High Yield Telephone Stocks

According to the latest Forbes Magazine billionaire issue, the richest man in the world is Carlos Slim Helu, who made much of his money from the Latin American telecommunications company, America Movil (AMX). The company announced this week that it is proposing a two for one stock split and a stock buyback in excess of $4 billion. The stock trades at fourteen times current earnings and twelve times forward earnings. However, it only pays a nominal yield of 0.4%.

Fortunately, there are plenty of other telecom stocks with high yields, as much as 8%. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has updated its free list of over ten telecom stocks yielding 3% or more. For example, Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc. (ALSK) is a provider of both wireless and landlines in the forty-ninth state. The company has a market cap of $438 million, trades at 25 times forward earnings, and pays a generous yield of 8.5%.

Qwest Communications International Inc. (Q), which is lucky to have a single letter stock ticker symbol, is a $12 billion market cap company, a forward PE of 16, and a yield of 4.8%.

The high paying telecom stock CenturyLink, Inc. (CTL) has a 7.2% dividend payout. The market cap is $12.5 billion, with a forward price to earnings ratio of 13.5. The company has increased its dividend in nine out of the last ten years.

To see the rest of the high paying telecommunications companies, which includes half a dozen with yields above 6%, check out the free list of high yield telecom stocks, at wsnn.com.

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

By Stockerblog.com

Telecom Stocks: the Forgotten Utilities

Telecommunication stocks seem to be the forgotten utility. Most income investors have filled their portfolio with electric utilities, natural gas utilities, and water utilities, which, in general, provide stability and steady income. Telecom stocks can help round out a utility portfolio.

Of course, telecoms can carry some risks: land lines are decreasing, cell phone usage is increasing, and more and more households are now using cell phones as their primary if not their only phone. The phone companies aren't standing still; they are pushing many other services in addition to the usual telephone services. Also, much of the negative news has already been built into the price of many of these stocks.

Many of these stocks have some decent yields, creating some interesting income opportunities. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has turned up about a dozen of these telecom stocks yielding around 3% or more. As a matter of fact, six of the stocks yield more than 6%.

Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc. (ALSK) is a provider of both wireless and landlines in the home state of Sarah Palin. The company has a market cap of $467 million, trades at 39 times forward earnings, and pays a generous yield of 8.2%. The operating cash flow of $93 million significantly covers the dividend payout of $38.3 million.

Another high paying telecom stock is CenturyLink, Inc. (CTL), with a 6.8% dividend payout. This Louisiana based company pays $833 million in dividends, easily covered by the $2.09 billion in operating cash flow. The market cap is $12.8 billion, with a forward PE ratio of 13.

Qwest Communications International Inc. (Q), one of the few stocks with a single letter stock ticker symbol, is a $9 billion market cap, a forward PE of 17, and a yield of 4.7%.

To see the rest of the high paying telecommunications companies, check out the free Excel database of high yield telecom stocks, at wsnn.com.

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

By Stockerblog.com

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the First Week of December

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. 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. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful.

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 Excel list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

Flowers Foods, Inc. (FLO) market cap: $2.4B ex div date: 12/1/2010 yield: 3.1%

Cedar Fair, L.P. (FUN) market cap: $826.1M ex div date: 12/1/2010 yield: 6.8%

Qwest Communications International Inc. (Q) market cap: $11.9B ex div date: 12/1/2010 yield: 4.6%

Hancock Holding Company (HBHC) market cap: $1.2B ex div date: 12/2/2010 yield: 3.0%

CenturyLink, Inc. (CTL) market cap: $12.9B ex div date: 12/3/2010 yield: 6.8%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.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 the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

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 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 does not own any of the above at the time article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Top Yielding Stocks Under $5 a share

Many investors think that the perfect stock is one that sells for a low price and pays a high yield. It may be hard to believe but there are actually several stocks, including closed end funds, that sell for less than $5 a share and pay a dividend, with a dozen paying yields greater than 1.25%.

WallStreetNewsNetwork.com just posted a list of high yield stocks selling for around $5 or less, with yields ranging from 0.4% to 11.5%. Just remember that the yields are based on historical payments, and the dividends can be adjusted, reduced, or terminated at any time.

21st Century Holding Co. (TCHC) is an insurance underwriting and claims processing company which yields 6.3%. The stock recently traded at 3.79.

Qwest Communications International Inc. (Q), a telecom company, yields 5.7%. The stock trades at less than $6 per share.

Electro-Sensors Inc. (ELSE), which makes and sells industrial production monitoring and process control systems, has a yield of 3.5% with a trading price of 4.25.

For the full list of high yield stocks trading for less than $5, which can be downloaded and sorted, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Author does not own any of the above.

By Fred Fuld at Stockerblog.com