Why Dividend Cuts May Be a Good Thing for Investors

Life isn’t perfect and for whatever reason, we purchase stocks we shouldn’t have bought, lured in by the high yield, or still hang on to stocks we should have sold. Investor confidence in a company can be sudden and swift. In the case of TransAlta Corp (TA) for example (which I don’t own) this was pointed out in a recent post by John Heinzl. Management decisions over the sale of the  Sundance coal plants, and the looming threat of a dividend cut have pummelled the stock price. TA closed at $16.81 per share today, down -20.5% from a recent high …

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What Happened to the Income Trusts?

This article was published in the September 2011 edition of the Canadian MoneySaver, and is posted here with permission. For more information visit www.canadianmoneysaver.ca January 1st, 2011, was the deadline for Canadian income trusts (other than REITs – Real Estate Investment Trusts) to convert to corporations. I examine the basic changes of income trusts into corporations, and what’s happened to these high-yield dividend payers. Now that almost all income trusts have converted to corporations, which ones are still worth holding? The Cash Cow In Canada, income trusts were created as an alternative to the corporate structure.  The first income trust …

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What Is a Good Dividend Payout Ratio for Investors

Portions of this article were originally published in the Canadian MoneySaver, and it is posted here with permission. For more information visit www.canadianmoneysaver.ca Many dividend investors go to great lengths to screen dividend stocks. If you stick with the big dividend aristocrats or other big blue chips, you will do just fine. Some of these companies have been paying dividends for over 50 to 100 years! The economic stability of a company like that, which also increases its dividends year after year, is money in the bank. This is what most dividend investors look for, and it is the basis …

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