Twenty-four weeks ago, I invested my cold, hard cash into 10 high-yield dividend stocks I believe will beat the market. Let's see the results so far:
Company | Average Cost | Shares | Recent Price | Total Value | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altria | $24.86 | 40 | $26.18 | $1,047.20 | 5.31% |
| Philip Morris | $61.83 | 16 | $69.75 | $1,116.00 | 12.81% |
| National Grid | $45.63 | 22 | $48.97 | $1,077.34 | 7.32% |
| Annaly Capital Management | $17.55 | 57 | $17.35 | $988.95 | (1.14%) |
| Frontier Communications | $9.14 | 125 | $7.37 | $921.25 | (19.39%) |
| Southern Co | $37.87 | 26 | $39.47 | $1,026.22 | 4.22% |
| France Telecom | $22.23 | 45 | $19.74 | $888.30 | (11.20%) |
| Vodafone Group | $28.88 | 34 | $27.49 | $934.66 | (4.81%) |
| Eli Lilly | $34.48 | 29 | $37.16 | $1,077.64 | 7.77% |
| Bristol-Myers Squibb | $25.37 | 39 | $28.04 | $1,093.56 | 10.52% |
| Cash | 147.54 | 147.54 | 0% | ||
| Dividends Receivable | 88.00 | 88.00 | 0% | ||
| Total Portfolio | $10,406.66 | 4.07% | |||
| Investment In SPY | (3.92%) | ||||
| Return vs SPY | 7.99% |
Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standards and Poor's, as of Aug. 2, 2011.
Over the past week, the S&P 500 fell 6.75%. As the market fell, our portfolio outperformance rose from 3.61% to 7.99%, showing the strength of dividend stocks versus the general market. While outperformance is always good, it should be taken with a grain of salt. We're investing for the long term, and it's only been 24 weeks. I firmly believe the results will bear us out, though.
Movers & shakers
Of our stocks, the biggest mover in the portfolio the past week was France Telecom, which fell 5.5% after rising 6.3% in the week prior. Frontier and National Grid also declined, falling 4% and 2%, respectively.
Money!
There are five upcoming dividends for the portfolio:
- Bristol Meyers Squibb will pay a dividend of $0.33 on Aug. 1. The ex-dividend date was June 29.
- Vodafone will pay a dividend of GBP 0.605 on Aug. 5. The ex-dividend date was June 1.
- National Grid will pay a dividend of $1.9005 on Aug. 17. The ex-dividend date was June 3.
- Southern Co. will pay a dividend of $0.4725 on Sept. 6. The ex-dividend date is July 28.
- Eli Lilly will pay a dividend of $0.49 on Sept. 9. The ex-dividend date is Aug. 11.
Good news!
Vodafone announced last week that it will be receiving its first dividend from Verizon Wireless on Jan. 31, 2012. In the past, the joint venture partners had agreed that all Verizon Wireless' excess cash should go toward paying off the company's debt. Vodafone plans on using its $4.5 billion to pay down a billion dollars of debt and then pay out the rest as a dividend. The market reacted by boosting the shares 5% before the shares fell with the general market.
My Foolish bottom line
I'm highly confident in this portfolio's ability to crush the market over the next decade, and that's why I put $10,000 of my personal cash into these stocks. My strategy is simple. I'm buying strong companies with outsized dividends, reinvesting those dividends, and holding them for the long run. Over the coming year, I'll track my performance, update you on when I'm going to reinvest all my dividends, and keep you abreast of news affecting these companies.
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