In June 2011 I invested my money equally in a selection of 10 high-yield dividend stocks. With a year of success behind me, in July 2012 I added even more money to the portfolio, and then more again in 2013. Those names offer triple the yield of the average S&P 500 stock. You can read all the details here. Now let's check out the results so far.
|
Company |
Cost Basis |
Shares |
Yield |
Total Value |
Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Exelon (EXC 2.37%) |
$41.36 |
28.818 |
4.3% |
$835.72 |
(29.9%) |
|
National Grid |
$48.90 |
20.3693 |
5.2% |
$1,319.52 |
32.5% |
|
Philip Morris International (PM 2.82%) |
$78.05 |
25.5429 |
4.8% |
$1,995.92 |
0.1% |
|
Extendicare (EXETF 0.30%) |
$6.51 |
548 |
6.9% |
$3,507.20 |
(1.7%) |
|
Ryman Hospitality |
$40.96 |
39.3 |
4.8% |
$1,625.45 |
1% |
|
Plum Creek Timber |
$38.42 |
26 |
4.1% |
$1,119.82 |
12.1% |
|
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners |
$26.12 |
38.2825 |
4.7% |
$1,408.41 |
40.8% |
|
Seaspan (ATCO) |
$17.17 |
136.5 |
5.6% |
$3,037.13 |
29.6% |
|
Retail Opportunity Investments |
$12.20 |
81.95 |
4.1% |
$1,185.00 |
18.5% |
|
Annaly Preferred D |
$25.50 |
38.9 |
8.2% |
$885.36 |
(10.7%) |
|
Gramercy Property Trust (GPT) |
$4.48 |
223 |
0% |
$1,297.86 |
29.9% |
|
Cash |
$45.61 |
||||
|
Dividends Receivable |
$61.43 |
||||
|
Original Investment |
$14,983.36 |
||||
|
Total Portfolio |
$18,324.44 |
22.3% |
|||
|
Investment in SPY (including dividends) |
33% |
||||
|
Relative Performance (percentage points) |
(10.7) |
Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's.
The total portfolio is now up 22.3% after dropping 2.5 percentage points from the last report. Nevertheless, we gained on the index by a full percentage point to lag by 10.7 points. The last few weeks have been poor for the market, but our dividend stocks have outperformed notably since the start of the year. We should continue to outperform if the market hits a rough patch. The blended yield ticked up to 5.1%.
And I expect that yield to rise in the near future as Gramercy Property Trust reinstates its dividend. The REIT will announce a dividend for the first quarter, and the news could come at any time. As word gets out that Gramercy is paying a dividend, I expect the stock to continue to perform well. We're already up about 30% on the stock in less than six months of owning it. I expect we'll see more.
We should also get a dividend bump from Seaspan in about a month, and that should help boost the yield if the stock stays the same price. I think the dividend increase will propel shares higher, leaving them at a similar yield to today. Either way, we win.
Philip Morris has really been in the dumps for the last couple months. I'm disappointed but not surprised. The company is a play on international markets, with a heavy focus on Europe and emerging markets -- both areas that aren't doing so hot right now. Should we worry? Nah. Eventually those markets will turn around, and in the meantime the company will continue to buy back its stock at reduced prices. That's excellent for longtime holders. And the stock's yield nears 5%, while we wait, making it a decent time to add more to our position.
Some readers have asked me for a valuation of Extendicare, my newest addition to the portfolio. The Canadian health-care company pays a generous yield, and it's preparing to spin or sell its American unit. In the following article, I provide my valuation and see as much as 200% upside. I think you might be getting a business for free when you buy Extendicare. See what I mean by reading the article here.
Dividends and earnings announcements
Dividend news:
- Vodafone went ex-dividend on Nov. 20 and pays out $0.562 per share on Feb. 5.
- Extendicare went ex-dividend on Jan. 29 and pays out $0.0362 per share on Feb. 18.
- Exelon goes ex-dividend on Feb. 12 and pays out $0.31 per share on March 10.
All that, of course, means more money coming into our pockets.
It's fun to sit back and get paid, and with the market volatility we might have a good chance to reinvest those dividends at good prices. Europe continues to be an absolute mess, and continued bad news will likely have stocks plunging again -- and if they do, I'll be inclined to pick up more shares.
Foolish bottom line
I've been a fan of big dividends for a while, and I think this portfolio will outperform the market over time through the power of dividends. As I promised in the original article, I'll continue to track and report on the portfolio's progress, including news on these companies.
