Thursday, January 6, 2011

State of My Dividends Q4 2010 2

Today, I am updating my spreadsheet on my stocks for stock I own and dividend increases for the 4th quarter of 2010, see dividends. My total dividend increases this year is quite low at just 5.3%. Low dividend increases using follow in the trail of a recession. However, because of dividend increases in the later part of 2010, my dividend income for 2011 will already be over 5% more than it was last year.

The first one to talk about today is Manitoba Telecom. This company has lowered the quarterly dividend in Oct from $.65 to $.425. This is a 35% decrease in dividends. I bought this company because of reports I read that said it was a solid company with a good yield. Things did not turn out very well. Since 2006, I have sold a third of the stock I bought. Now, 5 years later, all I can say is that I have broken even on this stock.

I am currently earning a 4.4% return (dividend yield) on my original investment. The current dividend yield on this stock is better at 6%. Analysts are divided on this stock giving it recommendations of Buy, Hold, Underperform and Sell. Vast majority are of the Hold kind. A number still feel is a good stock for an income portfolio. See my spreadsheet.

Melcor Developments Inc is in real estate. They pay dividends semi-annually. Their recent increase in dividends is a health 33%. However, this company has a habit of decreasing as well as increasing their dividends. Therefore, the increase to a semi-annual $.20 dividend is not assured. They payout what they can afford and sometimes pay out special dividends.

This has been a good investment. I have had this stock from 2008 and I have made just over 15% per year. Approximately 5% of my return is in dividends. See my spreadsheet.

Pareto Corp has raised their dividends twice this year, in April and October. The increase in dividends is at 100%, that is, they have doubled their dividend payments. For people who have had this stock for 5 or 10 years, they would have made around 15% per year. I only bought this stock in 2009 and 2010, when the stock was down, so I have earned some 135% per year. This stock has only paid dividends since 2008.

Because it is a dividend paying small cap, I have used it as a filler. That is, I have used small bits of money I had to invest by buying this company. I started to buy it when it was $.75 per share. It is now at $2.40 a share. See my spreadsheet.

Toromont Industries have raised their dividend in Oct from $.15to $.16. This is a 6.7% raise. This a lot lower than the 5 year average of 17.8% and also a bit less than the 7.1% of last year. However, we are just coming out of a recession and this probably all they can afford to do.

I bought this stock in 2007 and 2008; and I have made a return of around 6.4% per year. About 2% of my return would be dividends. I still think that this is a good stock for the long term. See my spreadsheet.

Tomorrow I will talk about how all my stocks did as far as dividends go in 2010.

This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website for stocks followed and investment notes. Follow me on twitter.

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