Tag: XOM

Why I Will Never Invest in a Bond Fund

I think that bond funds and bond ETFs are a terrible idea for long term income investors.

by Fred Fuld III

Investors who are looking for income have several investment options, including money market funds, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, dividend-paying stocks, bonds, bond funds, bond ETFs, REITs, royalty trusts, and more.

However, I think that bond funds and bond ETFs are a terrible idea for long term income investors.

I think that all bond funds are terrible investments, even short term ones, and even government bond funds, especially during times of rising interest rates. The problem with bond funds is that there is no yield-to-maturity.

Remember, if you own a bond directly, and the bond drops in value, you will eventually get your money back at maturity.

When interest rates rise, bonds drop in value, and the net asset value drops. Many investors have a tendency to bail out when their investment drops, and when that happens, the fund managers need to sell bonds at a loss in order to handle redemptions, thereby locking in a loss on those bonds. The remaining bonds will eventually be paid off at maturity but that gain won’t cover the established losses.

Just one example of a short term government bond fund is the Vanguard Short-Term Treasury Fund Investor Shares (VFISX). The fund is down 5.4% during the last year, more than offsetting the yield on the fund, which is currently only 1.72%.. 

If yields drop or remain the same for a long period of time (I personally think that rates will continue higher), then in that case, the principal investment in the fund would be maintained. 

However, if you know that interest rates are going to drop, then you should probably be doing some interest rate speculation.

Does anyone really know what the Federal Reserve Board is going to do? Does the Fed even know what the Fed is going to do?

Interest rates have been very low for a long time, and we may see much higher rates in the future.

Are Interest Rates Due for a Rise Again?

So what is an investor to do?

There are bond unit investment trusts, also called fixed income UITs, which contain a fixed portfolio of bonds. The trust pays out income monthly. As the bonds mature, the principal is paid back to the investors. Most brokerage firms offer these investment vehicles.

Another alternative is to buy bonds directly. This way, even if interest rates keep rising, the bond will eventually be paid off at par, generally $1000 per bond.

Here is one example. An AT&T 2.45% bond maturing on March 15, 2035 is selling at 84.36. This means that the bond is selling at 84.36% of face value, or for a $1000 bond, it would be selling for $843.60. This gives a rough yield to maturity of 4.13%.

So if interest rates rise, the bond may drop in value, but you will eventually receive $1000 per bond in a dozen years.

Another option includes Series I bonds; however, they don’t pay out interest.

Stocks that pay high dividends may be an alternative, but an investor should consider the market risk and fluctuation over the years.

Here are a few stocks with a strong rising dividend history:

SymbolCompanyYield
XOMExxon Mobil Corporation3.21%
JNJJohnson & Johnson2.69%
KOThe Coca-Cola Company2.93%
MCDMcDonald’s Corporation2.26%
Yields as of 1/24/2023

Maybe some of these ideas will help you increase your investment income.

Disclosure: Author owns KO and MCD.

Stocks Going Ex Dividend in May 2022

The following is a short list of some of the many stocks going ex dividend during the next month.

Many traders and investors use the stock trading technique called ‘Buying Dividends,’ also commonly referred to as ‘Dividend Capture.’ This is the strategy of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend.

This technique generally works in bull markets and flat or choppy markets, but you need to avoid the strategy during bear markets. In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can’t sell the stock until after the ex date.

The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend in the near future. The list contains many dividend paying companies, lots with market caps over $500 million, and some with yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, the periodic dividend amount, and the yield.

Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA (BUD) 5/3/2022 0.407 0.95%
Levi Strauss & Co (LEVI) 5/5/2022 0.10 2.12%
Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) 5/5/2022 0.25 2.29%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) 5/5/2022 0.56 1.46%
American Electric Power Co. (AEP) 5/9/2022 0.78 3.05%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) 5/12/2022 0.98 2.06%
Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) 5/12/2022 0.49 2.63%
Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW) 5/12/2022 0.20 1.21%
Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) 5/12/2022 0.88 4.13%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) 5/16/2022 1.94 3.33%
Target Corporation (TGT) 5/17/2022 0.90 1.57%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 5/23/2022 1.13 2.50%
The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC) 5/26/2022 0.40 3.75%
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) 5/31/2022 2.00 2.62%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found HERE . (If you have been to the page before, and the latest link doesn’t show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out some of the other high yield stock lists at WSTNN.com HERE .

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Record date: the day when you must be on the company’s books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks at two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don’t forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written; affiliate links are on this page.

How to Triple Dip Your Rewards Points

by Fred Fuld III

It’s nice that you get cash back or rewards points when you use your credit card. It’s also great when you can get rewards from the company you make purchases from. It’s like double dipping.

But wouldn’t it be great if you could triple dip. How would you like to receive free stock in the companies that you buy from? Well now it’s possible.

There is a company called Bumped, which allows you to have a percentage of your purchase go towards fractional shares of stock in those companies. The percentage isn’t a lot but it adds up over time.

For example, if you buy rom Starbucks (SBUX), you get 2% of your purchase price going towards the company’s stock. If you buy from ExxonMobil (XOM), you get 0.5%. The range goes all the way up to 3% defending on the type of business.

Here are the categories and their percentages:

  • Coffee  2%
  • Gas/Convenience Stores  0.5%
  • Entertainment  2%
  • Family Dining  2%
  • Personal Care  1%
  • Quick Eats  3%
  • Vineyards  1%

So, for example, if I buy food and a beverage at Starbucks, and I pay with my cash back American Express (AXP) card, I will get the cash back bonus from AmEx at the end of the month. Plus, if I’m a member of the Starbucks rewards program, I get those benefits. Finally, if I have linked my AmEx card to Bumped, I get 2% of my purchase applied to the Starbucks stock.

My Bumped app when I just started out
My Bumped app when I just started out

There are a wide range of companies that are participating in this program. Just in the Quick Eats category alone, there is:

  • Burger King
  • Chipotle (CMG)
  • Jamba Juice
  • McDonalds (MCD)
  • Subway

Now you may ask, what about the private companies that are listed, such as Jamba Juice and Subway? Well, if you purchase from Jamba Juice, your 3% is applied towards the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF (VTI).

So when I bought a Jamba Juice recently, I got cash back on my AmEx card, I got more Jamba Juice  points since I’m a member of their rewards program, and I got 3% of my purchase automatically invested in VTI.

Other companies that are part of the program include Peet’s Coffee, BP (BP), Chevron (CVX), Shell (RDSA), Netflix (NFLX), Spotify (SPOT), Lyft (LYFT), Uber (UBER), plus several restaurants and other businesses.

Unfortunately, there is a waiting list for Bumped, (they don’t want to get overwhelmed as they are growing) but once they notify you that you are eligible, you can jump on the triple dip bandwagon.

Disclosure: Author owns MCD, VTI, SBUX, & XOM. I did not receive any compensation from Bumped. 

Stocks Going Ex Dividend in May 2019

by Fred Fuld III

The following is a short list of some of the many stocks going ex dividend during the next month.

Many traders and investors use the stock trading technique called ‘Buying Dividends,’ also commonly referred to as ‘Dividend Capture.’ This is the strategy of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend.

This technique generally works in bull markets and flat or choppy markets, but you need to avoid the strategy during bear markets. In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can’t sell the stock until after the ex date.

The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend in the near future. The list contains many dividend paying companies, lots with market caps over $500 million, and many with yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, the periodic dividend amount, and annual yield.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) 5/1/2019 0.35 2.45%
Citigroup Inc. (C) 5/3/2019 0.45 2.59%
TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (AMTD) 5/6/2019 0.30 2.32%
MetLife, Inc. (MET) 5/6/2019 0.44 3.90%
Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) 5/9/2019 0.45 3.75%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) 5/9/2019 0.53 2.09%
Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) 5/10/2019 0.87 4.32%
Target Corporation (TGT) 5/14/2019 0.64 3.32%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) 5/17/2019 0.44 3.33%
Discover Financial Services (DFS) 5/23/2019 0.40 1.97%
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) 5/29/2019 0.85 1.67%
Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) 5/31/2019 2.20 2.68%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found HERE . (If you have been to the page before, and the latest link doesn’t show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out some of the other high yield stock lists HERE . Most of the lists are free.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Monthly Dividend Stock List

Record date: the day when you must be on the company’s books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks at two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don’t forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the Second Week of November

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called ‘Buying Dividends,’ also commonly referred to as ‘Dividend Capture.’ This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend.

This technique generally works only in bull markets, and can work in flat or choppy markets, but you need to avoid the technique during bear markets. In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can’t sell the stock until after the ex date.

The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend in the near future. The list contains many dividend paying companies, lots with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date, the quarterly dividend amount, and annual yield.

Intel Corporation (INTC) 11/6/2017 0.273 2.34%
Papa John’s International (PZZA) 11/6/2017 0.225 1.21%
Sonic Corp. (SONC) 11/7/2017 0.16 2.20%
American Electric Power (AEP) 11/9/2017 0.62 3.17%
American Airlines Group (AAL) 11/10/2017 0.1 0.85%
Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) 11/10/2017 0.77 3.65%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found here at wstnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn’t show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out some of the other high yield stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WStNN.com. Most of the lists are free.

Dividend definitions: Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Monthly Dividend Stock List

Record date: the day when you must be on the company’s books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks at two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don’t forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.