.

TheMoneyMadam

Disclosure:  no position but may add