Tobacco Dividends Plentiful and Reliable

By Michael Hooper | More Articles | Save For Later 
October 23, 2013 | Comments (0)

Investors looking for yields may want to consider owning tobacco stocks. Dividend yields for tobacco stocks are more than double the yield of the S&P 500 index. Tobacco companies have been some of the most reliable dividend payers in American corporate history, despite health care initiatives against tobacco. I believe adults have the right to smoke tobacco as long as they know the health risks. Tobacco stocks with dividend payout ratios below 100% of their earnings can be lucrative additions to a dividend portfolio.

If you are going to own tobacco, you might as well own successful companies that have survived and thrived despite government oversight, high taxes and public health care initiatives to stop smoking.

Dividend yields for Altria Group (NYSE: MO  ) , Lorillard Tobacco Group (NYSE: LO  )Reynolds American (NYSE: RAI  ) and Vector Group (NYSE: VGR  ) range from from 4.58% to 9.30% -- substantially more than the S&P 500's yield of 2%.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/10/23/tobacco-dividends-plentiful-and-secure.aspx?source=iaasitlnk0000003

This stock is up 17% since I wrote this article in Feb. 26, 2014.

Is There An Opportunity in PepsiCo?

By Michael Hooper | More Articles | Save For Later 
February 26, 2014 | Comments (1)

Shares of PepsiCo  (NYSE: PEP  ) recently fell by 3% after the company reported that it had decided to retain its North American beverage business.

Shareholder activist Nelson Peltz hopes that PepsiCo will spin off its North American beverage business and focus on its more profitable and rapidly growing snack business.

Disgruntled investors have been selling the company's shares, which has driven the price of the stock down 4% since Feb. 13 when the company announced earnings and confirmed that it would not separate its beverage business. Earnings met expectations but investors are troubled by declining beverage volumes. Because PepsiCo is a blue-chip dividend payer with a long history of rewarding shareholders, investors are wise to take a hard look at this company.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/26/is-there-an-opportunity-in-pepsico.aspx?source=iaasitlnk0000003

Meet North America's Most Efficient Railroad

By Michael Hooper | More Articles | Save For Later 
November 16, 2013 | Comments (0)

A transcontinental railroad with a huge reach across Canada and the United States owns a competitive edge over other railroads and truckers. And because that railroad is also the most efficient in the industry, it can make tremendous profits in a growing economy. Meet Canadian National Railway (NYSE: CNI  ) , the only railroad with connections to the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico.

History of the Trans-ConThe first transcontinental railroad was created in 1869 to connect San Francisco Bay with the existing Eastern U.S. rail network at Council Bluffs, IA. Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP  )  owns the route between Council Bluffs and San Francisco. UP's track covers the western two-thirds of the United States, but goes no farther east than Chicago.

Canadian Pacific Railway (NYSE: CP  ) completed Canada's first transcontinental railroad in 1885, connecting Vancouver with the Port of Montreal, but currently does not reach the Atlantic Ocean.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/11/16/meet-north-americas-most-efficient-railroad.aspx?source=iaasitlnk0000003

Railroad Renaissance Chugs Ahead

There is a renaissance under way in North American freight railroads.

U.S. rail traffic was up 4.6% through Aug. 23 compared with the same time period a year ago, according to the Association of American Railroads. Nearly all categories of freight showed gains, with the biggest improvements in shipment of grain, up 19.4% year to date, and the shipment of petroleum and petroleum products up 10.5%.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/2478195-railroad-renaissance-chugs-ahead