Monday, February 2, 2015

January Review / February Preview 2015

Stupid decisions Gremlin here to talk to you about last and next month.  Stupid decisions one is here because recently I got to do some work travel to the Lake Tahoe area, and clearly nothing good ever happens at the Blackjack table.  Oh, well no big deal, I survived.  Also, I will not be removing California or Nevada from my travel list because outside of one afternoon and night, I saw little other than a hotel conference room.  Not a true vacation, thought i did get to eat at an In'N'Out Burger for the first time ever, so that was cool.

Fun fact: I did not bet on the Superbowl at all.  Though, I was alright with the Patriots winning, mainly because I hate watching someone win back to back.

January:

Last month I brought in a total of $70.04 in dividends ($51.38 taxable, $18.66 Roth).  This is actually down from last year ($80.48) when I possessed the high yield, but dangerous stock known as Windstream (WIN).  WIN accounted for a lot of money and is the sole reason that I am lower than last year by 12.9%.  However, I expected this and am glad to be done with that stock.  The strength of the US dollar also hurt my returns a little, with my Canadian stocks sending me a little less due to our relative strength.

On the positive side, I received one dividend increase in the form of General Electric (GE), and I expect two more next month for Kinder Morgan (KMI) and AT&T (T).  Realty Income (O) also gave me its usual small increase this month, representing a small increase for the first quarter.

All in all, not a bad way to start the year.  Things are mostly on track to where I want to be.  I added four new shares of Unilever (UL) via Loyal3.  I have almost rounded out that position, and I expect to do so soon, price permitting.

February:

February should be a lot more interesting for me overall.  First, I have already started purchasing stock via Loyal3.  Oddly it was not UL, their price has run up just a little too much of late.  Rather, Microsoft (MSFT) was where the money has started getting placed.  MSFT has seen its price drop rather dramatically of late, and to be honest it baffles me.  MSFT is one of the stocks on my priority list too, so the slight change in course does not mean losing track of the end goal, but rather navigating a steadier path there.  McDonald's (MCD), Kellogg's (K), and Disney (DIS) have all been looking much better in price of late as well.  It is unlikely DIS will receive any attention until later this year, but the others might also get played in the game plan (this was expected for K, not MCD).

The big news of this short month is the reshuffling of my money between my taxable and Roth accounts to make a big buy ahead of schedule in the Roth.  This, coupled with my recent acquisition of 2 free trades from Sharebuilder should make this year much more interesting.  I have my eyes set on a few stocks and the trade should be coming soon.  In the running are Aflac (AFL), Chubb Crop (CB), Norfolk Southern (NSC), and Chevron (CVX).  My mind has wavered between them all for many reasons, in the long run they are all worth owning, but which one do I get right now?

As you can see, exciting times lay ahead.  Are you expecting anything good from the short month?

Long: GE, KMI, T, O, UL, MSFT, MCD, K, DIS
- Gremlin

10 comments:

  1. Hi Dividend Gremlin

    I really like your name there.

    The Superbowl this year was exciting, though it depends on which team you are supporting though.

    Feb seems like it's going to be a volatile month and it means more and more opportunities abound.

    Pls take care and looking forward to your updates.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. B,

      Thanks for the kind words. I really do not care about either team, I just wanted a good game - although I love no repeat winners.

      I hope Feb is all over the place. It will be nice for those with their eyes open ready to take advantage of the buyers and sellers, and those who can't sit tight ever.

      Thanks again,
      Gremlin

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  2. The Superbowl sure was exciting this year. Apparently it had record viewership too.

    Loyal3 is a great program, way to take advantage of it. I wish we have something similar like Loyal3 here in Canada.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tawcan,

      It sure was, hope you were able to watch it on a US station so you got the good commercials too.

      Loyal3 has been working great, stinks you don't have it. Have you tried to look up Robinhood? I don't know if that is also US only.

      Thanks for stopping by,
      Gremlin

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  3. Hey Gremlin, MSFT should have a good year. Windows 10 looks like it has the potential to be a hit. The price drop is just a good chance to buy cheap.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gareth,

      I have heard that about Win 10. I know the 8 series was miserable, my parents have it and when I tried it my first thought was "what did they do?" The price drop of late has been nice to allow me to add a few shares efficiently.

      Thanks for the comment,
      Gremlin

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  4. DG,

    Glad to read you had a good month, even though it was lower than last year. Getting rid of unwanted stocks is worth a drop in dividend income in my book though.

    Regarding Microsoft, I was baffled too. I always believed they were a little overvalued, but a drop of over 10% in just one to two days is a big correction. I know it has been struggling quite a lot on the mobile front, but the next Windows is set to be a huge hit, as well as the continued success of its Office suit. And in the server department there's hardly any real competition.

    Let's hope I manage to snag som cheap shares too at the end of the month.

    Best wishes,
    NMW

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    Replies
    1. NMW,

      I agree, and the momentary pinch is good learning.

      On MSFT, I totally concur. They are not going anywhere bad anytime soon, and if anything are looking up with the changes come up.

      Thanks for stopping by,
      Gremlin

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  5. I still think you have a nice dividend income for last month even though it was lower than last year. I know it's tempting but never chase yield. My portfolio probably is one of the lower yielding among the dividend bloggers because I own no REITs or MLPs or other very high yield stock. That's OK with me. Like you I am happy with the GE increase and I like your UL add as well. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DivHut,

      I agree. At one point about 2 years ago I did chase yield a little and got away before it really got burned. I still have PGH in my portfolio, and I expect a hit there. However, I am in that one for a long run - and I know its going to be a bumpy ride. Otherwise yes I fully concur not to chase yield.

      I also dislike MLPs, a lot. REITs are okay in my opinion, but I would only want to have a select few at small percentages.

      Thanks for the comment,
      Gremlin

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