You might have missed the news, but video game retailer GameStop (NYSE: GME) tumbled 35% last week after the company eliminated its dividend.  #-ad_banner-#In this age of streaming and online software downloads, it seems there are fewer customers looking for game titles on store shelves. Go figure. As Chief Investment Strategist of High-Yield Investing, it’s my job to help steer my premium subscribers away from looming icebergs like this.  One of the best ways to do that is by hunting for companies that are raising their dividends — after all, a growing dividend is usually a sign of good, predictable… Read More

You might have missed the news, but video game retailer GameStop (NYSE: GME) tumbled 35% last week after the company eliminated its dividend.  #-ad_banner-#In this age of streaming and online software downloads, it seems there are fewer customers looking for game titles on store shelves. Go figure. As Chief Investment Strategist of High-Yield Investing, it’s my job to help steer my premium subscribers away from looming icebergs like this.  One of the best ways to do that is by hunting for companies that are raising their dividends — after all, a growing dividend is usually a sign of good, predictable business conditions, all else being equal. This month, I told my premium newsletter subscribers about three companies that are likely to give shareholders a dividend boost in the next four to six weeks. And while High-Yield Investing readers get a lead on this information each month before anyone else, I always make a point to pass my findings along to the public. So without further delay, here they are… 1. Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) — This industrial manufacturer sells auto parts, welding equipment, restaurant ovens and coolers, and many other specialized products spanning seven distinct business segments. It’s not exactly… Read More

Most of the stocks we consider for our portfolio over at Fast-Track Millionaire are so-called “growth” stocks. This should not surprise anybody: we look for the leaders of tomorrow, for future Googles or Amazons, before they become household names. The best of these fledgling companies usually have one thing in common: outsized growth. #-ad_banner-#Investors are willing to pay up for growth prospects that are out of the ordinary — hence the high valuations, whether measured in price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S) or price-to-book (P/B).  In fact, some of the stocks we have in the portfolio don’t even have a meaningful P/E… Read More

Most of the stocks we consider for our portfolio over at Fast-Track Millionaire are so-called “growth” stocks. This should not surprise anybody: we look for the leaders of tomorrow, for future Googles or Amazons, before they become household names. The best of these fledgling companies usually have one thing in common: outsized growth. #-ad_banner-#Investors are willing to pay up for growth prospects that are out of the ordinary — hence the high valuations, whether measured in price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S) or price-to-book (P/B).  In fact, some of the stocks we have in the portfolio don’t even have a meaningful P/E ratio. That’s because they don’t have much in terms of earnings — or have not earned any money at all yet. They eventually will — if everything goes right — but not this or next year.  In such cases, P/B ratio can be used. The company’s book, or accounting, value is measured as the difference between the company’s assets and its liabilities. It’s a meaningful number — and so is the price-to-book valuation. For instance, when price-to-book is less than one, the company trades at less than the total value of its assets. Value investors love finding such companies.  Let’s… Read More

I’m betting that sometime today, a shipping container will fall into the sea. That’s what the odds tell us, anyway. According to a survey by the World Shipping Council, an average of 612 containers go overboard each year. Some even wash up on distant shores, disgorging their soaked cargo. Scavengers on Dutch islands recently picked through furniture, clothing and televisions that had broken free after a ship was battered by 30-foot waves and fierce winds. In the grand scheme of things, though, such events are rare. About 99.999% of these sturdy steel boxes make it safely to their destinations. There… Read More

I’m betting that sometime today, a shipping container will fall into the sea. That’s what the odds tell us, anyway. According to a survey by the World Shipping Council, an average of 612 containers go overboard each year. Some even wash up on distant shores, disgorging their soaked cargo. Scavengers on Dutch islands recently picked through furniture, clothing and televisions that had broken free after a ship was battered by 30-foot waves and fierce winds. In the grand scheme of things, though, such events are rare. About 99.999% of these sturdy steel boxes make it safely to their destinations. There are approximately 30 million shipping containers in use worldwide, and most make several transits annually. Built to be nearly indestructible, these stackable twenty-by-eight foot containers can safely hold up to 25 tons of cargo. Pry one open, and you might find tennis shoes inside… or kitchen appliances, sporting goods or lawn mowers. There are even refrigerated units for frozen foods and other perishable cargo. Consumers give little thought to how merchandise arrives on store shelves at their local Wal-Mart or Target. We don’t even notice until items are out of stock (or prices creep higher). But think how empty those… Read More

Investors know that markets react quickly to any new development or big news. But markets also tend to overreact.  The latter explains why, while being “efficient” — that is, reflecting all the available information — the market also contains a wealth of overvalued as well as attractively valued stocks at any given time. This is what stock picking is all about — finding companies that look undervalued by the market. Of course, stock pickers often have to contend with the phenomenon of market overreaction. In this case, they can be “early on the stock” — the best of us have… Read More

Investors know that markets react quickly to any new development or big news. But markets also tend to overreact.  The latter explains why, while being “efficient” — that is, reflecting all the available information — the market also contains a wealth of overvalued as well as attractively valued stocks at any given time. This is what stock picking is all about — finding companies that look undervalued by the market. Of course, stock pickers often have to contend with the phenomenon of market overreaction. In this case, they can be “early on the stock” — the best of us have been there, having selected a company for its growth potential only to see the stock stagnate or, worse, decline.  But the potential of choosing the right stock and betting against the grain can also be huge: when all the bad news is already incorporated into shares, an upside catalyst related to any improvement, changes in the company’s results or in the market’s sentiment could be significant. I believe that to be the case with Grubhub (Nasdaq: GRUB), a food delivery leader that has served up accelerating organic growth — and whose shares still don’t reflect that positive action.  If it… Read More

Last week’s market action was relatively dull. And by dull, I mean there wasn’t much price volatility.  Now, just because the market was “dull” doesn’t mean it wasn’t also interesting. Dull markets actually provide us with important information about what’s likely to happen next…  —Recommended Link— The most underrated wealth-building maneuver in history. Wall Street pretty much ignores it… but more than 150 years of data prove that doing this beats every other investment approach hands down. By a LOT. In fact, using this little twist turned a $122,878 payday into $1,098,012. ​Check it out here and see what… Read More

Last week’s market action was relatively dull. And by dull, I mean there wasn’t much price volatility.  Now, just because the market was “dull” doesn’t mean it wasn’t also interesting. Dull markets actually provide us with important information about what’s likely to happen next…  —Recommended Link— The most underrated wealth-building maneuver in history. Wall Street pretty much ignores it… but more than 150 years of data prove that doing this beats every other investment approach hands down. By a LOT. In fact, using this little twist turned a $122,878 payday into $1,098,012. ​Check it out here and see what I mean. The dullness resulted from the fact that the S&P 500 was almost unchanged after Tuesday. I’ve created a chart showing the last two times we saw a market that was this dull. The blue rectangles highlight the “dull” periods.  The bars at the bottom show the true range of each day’s market action. The range is the difference between the high and the low. This indicator misses the market action on days when the price gaps up or down at the open. (Gaps are opening prices significantly above or below the previous day’s close.) The true range corrects… Read More

The markets undergo rotation all the time. Whether it’s manifested as a change in leadership in a stock or in a sector, one thing is for sure: some of today’s small- and mid-sized companies are destined to become tomorrow’s blue chips. This is what my Fast-Track Millionaire premium newsletter service is all about — finding tomorrow’s leaders while they still trade at relatively low levels. If you get it right, the rewards can be stunning. While identifying the next Microsoft can be an arduous process, a few mistakes along the way can be forgiven if your best find appreciates… Read More

The markets undergo rotation all the time. Whether it’s manifested as a change in leadership in a stock or in a sector, one thing is for sure: some of today’s small- and mid-sized companies are destined to become tomorrow’s blue chips. This is what my Fast-Track Millionaire premium newsletter service is all about — finding tomorrow’s leaders while they still trade at relatively low levels. If you get it right, the rewards can be stunning. While identifying the next Microsoft can be an arduous process, a few mistakes along the way can be forgiven if your best find appreciates by 100%, 200%, or even more.  The strategy of finding what we like to call “The Next Big Thing” is two-fold. The first step entails identifying relevant trends in their early stages and the companies that will be the likely beneficiaries. That’s obvious enough. But there’s a corollary to the process, an aspect of the search that is often underappreciated by investors. And this part is all about determining which stocks or groups of stocks are the most likely to deteriorate as time goes on. In other words, the companies to avoid. This is what we’re going to focus on… Read More