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| Video by CNBC |
A company dividend is one of the cornerstones of capitalism. When a company is cash-flow positive for a reasonable length of time, it gives management an opportunity to reward shareholders for their loyalty in the form of a dividend.
Some investors may wonder why investing in dividend stocks is often considered an essential part of holding a long-term diversified portfolio. After all, is receiving a few cents per share really much to get excited about? Investing in dividend stocks goes way beyond just the dividend element of the company.
"Dividend-paying stocks can be an important component in an investor's portfolio, providing income, the potential for appreciation and diversification benefits that may reduce portfolio volatility," says Dan Kern, chief investment officer and president of Advisor Partners, an asset management firm in Walnut Creek, California.
It's that potential for price appreciation that can sometimes be lost on investors who only concentrate on seeking dividends. Yet the reason dividends are being paid is because a company's earnings can support it, which in turn means the company's stock price likely has been rising over time.
Kern also points out the importance of dividend stocks for retired investors. "They face the dual challenges of low interest rates and longer life expectancies. Dividend stocks can help with both challenges by providing a mix of income and capital appreciation," Kern says.
Kern also cautions against the trap many income investors fall into: buying stocks just because the dividend yield is high. "Too many investors flock to high-yielding stocks with dividends that may not be sustainable. We think a focus on sustainable dividends across sectors is the more effective approach to dividend investing," Kern says.
And yet sustainable dividend stocks generally don't boast very high payouts. What does a company signal when it pays a more modest dividend?
"We are in a generational low-yielding environment," says Linda Duessel, senior equity strategist at Federated Investors in Pittsburgh. "To simply seek high-yielding stocks could lead you to invest in riskier companies. We like quality high yield."
Steve Berg, CFO of O.penVAPE and a former managing director at Wells Fargo and UBS, points out what a more modest dividend may signal about a company. "A low payout could indicate the company's decision to retain more capital toward business development instead of stockholder payout, which could lead to future growth. As for the dividend itself, every percentage counts, and 4 percent still offers a spread nearly twice what is available on 10-year U.S. Treasury rates," Berg says.
Once an investor is paid a dividend, he is left with an interesting choice. Should he take the money and run, or reinvest the dividend back into the company's stock, or into some other stock? Much depends on why the investor chose the dividend stock in the first place.
"It's not always desirable to reinvest dividends," Kern says. "In many cases, clients rely on the dividend income for personal financial purposes. In other cases, it may make sense to redeploy dividend payments into portions of the portfolio that are underweight relative to the investor's target allocation. Part of the beauty of dividends is the flexibility they provide to the investor."
Duessel says it depends on whether the investor needs the cash. Retired investors often rely on dividends to supplement their income. "Perhaps you need cash, and in that case, you may not want to reinvest. If not, however, reinvesting dividends and owning shares of successful companies is a great way to build wealth over the long term," Duessel says.
Berg offers caution on reinvesting dividends: "It is not in your best interest if you're not overly optimistic about the company's future performance. While this doesn't equate to withdrawing investment from a company, the reinvestment of dividends should be reserved for when you have a specific reason for doing so beyond its convenience."
There's also the question of reinvesting dividends if a company is too successful. Many times, a company's share prices may have soared far beyond what the stock's intrinsic value truly is, or it may be relatively expensive compared with its peers or the market. So what sectors currently seem to offer stocks that are not overvalued and which also pay dividends?
Kern likes the financial sector. "Banks have made meaningful progress repairing their balance sheets and are benefiting from moderately improved economic conditions. Current valuations appear reasonable given the outlook for interest rates and the economy. We're less optimistic about sectors such as telecommunications and utilities, which both face challenges sustaining the current level of dividend payments," Kern says.
But Duessel says utilities are strong dividend stocks. "We currently also favor sectors that are less cyclical, such as utilities, which can serve as a helpful 'bond surrogate' for investors," Duessel says. However, she also says there is compelling value in technology.
Berg suggests looking at consumer discretionary stocks, which have seen improvement as the economy has improved, and consumers spend more money on items that go beyond basic household staples.
Of all the dividend stocks in the market, the ones that often get the most attention are the so-called "dividend aristocrats." Many managers place a lot of faith in these companies, as they have increased their dividend every year for at least 25 consecutive years.
Duessel is high on technology as being the source for future dividend aristocrats. "The technology sector currently is the place to find names of large-cap companies that are raising dividends. These are companies that are sitting on a lot of cash and have eschewed dividends for decades, so the sector is ripe with dividend opportunities," Duessel says.
Source: MSN/Money -2017 U.S. News & World Report
