Just in time for Christmas eh? As everyone is performing the mad dash to the stores – we all know who is always there for them… the big red bullseye. For those last minute gift ideas, wrapping paper, clothes and even groceries – Target is there for consumers, and I would have to admit, typically at a higher quality as well. I wanted to perform a stock analysis on the company, as I feel there are a high quality, fundamentally sound entity, where so many of my loved ones and close friends shop there. Time to perform our analysis!
Top 5 Dividend Aristocrats with Low Debt to Equity Ratios
Recently, we saw the ugly side of debt. As we all watched Kinder Morgan’s stock fall and wait for the final, inevitable sword of a dividend increase, there was one thing that became evident…KMI’s debt level was too high and the results were unsustainable in the current market environment (See Lanny’s awesome write up/analysis about KMI from earlier in the week). The pressures mounted and management plus the Board of Directors decided to slash their dividend to preserve cash flow for capital expenditures and cover interest/dividend payments. While debt isn’t a bad thing, I don’t want you leaving this intro thinking that’s my conclusion, runaway/uncontrolled debt can present many problems. The name of our game on this website is investing in stocks with a growing dividend income stream, so we try to avoid companies and stocks that take us off of this course. Which is very ironic considering that Lanny and I purchased shares in KMI just under a month ago (here and here) With the wound from KMI still fresh, I wanted to run a stock screener and identify several Dividend Aristocrats with low debt levels. Check out our newest installment of our Top 5 list series (foundation stocks and low dividend yield/high dividend growth rate stocks)….the Top 5 Dividend Aristocrats with Low Debt to Equity Levels.
The Reminder of being a Dividend Growth Investor from KMI’s News
SMACK! The thunderous market was turmoiling, lower and lower. Kinder Morgan (KMI) was taking a beating. They just announced news about additional investments, further deteriorating the credit quality by the rating indexes. From trading at $42.81 to begin the year and then plummeting downward to a spiral collapse at $16.42 on the close of 12/7, is truly amazing, a 62% decline from one of the Nation’s biggest/largest oil pipeline companies. Management kept enamoring a dividend focused strategy, to set increases at a % growth rate each year, and then committing by showing/increasing the dividend throughout the year. Interesting how the year really can unfold… Continue reading
Lanny’s Recent Purchase – ADM
Whoa Whoa! The market has been on the slide, going downwards and man, new opportunities are unleashing! I know everyone has been busy with re-couping over the KMI decision – they will be fine, and with the large moat they have, should survive. It’s been a wild as all hell week and the capital has been unloaded. Let’s check out the purchase.
Bert’s Recent Buy – Norwood Financial Group – NWFL
In his last purchase article, Lanny alluded to the fact that I may have purchased the same stock as his. Well, Lanny was right and great minds think alike. We have been talking about this purchase for several weeks and we finally just decided to buy it! While my rationale may have been slightly different than Lanny’s, here is why I added to my stake in Norwood Financial (NWFL).
Endless Liabilities of Owning a Car Part 3 – $250 Edition
Throughout the life of our blog, Lanny and I have searched and slashed our way to save as much as possible to invest in the market NOW. Even though we have tried to identify ways to save through battling with our phone/internet provider (nice job Lanny!), tried to make our football season more enjoyable at a cheaper price (Can a football season be enjoyable as a Browns fan?), or just finding random savings “life hacks,” there is one expense that we have flagged as a major liability…I mean…money pit… our cars. A car is a necessary evil in the Midwest that does nothing but lose value and cost you money. Sadly I am writing this article, so that must mean something happened to my car. Let’s see how my car took a little extra money out of my savings account this month.
Lanny’s Recent Purchase – NWFL
So it is time for the Final Push in December to see if we can buy the best opportunity stock to hit our yearly goals we had set in the prior year. The market has been extremely choppy as of late, but it was time for me to make an investment. The investment was into my Roth-IRA account, and you’ll see why within the article. Whom did I make a purchase into? Let’s check this out.
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