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Last year I introduced the Stock Ideas list and it has proven to be immensely popular. The list consists of Dividend Aristocrats, US Broad Dividend Achievers and U.S. Dividend Champions. Here are some highlights on this year’s changes:

I am a firm believer that asset allocation plays a significant part in a portfolio’s long-term results. Recently, I received a question asking if you could have a diversified portfolio of dividend stocks. It is an interesting question that deserves further examination.

Though many dividend stocks are now trading in excess of their calculated fair value, capital appreciation is not the primary reason for investing in dividend stocks. Dividend fundamentals are what drive my purchase decision, and if I could only look at one metric it would be...

When selecting a dividend growth stock there is really only one factor that is important – sustainability. As we evaluate many aspects of a company, what we are really trying to determine is if the company can continue to raise its dividend indefinitely into the future.

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) and XTO Energy Inc. announced an all-stock transaction valued at $41 billion. This will enhance ExxonMobil’s position in the development of unconventional natural gas and oil resources.

Nucor Corporation is engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products. As the largest minimill steelmaker in the U.S., Nucor has one of the most diverse product lines of any steelmaker in the Americas. Linked here is a detailed analysis and commentary.

You can’t spend earnings! At first glance, this may seem like an odd statement. However, it is an important axiom for all types of investors. Through fraud and manipulation financial statements can be made to look quite impressive, but the cash that arrives in your brokerage account is real.

We all want to succeed in everything that we do, including investing in the stock market. Though I have no analytical data to back it up, I am convinced that most people will lose money in the stock market over their lifetime. So why do so few people succeed at investing?

I am a firm believer in keeping things simple. However, you can simplify things to the point they no longer have value. In my opinion, a lot of the commonly used financial metrics can be very misleading unless you understand what is behind them. Let’s take a closer look at Dividend Payout.

In everything we do, we always want to be the best or be associated with the best. You never hear fans yelling, ‘We’re number 2, we’re number 2?, while holding two fingers in the air. The same is true when selecting dividend stocks.

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) reported diluted earnings per share increased 1 percent to $1.04 compared with the same period last year of $1.03 per share. analysts average 0.97. NKE beats by $0.07

First quarter revenues decreased 12 percent to $4.8 billion compared to $5.4 billion for the same period last year.

There has been some controversy over harvesting forests of hardwoods and reseeding them with pines. Valuable hardwood require decades to reach financial maturity. The southern pine reaches financial maturity in a fraction of the time. Growing hardwoods is very similar to investing in dividend stocks.

Over time we tend grow fond of people we have a relationship with. Sometimes we grow to love them like a brother or sister; sometimes even more. In much the same way we can easily grow to love certain stocks, but this is not necessarily a good thing.

How about a list of some great dividend stocks that have long history of increasing their dividends, some for decades? These have a powerful balance sheet, with a track record of generating consistent cash flows and are well-managed, but...

Over the last several weeks I have alluded to the fact that my stock analysis model was going through a major overhaul. Last week I put put the last piece of the puzzle in and began using the new model with the United Technologies Corp.