Top Dividend Companies To Own In Right Now

In Power Hedge's article, "Pacific Drilling: Strong Growth Potential And Undervalued Relative To Peers", you can read about Pacific Drilling's (PACD) bull case. It summarizes something along the lines:

Including its existing modern rigs plus new rigs and contracts concentrated in ultra-deepwater, Pacific Drilling should be on course to have $600 million in EBITDA during 2015, which compares favorably to other drilling companies in the same timeframe. There are also two other catalysts, including the chance of PACD paying a dividend and it building a further 4 rigs.

That's the bull case. What I will present in this article, is the very risky bear case which might also develop.

The bear case

The whole purpose of developing ultra-deepwater crude wells is based on the need for unconventional sources of crude to replace the depleting conventional wells, both located inshore and in shallow offshore waters. Drilling these ultra-deepwater wells is much more expensive than drilling inshore or in shallow waters offshore. It's not hard to see that, when the bull case rests on day rates for those rigs of as much as $660,000 per day.

Top Dividend Companies To Own In Right Now: Cedar Shopping Centers Inc (CDR)

Cedar Shopping Centers, Inc., real estate investment trust, engages in the ownership, operation, development and redevelopment of supermarket-anchored community shopping centers and drug store-anchored convenience centers in the United States. As of December 31, 2007, it owned 118 properties, aggregating approximately 12.0 million square feet of gross leasable area primarily in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia, Ohio, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Michigan, and New York. Cedar Shopping has elected to be treated as a REIT for federal income tax purposes and would not be subject to federal income tax, if it distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its stockholders. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Port Washington, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bill Smith]

  Valuation
  Lastly, because of the negative perception the entire industry has received, prices in this sector have been absolutely pummeled. ESI now trades at the lower end of all of its historical valuation bands: P/E, P/B, and P/S.
  
  Bullish Points
  Guru ownership and avg price: ESI owned by Hussman ($76.15), Weitz ($75.32), and Greenblatt ($73.29)Over 35% of shares are short, potential short squeezeStock buyback plan: ESI reduced outstanding shares by 19% yoy at the end of the 4th quarter. They repurchased 370K shares in 3Q11.The business model is scalable; the incremental cost to educate each additional student is low, leading to high marginsESI acquired Daniel Webster College, giving them a regional accreditation which they can use to broaden their reach in online classes
  Bearish Points
  High costs of education, in general, rightly or wrongly attract government intervention and could squeeze margins over time. Total student debt surpassed credit card balances, and sits at $1 Trillion as of the end of 2011.Subject to compliance with Dept of Education's 90/10 rules, which states a college can't collect more than 90% of revenue from students participating in federal loan programs.Cohort Default Rate (CDR): for-profit colleges must monitor the federal loan default rates of students who graduate or leave the school. If a school's CDR exceeds 25% for 3 consecutive years, or 40% in any one year, its students won't be eligible for federal financial aid.ESI competes on quality of product which is measured by graduation rates and ability to secure employment. For 2010, 70% of ESI graduates got employment in positions using skills taught in their program of study within 1 year. As of Oct 2011, this rate was 600 bp higher. The average annual salary reported by employed 2011 grads was $32K, compared to $32.4K for 2010 grads.With an improving economy, there's a potential ESI would see declining new student enrollmentsOver 35% of shares are short
  Summary

Top Dividend Companies To Own In Right Now: Lorillard Inc(LO)

Lorillard, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States. The company offers 43 different product offerings under the Newport, Kent, True, Maverick, and Old Gold brand names. Lorillard, Inc. sells its products primarily to wholesale distributors, who in turn service retail outlets, chain store organizations, and government agencies, including the United States? Armed Forces. The company was founded in 1760 and is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Reynolds American has been under attack from regulators, health agencies, and other government bodies for a long time, but tobacco opponents have redoubled their efforts. After Reynolds and peer Lorillard (NYSE: LO  ) fought back against an FDA attempt to force them to modify their cigarette packaging to include warnings with graphic images, the Centers for Disease Control have launched ad campaigns highlighting the health risks of smoking. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg made a proposal last month to force stores to get rid of tobacco displays, as a follow-up with the 10th anniversary of his then-controversial smoking ban.

• [By Tim Brugger]

  For the first time, the FDA has authorized the marketing of a new tobacco product via its substantial equivalence (SE) pathway, opening the door for Lorillard (NYSE: LO  ) to begin selling its new Newport Non-Menthol Gold Box and Gold Box 100 products, the company announced this week.

Top Gold Companies To Own In Right Now: Chevron Corporation(CVX)

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  What a Fool believes
  Could a move like this squeeze the profitability of natural gas exports for the U.S.? Potentially, yes, but there are other places around the world that are more likely to suffer from a move like this. Countries like Australia, which has struggled to keep costs under control and doesn't have feedstock as cheap as in the U.S., are more likely to suffer from this. Chevron's (NYSE: CVX  ) massive Gorgon LNG project is more than $15 billion over budget, so cost overruns could make the return on investment for these kinds of projects less lucrative.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  If you thought stocks were getting hit hard today, you need to take a look at the commodities market. Gold is down 9.6% as I write, silver has fallen 12.9%, and oil is down 2.7% to less than $89 per barrel. This drop has hit oil giants Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM  ) , who are down 2.5% and 2.3%, respectively. You can see in the chart below that a drop in oil's price may impact earnings at both companies, but it'll have to be a lot more severe than $2 per barrel.

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  One of the best assets that Buckeye has acquired recently is the Perth Amboy marine terminal in the New York Harbor, which it purchased from Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) for $260 million. In conjunction with the sale, Chevron entered into a multi-year storage and services agreement. Buckeye plans to spend more than $100 million to transform the terminal into one that can store multiple products as well as link it by pipeline to its nearby Linden complex and to upgrade it to handle Bakken-sourced crude oil coming in by rail and ship. This is an area where Buckeye really excels as it can take an underutilized asset from a large integrated company like Chevron and turn it into something of even greater value.�

Top Dividend Companies To Own In Right Now: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Investors have always been interested in stocks that pay dividends, but lately, low interest rates on bonds and other fixed-income investments have made solid dividend payers even more valuable. Among the most promising dividend stocks in the market is Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) , and one big reason is that it is one of the few exclusive companies to make the list of Dividend Aristocrats. In order to become a member of this elite group, a company must have raised its dividend payouts to shareholders every single year for at least a quarter-century. Only a few dozen stocks manage to make the cut, and those that do tend to stay there for a long time.

• [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

  Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  )
  Colgate's shares are trading well below the $62 high they hit just last month. The consumer goods company is heavily levered to international sales, with more than 80% of its business coming from outside the U.S. and more than half coming from emerging markets.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Moreover, it's starting to appear that Clorox has weathered a tough part of its business cycle. Throughout the industry, Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG  ) , Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) , and Clorox all had to deal with rising costs for the inputs they needed to make their respective products. The companies responded by implementing price-cutting measures and passing on part of their higher costs to their customers. For its part, Clorox was able to expand its gross margins by a full percentage point, with a worse-than-normal flu season contributing to sales. Now that input-cost inflation is easing, P&G and Clorox expect to see better profitability, with growth starting to approach the faster rates that Colgate has enjoyed.

Top Dividend Companies To Own In Right Now: Sempra Energy(SRE)

Sempra Energy, together with its subsidiaries, develops new energy infrastructure, operates utilities, and provides energy-related products and services worldwide. It operates in six segments: SDG&E, SoCalGas, Sempra Generation, Sempra Pipelines & Storage, Sempra LNG (liquefied natural gas), and Sempra Commodities. The SDG&E segment has electric and natural gas franchises that locate, operate, and maintain facilities for the transmission and distribution of electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, street and highway lighting, and direct access customers. The SoCalGas segment has natural gas franchises that locate, operate, and maintain facilities for the transmission and distribution of natural gas to electric generation, wholesale, large commercial, industrial, and enhanced oil recovery customers. The Sempra Generation segment involves in the generation and wholesale distribution of electricity through a fleet of natural gas-fired power generati on facilities in Arizona, Nevada, and Indiana, as well as Mexico with a total capacity of 2,513 megawatts. The Sempra Pipelines & Storage segment operates 1,883 miles of distribution pipelines, 224 miles of transmission pipelines, and 3 compressor stations in Mexico; operates Mobile Gas, a natural gas distribution utility located in Mobile and Baldwin counties in Alabama; and operates natural gas storage facilities in Washington County of Alabama and Simpson County of Mississippi. The Sempra LNG segment involves in the receipt, storage, and vaporization of LNG, as well as the purchase and sale of natural gas. It operates Energia Costa Azul LNG receipt terminal in Baja California, Mexico, as well as Cameron LNG receipt terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. The Sempra Commodities segment engages in the commodities-marketing business. Sempra Energy has operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered i n San Diego, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Richard Stavros]

  The Top Low-Carbon Utilities

  PG&E Corp (NYSE: PCG) Exelon Corp (NYSE: EXC) Entergy Corp (NYSE: ETR) Public Service Enterprise Group Inc (NYSE: PEG) NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE: NEE) Dominion Resources Inc (NYSE: D) Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE)

  But that is not to say that, over the long term, high-carbon utilities might not be able to crack the technology and cost issues that would make “clean coal” competitive with other low-carbon energy sources. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz has said, “No discussion of US energy security and reducing global CO2 emissions is complete without talking about coal and the technologies that will allow us to use this resource more efficiently and with fewer greenhouse gas emissions.”

Top Dividend Companies To Own In Right Now: PPL Corporation(PPL)

PPL Corporation, an energy and utility holding company, generates and sells electricity; and delivers natural gas to approximately 5.3 million utility customers primarily in the northeastern and northwestern U.S. The company operates in four segments: Kentucky Regulated, International Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated, and Supply. The Kentucky Regulated segment engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity; and the distribution and sale of natural gas to approximately 1.3 million customers in Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. The International Regulated segment owns and operates electricity distribution businesses in the United Kingdom that deliver electricity to 7.7 million customers. The Pennsylvania Regulated segment delivers electricity to approximately 1.4 million customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania. The Supply segment owns and operates power plants to generate electricity using coal, uranium, natural gas, oil, and water res ources; markets and trades electricity and other purchased power to wholesale and retail markets; and acquires and develops domestic generation projects. It controls or owns a portfolio of generation assets of approximately 11,000 megawatts in Montana and Pennsylvania. As of December 31, 2010, the company?s distribution system included 649 substations with a capacity of 25 million kVA, 28,838 circuit miles of overhead lines, and 24,131 cable miles of underground conductors in the United Kingdom. It also operated 377 substations with a capacity of 31 million kVA, 33,122 circuit miles of overhead lines, and 7,368 cable miles of underground conductors in Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Pennsylvania-based electric utility PPL (NYSE: PPL  ) found itself in the path of one of the most devastating storms in history last year, as Hurricane Sandy barreled into the mid-Atlantic and left billions of dollars in damage in its wake. Although PPL stock didn't suffer a long-term hit from the storm, the utility now faces a much different threat from rising interest rates that could eventually have a major impact on its financing costs. Let's take a look at what's been happening with PPL in the recent past and how it's responding to this new threat.

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  Across the pond, Britain-based PPL's (NYSE: PPL  ) Western Power Distribution is piloting a project to incentivize "smart" electricity use for 15 businesses. As part of the trial, businesses will receive financial compensation for reducing overall electricity use and for shifting use away from peak hours.�