Dividend Stock Investing: April 2015

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Dividend ETFs

(source: Dividend ETFs)

VYM - Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF . This large cap centric fund provides exposure to the high yielding U.S. dividend stocks by tracking the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index. The ETF is one of the largest and most popular choices in the dividend ETF space with AUM of over $11.2 billion. Expense ratio came in at 10 bps. In terms of sector, the fund is widely spread out with consumer, financials, technology, industrials, health care and oil & gas taking double-digit exposure in the basket. The ETF yields 2.84% (as of April 16, 2015) and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy) with a Medium risk outlook. VYM was up about 10% in the last one year (as of the same date).

FDD - First Trust STOXX European Select Dividend Index Fund . This ETF follows the STOXX Europe Select Dividend 30 Index, providing exposure to high-dividend yielding companies across 18 European countries. In total, the fund holds 32 securities. United Kingdom, Switzerland and France make up for the top three country holdings. FDD is tilted toward Financials at about 49% while Utilities also accounts for double-digit allocation. It is rich in AUM of $203 million, and charges 60 bps in annual fees and expenses. The fund has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold) with a Medium risk outlook. The fund is up 4.5% so far this year (as of April 16, 2015) and yields about 4.04%.
SDIV - Global X SuperDividend ETF . Investors seeking a solid level of current income in this market should invest in SDIV. This ETF yields over 6%, much higher than 10-year treasury yield and the S&P 500 yield. However, it is worth noting that SDIV has about 75% exposure in the international market. SDIV is an equally weighted basket of 100 high yield stocks. With 30% exposure in U.S. equities, the fund also provides access to securities in Europe, Australia, Asia, Canada and Latin America. SDIV charges a fee of 58 basis points annually. SDIV is up 5.4% this year. The fund currently has a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 with a Low risk outlook.
NOBL - ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF
REGL - ProShares S&P MidCap 400 Dividend Aristocrats ETF
SMDV - Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF
EFAD - MSCI EAFE Dividend Growers ETF

Simon Properties (SPG) increases quarterly dividend 7% to $1.50 from $1.40 per share

Simon Properties (SPG) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a 15.4% increase year-over-year and an increase of $0.10 or 7.1% from the previous quarter.