Connect with us

2 “Strong Buy” Dividend Stocks With 10% Dividend Yield

2 “Strong Buy” Dividend Stocks With 10% Dividend Yield

Published

on

The 1H20, after the coronavirus crisis and the economic downturn, was a true black swan. Yet, markets are on the upswing, with the NASDAQ near record highs and the S&P 500 holding above 3,200. It’s a positive sign, and a welcome one as we enter the Q2 earnings season. Investors are both cautious and guardedly optimistic going in.

The second quarter saw some serious turbulence as headwinds and tailwinds collided. Among the headwinds: the lockdowns of March and the dreaded ‘second wave’ of the virus in June. The tailwinds included the lifting of restrictions in May, and the restarting of economic activity. Initial results are showing that Q2 earnings were not as grim as Q1. The question now is, is it sustainable?

We just don’t know. And that makes dividend stocks, the classic defensive play, look better every day. Using TipRanks database, identified two stocks that have maintained their dividend payments even during the height of pandemic. They are yielding 10%, and are backed by enough analysts to earn a “Strong Buy” consensus rating. 

NexPoint Real Estate Finance (NREF)

The first stock on our list is a newcomer to the markets. NexPoint, a real estate investment trust focused on mortgage loans for single- and multi-family residential rental units, went public this past February. While the IPO, of $19 per share, was at the low end of the initial range, the offering was successful with 5 million shares sold bringing in $95 million.

Since then, NexPoint has had the bad luck to run headlong into the coronavirus-inspired economic downturn. With million laid off or unemployed, rental owners have had a hard time collecting from tenants, leading to difficulties for the mortgage holders. Even in this difficult climate, however, NREF was able to beat the earnings forecast, and report 23 cents EPS against the forecast of 22 cents.

Meeting earnings expectations allowed the company to meet its dividend obligations, as well. NREF declared its Q1 dividend payment on the same day it released earnings figures, and paid the dividend out at 40 cents per share on June 30. This payment annualizes to $1.60 and gives an excellent yield of 10.6%. Compare that to the ~2% average yield found among S&P listed companies, and the attraction here is clear.

Covering this stock for Raymond James, analyst Stephen Laws writes, “…NREF [has a] high quality portfolio of stabilized, long-duration investments, which we believe results in better earnings visibility than peers. NREF's portfolio does not have any land or construction loans or any loans collateralized by hotel, retail, or office properties. We believe shares should trade roughly in line with book value as we believe the company is well positioned to capitalize on the stressed market environment given the recent capital raise.”

To this end, Laws rates NREF a Strong Buy along with an $18 price target, suggesting it has room for 19% growth in the coming year. (To watch Laws’ track record, click here)

Overall, NREF shares have a unanimous Strong Buy analyst consensus rating, a show of confidence by Wall Street’s analyst corps. The stock is selling for $15.11, and the average price target of $18.50 implies 22% growth in the year ahead. (See NREF stock analysis on TipRanks)

TPG RE Finance Trust (TRTX)

For our next stock, we’ll stick with the REIT sector. TPG RE Finance was sponsored by global asset firm TPG, to handle commercial real estate financing. TRTX has a portfolio worth over $5.8 billion, and its properties are mainly multi-family dwellings or office space, along with significant exposure to hotels and mixed-used properties.

Business closures and mass unemployment put enormous pressure on most apartment- and office exposed REITs in the first half of the year, and TRTX was no exception. The company saw Q1 earnings plummet to negative territory, and reported a $2.20 loss per share. Nevertheless, TRTX has chosen to keep up its dividend payments.

It was not a light decision, nor was it easy to carry out. The company’s Q1 dividend, which had been suspended, was restored at the previously declared 43 cents per share, while the Q2 payment was cut back to 20 cents. The cut to the dividend was made to keep the payment better in line with share value. After the cut, TRTX’s dividend offers a yield of 10.2%. It’s important to remember here that TRTX’s shares have really recovered their value from the market crash earlier this year.

JMP’s 5-star analyst Steven DeLaney notes the dividend – and TRTX’s commitment to it – in his recent note on the stock. He writes, “[The] new lower cash dividend suggests a cautiously prudent approach in the near term. On June 17, the company announced that the 2Q dividend will be $0.20 per share and a decline of 53% from the prior $0.43. Additionally, the temporarily suspended 1Q dividend of $0.43 will be paid in cash on July 14. We believe the new quarterly dividend level is appropriate to preserve liquidity ahead of some level of expected credit workouts in the loan portfolio.”

On the strength of the dividend and the company’s forward prospect, DeLaney rates TRTX a Buy. His $10 price target show confidence in a 24% one-year upside growth potential. (To watch DeLaney’s track record, click here)

Wall Street agrees with DeLaney; that much is clear from the aggregate data. TRTX has a Strong Buy rating from the analyst consensus, based on 3 Buys and 1 Hold. Shares are priced at $8.08 and have an average price target of $10.17, suggesting nearly 26% upside. (See TRTX stock analysis on TipRanks)

To find good ideas for dividend stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.

The post 2 “Strong Buy” Dividend Stocks With 10% Dividend Yield appeared first on TipRanks Financial Blog.

Read More

Continue Reading

Government

Mike Pompeo Doesn’t Rule Out Serving In 2nd Trump Administration

Mike Pompeo Doesn’t Rule Out Serving In 2nd Trump Administration

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Former Secretary…

Published

on

Mike Pompeo Doesn't Rule Out Serving In 2nd Trump Administration

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a new interview that he’s not ruling out accepting a White House position if former President Donald Trump is reelected in November.

“If I get a chance to serve and think that I can make a difference ... I’m almost certainly going to say yes to that opportunity to try and deliver on behalf of the American people,” he told Fox News, when asked during a interview if he would work for President Trump again.

I’m confident President Trump will be looking for people who will faithfully execute what it is he asked them to do,” Mr. Pompeo said during the interview, which aired on March 8. “I think as a president, you should always want that from everyone.”

Then-President Donald Trump (C), then- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L), and then-Vice President Mike Pence, take a question during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus at the White House in Washington on April 8, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

He said that as a former secretary of state, “I certainly wanted my team to do what I was asking them to do and was enormously frustrated when I found that I couldn’t get them to do that.”

Mr. Pompeo, a former U.S. representative from Kansas, served as Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2018 before he was secretary of state from 2018 to 2021. After he left office, there was speculation that he could mount a Republican presidential bid in 2024, but announced that he wouldn’t be running.

President Trump hasn’t publicly commented about Mr. Pompeo’s remarks.

In 2023, amid speculation that he would make a run for the White House, Mr. Pompeo took a swipe at his former boss, telling Fox News at the time that “the Trump administration spent $6 trillion more than it took in, adding to the deficit.”

“That’s never the right direction for the country,” he said.

In a public appearance last year, Mr. Pompeo also appeared to take a shot at the 45th president by criticizing “celebrity leaders” when urging GOP voters to choose ahead of the 2024 election.

2024 Race

Mr. Pompeo’s interview comes as the former president was named the “presumptive nominee” by the Republican National Committee (RNC) last week after his last major Republican challenger, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, dropped out of the 2024 race after failing to secure enough delegates. President Trump won 14 out of 15 states on Super Tuesday, with only Vermont—which notably has an open primary—going for Ms. Haley, who served as President Trump’s U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

On March 8, the RNC held a meeting in Houston during which committee members voted in favor of President Trump’s nomination.

“Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump on his huge primary victory!” the organization said in a statement last week. “I’d also like to congratulate Nikki Haley for running a hard-fought campaign and becoming the first woman to win a Republican presidential contest.”

Earlier this year, the former president criticized the idea of being named the presumptive nominee after reports suggested that the RNC would do so before the Super Tuesday contests and while Ms. Haley was still in the race.

Also on March 8, the RNC voted to name Trump-endorsed officials to head the organization. Michael Whatley, a North Carolina Republican, was elected the party’s new national chairman in a vote in Houston, and Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, was voted in as co-chair.

“The RNC is going to be the vanguard of a movement that will work tirelessly every single day to elect our nominee, Donald J. Trump, as the 47th President of the United States,” Mr. Whatley told RNC members in a speech after being elected, replacing former chair Ronna McDaniel. Ms. Trump is expected to focus largely on fundraising and media appearances.

President Trump hasn’t signaled whom he would appoint to various federal agencies if he’s reelected in November. He also hasn’t said who his pick for a running mate would be, but has offered several suggestions in recent interviews.

In various interviews, the former president has mentioned Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, among others.

Tyler Durden Wed, 03/13/2024 - 17:00

Read More

Continue Reading

International

Riley Gaines Explains How Women’s Sports Are Rigged To Promote The Trans Agenda

Riley Gaines Explains How Women’s Sports Are Rigged To Promote The Trans Agenda

Is there a light forming when it comes to the long, dark and…

Published

on

Riley Gaines Explains How Women's Sports Are Rigged To Promote The Trans Agenda

Is there a light forming when it comes to the long, dark and bewildering tunnel of social justice cultism?  Global events have been so frenetic that many people might not remember, but only a couple years ago Big Tech companies and numerous governments were openly aligned in favor of mass censorship.  Not just to prevent the public from investigating the facts surrounding the pandemic farce, but to silence anyone questioning the validity of woke concepts like trans ideology. 

From 2020-2022 was the closest the west has come in a long time to a complete erasure of freedom of speech.  Even today there are still countries and Europe and places like Canada or Australia that are charging forward with draconian speech laws.  The phrase "radical speech" is starting to circulate within pro-censorship circles in reference to any platform where people are allowed to talk critically.  What is radical speech?  Basically, it's any discussion that runs contrary to the beliefs of the political left.

Open hatred of moderate or conservative ideals is perfectly acceptable, but don't ever shine a negative light on woke activism, or you might be a terrorist.

Riley Gaines has experienced this double standard first hand.  She was even assaulted and taken hostage at an event in 2023 at San Francisco State University when leftists protester tried to trap her in a room and demanded she "pay them to let her go."  Campus police allegedly witnessed the incident but charges were never filed and surveillance footage from the college was never released.  

It's probably the last thing a champion female swimmer ever expects, but her head-on collision with the trans movement and the institutional conspiracy to push it on the public forced her to become a counter-culture voice of reason rather than just an athlete.

For years the independent media argued that no matter how much we expose the insanity of men posing as women to compete and dominate women's sports, nothing will really change until the real female athletes speak up and fight back.  Riley Gaines and those like her represent that necessary rebellion and a desperately needed return to common sense and reason.

In a recent interview on the Joe Rogan Podcast, Gaines related some interesting information on the inner workings of the NCAA and the subversive schemes surrounding trans athletes.  Not only were women participants essentially strong-armed by colleges and officials into quietly going along with the program, there was also a concerted propaganda effort.  Competition ceremonies were rigged as vehicles for promoting trans athletes over everyone else. 

The bottom line?  The competitions didn't matter.  The real women and their achievements didn't matter.  The only thing that mattered to officials were the photo ops; dudes pretending to be chicks posing with awards for the gushing corporate media.  The agenda took precedence.

Lia Thomas, formerly known as William Thomas, was more than an activist invading female sports, he was also apparently a science project fostered and protected by the athletic establishment.  It's important to understand that the political left does not care about female athletes.  They do not care about women's sports.  They don't care about the integrity of the environments they co-opt.  Their only goal is to identify viable platforms with social impact and take control of them.  Women's sports are seen as a vehicle for public indoctrination, nothing more.

The reasons why they covet women's sports are varied, but a primary motive is the desire to assert the fallacy that men and women are "the same" psychologically as well as physically.  They want the deconstruction of biological sex and identity as nothing more than "social constructs" subject to personal preference.  If they can destroy what it means to be a man or a woman, they can destroy the very foundations of relationships, families and even procreation.  

For now it seems as though the trans agenda is hitting a wall with much of the public aware of it and less afraid to criticize it.  Social media companies might be able to silence some people, but they can't silence everyone.  However, there is still a significant threat as the movement continues to target children through the public education system and women's sports are not out of the woods yet.   

The ultimate solution is for women athletes around the world to organize and widely refuse to participate in any competitions in which biological men are allowed.  The only way to save women's sports is for women to be willing to end them, at least until institutions that put doctrine ahead of logic are made irrelevant.          

Tyler Durden Wed, 03/13/2024 - 17:20

Read More

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-March 2024

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-March 2024
A brief excerpt: This 2-part overview for mid-March provides a snapshot of the current housing market.

I always like to star…

Published

on

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-March 2024

A brief excerpt:
This 2-part overview for mid-March provides a snapshot of the current housing market.

I always like to start with inventory, since inventory usually tells the tale!
...
Here is a graph of new listing from Realtor.com’s February 2024 Monthly Housing Market Trends Report showing new listings were up 11.3% year-over-year in February. This is still well below pre-pandemic levels. From Realtor.com:

However, providing a boost to overall inventory, sellers turned out in higher numbers this February as newly listed homes were 11.3% above last year’s levels. This marked the fourth month of increasing listing activity after a 17-month streak of decline.
Note the seasonality for new listings. December and January are seasonally the weakest months of the year for new listings, followed by February and November. New listings will be up year-over-year in 2024, but we will have to wait for the March and April data to see how close new listings are to normal levels.

There are always people that need to sell due to the so-called 3 D’s: Death, Divorce, and Disease. Also, in certain times, some homeowners will need to sell due to unemployment or excessive debt (neither is much of an issue right now).

And there are homeowners who want to sell for a number of reasons: upsizing (more babies), downsizing, moving for a new job, or moving to a nicer home or location (move-up buyers). It is some of the “want to sell” group that has been locked in with the golden handcuffs over the last couple of years, since it is financially difficult to move when your current mortgage rate is around 3%, and your new mortgage rate will be in the 6 1/2% to 7% range.

But time is a factor for this “want to sell” group, and eventually some of them will take the plunge. That is probably why we are seeing more new listings now.
There is much more in the article.

Read More

Continue Reading

Trending