Altria is more expensive that you think

I usually run a screen using my entry criteria over the list of dividend champions regularly. I do this in order to find attractively companies for further research, which could then be added to my portfolio. I ran the screen a few weeks ago for the dividend champions list, which identified approximately fourteen companies for further research. One reader asked me why I hadn’t included Altria (MO) in the list. Check my latest analysis of Altria for more information about the company.

This was a very good question. So good, I decided to write a short post about it.

If you look at a place like Yahoo Finance, or Google Finance, you can see that Altria has a P/E ratio of 11. So this means that this amazing company is cheap, doesn’t it?

 Source: Yahoo Finance

Source: Google Finance

Well, not so fast. As part of our evaluation of company fundamentals, we review trends in earnings per share, dividends per share, revenues and payout ratios over the past decade. A quick review of the ten year trends in earnings per share shows a bump in 2016. The curious dividend investor would then search for the driver behind the discrepancy.

Stockpile Brokerage Review

As many of you know, brokerage Loyal3 is closing down in May. I received a lot of responses from readers, who shared their disappointment about the close. I did receive one response, which notified me of another broker that was similar to Loyal3, and which has no account minimums. This broker is called Stockpile, and I will be sharing my observations about it today.

Stockpile is an online broker which lets investors buy and sell shares in their favorite companies. It is aimed at newer investors with less experience. The appealing part for me was the fact that it offers the ability to open accounts for kids/teens. This is a feature that may be helpful to anyone who wants to buy stock for children/grandchildren or nieces/nephews, and teach them by example the powerful concepts of investing from an early age. The broker site could be accessed from this link.

The brokerage account at Stockpile is SIPC insured up to $500,000 for stock ( and $100,000 for cash).

Opening an account is a fairly easy and straightforward process. You need to have your social security number, address, bank information etc.This is a fairly standard procedure.

Seven Companies Giving Their Owners A Raise

I look at the list of dividend increases every week, as part of my monitoring process. I then narrow the scope by focusing on companies that have increased dividends for at least a decade. I do this in order to focus on companies that have managed to raise dividends throughout a full economic cycle or two. I also focused my attention on the companies which have managed to grow dividends by more than a token amount. My next step involves reviewing trends in fundamentals over the preceding decade, in order to determine if the business is growing. I also try to determine if the dividend is sustainable and can grow in the future. I want dividends that increase due to increases in earnings power. I do not want dividends that increase merely because the payout ratio is being expanded.

Last but not least, I also like to review valuations. After all, even the best company in the world is not worth overpaying for. If you overpay for an investment, you may still lose money, even if the company excels on the operations level and meets its growth forecasts.

Over the past week, there were several companies that gave their shareholders a raise. The companies include:

Rent Versus Buy - How to decide which one is best for you?

People usually get emotional when the topic of rent versus buy is brought up. One group swears by owning a home, and believes that it is a good decision. The second group believes in renting for life, and brings a lot of arguments to support their decision. I have personally stayed in the "undecided" camp, right in the middle of it all.

We are rational people however, so we want to avoid emotions, and make the best decisions for our own situations. Owning a home is one part a lifestyle decision, and another part a financial decision.

There are pros and cons to buying and renting a home.

I believe that some people who rent may be wasting their money away if house prices in their areas are low. If home prices are high however, people who buy a home may be the ones wasting their money away. Home prices are low, if they are selling at a low multiple of home cost divided by annual rent expense. Home prices are high, if they are selling at a high multiple of home cost dividend by annual rent expense. I find a ratio about 15 or lower to be attractive. If that ratio is over 20, it may be a little bit too high.

Based on my research, if you manage to purchase a comparable unit to what you are currently renting, and you are mindful of costs, you may do better than renting over long periods of time ( exceeding ten years). On the other hand, if you pay a high price to rent multiple, and your monthly payment absorbs most of the funds you would have otherwise used to save to retirement,  you may not do as well with buying a home.

Loyal3 Brokerage to Shut Down in May

I just received notification that low cost broker Loyal3 is shutting down, effective May 22 2017. Loyal3 was a decent commission free alternative for beginning investors who wanted to slowly build positions in their favorite brands, without paying any commissions. The brokerage allowed you to invest as little as $10 per transaction, and allowed buying fractional shares. At one point, Loyal3 also allowed a brief arbitrage opportunity where you could invest using a credit card, and earn rewards points. Loyal3 also allowed many investors the chance to participate in IPO’s at the offer price. Sadly, it looks like its business model has not gained enough traction. Alternatively, low cost broker Robinhood offers access to all US equities for a zero rate and does it in real-time. This may have been one of the reasons for the failure.

There are several options to existing clients.

1) Do nothing, and have all securities be transferred to FolioFirst.