The Future is Data, and These Three REITs are the Way to Profit From That Future

The need for an ever-increasing amount of data storage is a growth story that appears to have a very long runway. Experts estimate that the “digital universe” will double every two years (that’s a 50-fold increase in a decade).

Enterprise IT, cloud computing and services, the Internet of Things, and autonomous vehicles all require larger and larger amounts of data storage capacity. Data center owning real estate investment trusts (REITs) are a conservative way to play this trend, with potential for high teens, up to 20% annual total returns.

There is a small handful of REITs that specialize in developing and leasing data centers. All these companies are in growth mode and are either acquiring and/or developing new facilities to lease out to a wide range of customers.

The investing public often forgets that this REIT sector is an integral part of the technology industry. Often, they are treated like any other class of REIT. This dichotomy of market focus allows the attentive investor to pick up data center REIT shares on sale when the larger REIT sector goes into a decline.

Multi-year investment returns from the data center companies will be driven by cash flow and dividend growth rates.

Here are three REITs that can put high-teens annual compounding total returns into your portfolio.

Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) is the $37 billion market cap, 800 lb. gorilla of the data center industry. The company converted from corporate tax payer to REIT status at the start of 2015. The company is a colocation and interconnection service provider.

Colocation is a data center facility in which a business can rent space for servers and other computing hardware. Typically, a colocation facility provides the building, cooling, power, bandwidth and physical security while the customer provides servers and storage.

The company’s services currently give 9,800 customers 333,000 interconnects between data centers and world’s digital exchanges. According to the current Investor Overview presentation, Equinix owns 200 data centers in 24 countries, on five continents. This is truly an international company.

Equinix has produced 64 consecutive quarters of revenue growth – the longest growth track record in the S&P500. This results in mid-teen per share cash flow growth.

For 2018 the company forecasts 8% to 11% FFO per share and dividend increases.

The shares currently yield 2.2%.

Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR) is a $26 billion market cap REIT that owns 214 data centers in 13 countries. Digital Realty has 2,300 customers.

Like Equinix, Digital Realty is also a colocation and interconnection services provider. This REIT’s customer list includes some of the largest technology and telecommunications companies. In the top 10 are IBM, Facebook, Oracle, Verizon, LinkedIn, and even Equinix.

According to the current investor presentation, Digital Realty has increased its dividend per share for 14 straight years. Over that period cash flow to pay dividends has grown by a compounding 11.4% per year.

The DLR dividend has grown by 10% plus per year for the last 14 years.

The shares currently yield 4.0%.

CoreSite Realty Corp (COR) is a $4.0 billion market cap REIT that owns 22 data centers in eight strategic U.S. cities. The company’s focus is to provide colocation services to enterprise, network, and cloud services companies.

CoreSite is the high growth, higher risk company out of the three covered here. From 2011 through 2017, FFO per share grew by 23% compounded and the dividend by more than 30% per year.

Future results will cycle from relatively flat to high growth years. The company is currently in a flat growth stretch with management forecasting 4% FFO growth for 2019. That could easily increase back to historic levels with a few new data center investments.

An investment in COR will not be as stable as with the large cap data center REITs. The flip side is the potential for large dividend increases and corresponding share price gains.

The shares currently yield 4.0%.

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Source: Investors Alley

So the 3D Hype Is Over? Yes, But Not for Everyone

A great area to find investment opportunities is places where the Wall Street hype machine went crazy and then the bubble burst. I’ll give you a great example.

After the dot-com bubble burst, shares of Amazon plunged 95%. People thought the entire industry went bust when in reality, only the shady start-ups went under.

A current example is 3D printing, or, to use the more formal name, additive manufacturing. In 2013, valuations here went bonkers. We were told that a 3D printer would soon be in every home. Then in 2015, the bubble finally burst.

Now, if anything, we’re at the other extreme. Some folks who should know better think the field is dead. Well, they’re wrong. The long-term growth story for additive manufacturing is alive and well. The difference is that the industry has shifted its priorities to industrial and medical applications.

So what exactly is additive manufacturing? I’ll make it simple—it’s the process of making something by building it one layer at a time.

The first step is to create a design. This is typically done using computer aided design, or CAD software.

The software translates the design into a layer-by-layer framework for the additive manufacturing machine to follow. This is sent to the 3D printer which begins creating the object immediately.

There are some key benefits. With traditional manufacturing, the entire supply chain can take months and require an investment of millions of dollars that can only be recouped by high-volume production. With additive manufacturing, many of those intermediate steps are simply removed.

Manufacturing something additively also makes it possible to use different materials on the inside and outside. For example, making something that has high conductivity but that is also abrasion-resistant is no problem. With conventional manufacturing, this can be a big headache.

Additive manufacturing also makes it easier to create small amounts of something. Hearing aids, for example, which are customized for each person, could be almost entirely additively manufactured.

3D Printing Body Parts?

In the future, bioprinters will use human cells from the patients themselves as the “ink” in order to create living body parts.  Sounds freaky? Sure.

We’re still years away from that, but when that day does arrive, it will offer the prospect of immunologically compatible replacement parts for humans. Here in the U.S. alone, about 900,000 deaths annually occur because of a shortage of organs for ailing patients.

According to the research firm Gartner, medical 3D printing will have a market value of $1.2 billion by 2020. 3D printing in medicine has already evolved from making relatively simple prosthetics to printing a silicon prototype of a functioning human heart. 3D printing can also be used to speed up surgical procedures and produce cheaper versions of required surgical tools.

In 2015, the FDA approved the first 3D printed drug used to treat epilepsy. Elderly patients in need of a hip or knee replacement could benefit from 3D printing of specialty implants. Particularly, as the process is more exact, these patients would avoid the second or third procedure to replace traditional, less-effective implants.

Materialise Is Leading the Way

The best 3D printing stock to own now is the Belgium-based firm, Materialise (MTLS). What got my attention is Materialise’s complete and automated software solutions and certified 3D printing services.

Materialise’s business isn’t something to dream of in the future. They’re already working on 3D printing solutions in dozens of different industries, and they’re currently working with firms like Hyundai, Toyota, HP, Airbus, Volvo, BASF, Stryker and Microsoft.

Consider some numbers. In the auto sector, 3D printing is estimated to grow at 34% per year. In healthcare, it’s expected to be 23% per year. By 2021, 75% of all commercial or military will contain a 3D-printed engine or airframe.

In March, Materialise became the first company ever to get FDA clearance for software for 3D printing anatomical models for diagnostic use. The software is a tool that makes it possible to convert patient medical image data, such as CT scans, to 3D models.

This is a game-changer. It will allow for the creation of patient-specific diagnostic models which doctors can use for three-dimensional and tangible examination of scan data, potentially revealing affected areas that may have been missed using traditional 2D medical images.

The medical community is enthusiastically welcoming this advancement. Sixteen of the top 20 hospitals in the U.S., as ranked by U.S. News & World Report, are using Materialise Mimics software as a medical 3D printing strategy.

Patient-specific 3D printed models are becoming increasingly common for pre-surgical planning procedures. Gartner writes that by 2021, “25% of surgeons will practice on 3D-printed models of the patient prior to surgery.”

The next step for Materialise may be receiving clearance for the tools to create actual 3D-printed implants, stents and other medical devices. If it jumps that hurdle, the company may then have a significant lead on other device manufacturers that have received FDA approval for individual devices and product categories, as it could potentially apply the clearance to a complete host of 3D-printed components at once.

This is also a good time to add shares of Materialize since they’re off the peak from earlier this year.

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Source: Investors Alley

Income Stocks To Buy Before Earnings

Much of the income stock universe will report 2019 first quarter results starting on April 28 and running through May 8. Last week there was a 4% to 5% sell-off of many income stocks.

The drop was fueled by some negative Wall Street analyst comments that don’t seem to be well grounded in reality. For many stocks, the quarterly earnings reports are most of the real news upon which long term investors can hang their hats.

I expect that earnings from quality dividend paying companies will positively surprise the market and lead to a reverse of last week’s share price declines.

For long-term, income focused investors, earnings season is a mixed bag. The actual earnings and management comments provide an accurate snapshot of a company’s business and how well they are operating in relation to expectations.

For the stocks I follow, I have a good idea on where the important numbers such as cash flow and dividends should trend. Whether a company remains on or misses the forecast trend determines my recommendation concerning the stock.

The downside to earnings are the games played between Wall Street analyst estimates and the actual earnings result. An earnings “miss” can produce significant share price volatility.

Since the Wall Street crowd changes there expectations frequently, the estimates are of little use for real investment planning. The share price moves you see around the earnings dates are just a game between Wall Street and short term traders.

If you are a longer term investor, sharp share price drops in quality dividend stocks should be viewed as attractive times to buy.

Here are three stocks that have dropped in the weeks before they release earnings and have good potential to exceed market expectation when results are actually announced.

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (SKT) is real estate investment trust –REIT—that is the only pure play outlet mall company in the larger shopping center REIT sector. The SKT share price has lost 10% of its value over the last few weeks.

Over the last two years, Tanger has struggled with tenant retailers declaring bankruptcy, returning space in the REIT’s malls. Management has been able to keep occupancy high at the cost of not getting historical rental rate growth.

Cash flow per share has been flat and dividend increases in the 1.5% per year range. On the positive side, Tanger has a very conservative balance sheet and a 25 year history of successful business management and dividend growth.

A positive quarterly result could give this stock a solid share price increase. SKT currently yields 7.5%.

CNX Midstream Partners LP (CNXM) is a growth-oriented master limited partnership –MLP– that owns, operates, and develops gathering and other midstream energy assets to service natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

While much of the energy infrastructure sector has gone through a painful round of financial restructuring, CNXM has steadily grown its revenues and distributions to investors. The MLP’s small cap status has kept it off the radar of investors.

With a 9% yield and 15% distribution growth, this MLP has a good chance for a nice value pop when earnings come out.

New Residential Investment Corp (NRZ) is a finance REIT whose complicated investment portfolio leaves investors confused concerning the company’s prospects. Thus the 12% yield. Over the last six months New Residential has raised over $1 billion from common stock secondary offerings.

Management has not yet revealed how that capital will be invested. A big investment or merger announcement with earnings could boost the NRZ share price.

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Source: Investors Alley

5 Stocks That Could Be the Next Amazon

Winning the Cloud War Is Not the Best Reason to Buy Amazon Stock
Source: Shutterstock

[Editor’s note: This story was previously published in February 2019. It has since been updated and republished.]

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has been one of the more impressive stocks of the past 25 years. In fact, AMZN now has returned well over 100,000% from its initial public offering (IPO) price of $18 ($1.50 adjusted for the company’s subsequent stock splits). A large part of the returns has come from two factors.

First, Amazon has vastly expanded its reach. What originally was just an online bookseller now has its hands in everything from cloud computing to online media to groceries, and its shadow is even larger.

Amazon’s buyout of Whole Foods rattled the retail market. Similarly, its entry into healthcare by buying PillPack (as well as its healthcare partnership with Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM))sent ripples through the healthcare sector.

In response, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) teamed up with Kroger (NYSE:KR) to “build the grocery store of the future,” and earlier this year announced a partnership with Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA) to fend off Amazon.

Second, as a stock, AMZN has managed the feat of keeping a growth stock valuation for over two decades. I’ve long argued that investors can’t focus solely on the company’s high price-earnings (P/E) ratio to value Amazon stock. But however an investor might view the current multiple, the market has assigned a substantial premium to AMZN stock for over 20 years now, and there’s no sign of that ending any time soon.

It’s an impressive combination, and one that’s likely impossible, or close, to duplicate. But these five stocks have the potential to at least replicate parts of the Amazon formula. All five have years, if not decades, of growth ahead. New market opportunities abound. And while I’m not predicting that any will rise 100,000% — or 1,000% — these five stocks do have the potential for impressive long-term gains.

5 Stocks That Could Be the Next Amazon Stock: Square (SQ)

Source: Chris Harrison via Flickr (Modified)

Square (SQ)

Admittedly, I personally am not the biggest fan of Square (NYSE:SQ) stock. I like Square as a company, but I continue to question just how much growth is priced into SQ already.

Of course, skeptics like myself have done little to dent the steady rise in AMZN stock. And valuation aside, there’s a clear case for Square to follow an Amazon-like expansion of its business. Instinet analyst Dan Dolev has compared Square to Amazon and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGLNASDAQ:GOOG), citing its ability to expand from its current payment-processing base:

“In 10 years, Square is likely to be a very different company helped by accelerating share gains from payment peers and relentless disruption of services like payroll and human resources.”

Just as Amazon used books to expand into ecommerce, and then ecommerce to expand into other areas, Square can do the same with its payment business. The small business space is ripe for disruption, as out own Josh Enomoto points out. Integrating payments into payroll, HR, and other offerings would dramatically expand Square’s addressable market – and lead to a potential decade or more of exceptional growth.

Again, I do question whether that growth is priced in, with SQ trading 60% higher than this time last year. But if (again, like AMZN) Square stock can combine a high multiple with consistent, impressive, expansion, it has the path to create substantial value for shareholders over the next five to 10 years.

Bad Optics Are Creating an Opportunity in JD.com Stock

Source: Daniel Cukier via Flickr

JD.com (JD)

In China, JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) is the company closest to following Amazon’s model. While rival Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) gets most of the attention, it’s JD.com that truly should be called the Amazon of China.

Like Amazon (and unlike Alibaba), JD.com holds inventory and is investing in a cutting-edge supply chain. It, too, is expanding into brick-and-mortar grocery, like Amazon did with its acquisition of Whole Foods Market. A partnership with Walmart (NYSE:WMT) should further help its off-line ambitions. JD.com is even cautiously entering the finance industry.

At the moment, however, JD stock is going in the exact opposite direction of AMZN. The stock has seen a slow recovery after last year’s brutal plunge as the trade war and the arrest of the company’s CEO killed all its gains. So have mixed earnings reports and a Chinese bear market.

Clearly, there are myriad risks here, although so far this year JD.com has corked its way well out of the doldrums of 2018. AMZN saw a few pullbacks over the years as well. And while JD may never rise to the scale of Amazon or even out-compete Alibaba, at its current valuation it doesn’t have to.

As investor confidence returns, JD has a path to enormous upside. The long-term strategy still seems intact, and likely the closest in the market to that of Amazon.

Recent Weakness in Shopify Stock Is Turning Into an Opportunity

Source: Shopify via Flickr

Shopify (SHOP)

Ecommerce provider Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) probably doesn’t have quite the same opportunity for expansion as Square. And it, too, has a hefty valuation, along with a continuing bear raid from short-seller Citron Research.

But I’ve remained bullish on the SHOP story, even though valuation is a question mark. Shopify is dominant in its market of offering turnkey ecommerce services to small businesses. That’s exactly where consumer preferences are headed: small and unique over large and bland. And because of offerings like Shopify (and Amazon Web Services), those small to mid-sized businesses can compete with the giants.

Meanwhile, Shopify does have the potential to expand its reach. Just 29% of revenue comes from overseas, a proportion that should grow over time. It’s moving toward capturing larger customers as well through its “Plus” program, picking up Ford (NYSE:F) as one key client.

The development of an ecosystem for suppliers and the addition of new technologies (like virtual reality) give Shopify the ability to offer more value to customers and to take more revenue for itself.

Like SQ, SHOP is dearly priced and still climbing this year. SHOP has put on 42% since the beginning of the year. But both companies have an opportunity to grow into their valuations. And considering long runways for Shopify’s adjacent markets, it should keep a high multiple for some time to come. As a stock, if not quite as a company, SHOP has a real chance to follow the AMZN formula for long-term upside.

5 Stocks That Could Be the Next Amazon Stock: Roku (ROKU)

Source: Shutterstock

Roku (ROKU)

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) might have the best chance of any company in the U.S. market to follow Amazon’s strategic playbook. The ROKU stock price is a concern. But perhaps even more so than Square, Roku now isn’t what Roku is going to be in ten years.

The hardware business is a loss leader, but one that allows Roku to serve as the gateway to content for millions of customers. As the company pointed out after recent earnings, it’s already the third-largest distributor of content in the U.S. The Roku Channel is seeing increasing viewership. It’s already up to more than 27 million viewers!

The company offers pinpoint targeting of advertisements without the messy data problems afflicting Facebook (NASDAQ:FB).

Roku is becoming increasingly embedded in TVs, though a deal between Amazon and Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) raised some fears about those software efforts going forward, and Disney’s new streaming service could be an issue.

It has a plan to roll out home entertainment offerings like speakers and soundbars, creating a long-sought integrated experience. It could even, as it grows, look to develop or acquire content itself, positioning Roku not as just a conduit to Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) but a rival.

The bull case for Roku stock is that its players are like Amazon’s books not a great business on their own, but a way to garner customers and get a foot in the door of the exceedingly valuable media business.

What Roku does now that it has entered will determine the fate of ROKU stock. But the amount of options and still a somewhat modest market cap (under $5 billion) mean that betting on its strategy could be a lucrative play.

Workday (WDAY)

Source: Workday

Workday (WDAY)

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) is starting to look like the enterprise software version of Amazon. Its core HR product has driven huge gains in WDAY stock, which now has a $36 billion market cap. But Workday is just getting started.

The company previously announced that it would buy Adaptive Insights to build out its financial planning capabilities. It has already rolled out analytics and PaaS (platform-as-a-service) offerings that add billions to its addressable market.

Here, too, valuation looks stretched, to say the least, but the story here still looks attractive. Workday is never going to be as famous as Amazon, or as large. But if its strategy works, it will be as important to, and as embedded with, its corporate customers as Amazon is with its consumers.

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Source: Investor Place

Portfolio High: Is This 5.1% Weed-Powered Dividend Safe?

“Jenny, I can imagine. My wife makes fun of me when I ice my knees after basketball games,” I confided to my friend and favorite bartender.

Her husband, no “young chicken” anymore either she joked, was sore from his own martial arts contest. She bought him a CBD “bath bomb” to help with the aches of being active and middle-aged.

Always the sucker for natural remedies and bartender wisdom, I teed up an Amazon selection for pain and inflammation. Just 26 hours later, I was massaging hemp, turmeric and MSM into my patella tendon (about an hour before tipoff):

BO’s Anti-Inflammatory Pick

“You’re a terrible scientist,” my wife reprimanded me after I bragged about my patella’s comeback in my postgame recap. “You’re supposed to change one variable at a time. You changed everything.”

She was right, of course. I had new basketball shoes and wore a knee brace for the first time in years. I’d changed three variables, had no idea which was the miracle cure. I was left with no choice but to keep my three member “knee team” together! (Who knows how it’s working, as long as it is working, right?)

Hemp has been a popular free agent addition for many aging athletes since its increasing legalization. As you know the crop has other popular uses, too. Mine is more mundane, yet probably fitting for a dividend analyst!

The plant was used in China nearly 5,000 years ago and is enjoying a good old-fashioned American boom thanks to state governments. I live just a few blocks from our neighborhood dispensary yet I wouldn’t have thought to get a doctor’s note for the salve. Put it in on Amazon Prime, though, and it’s in my cart in minutes.

Now what about weed dividends? We’ve had plenty of readers write in asking and, with “pot holiday” April 20 just days away, I thought it’d be fitting for us to review the current crop of dividends.

The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF (HMMJ) just paid its seventh quarterly dividend last Wednesday. Its $0.3811 per share payout is good for a generous 5.1% trailing yield. Plus investors have been as high as a kite since inception, enjoying 160% total returns versus 22% for the S&P 500:

An ETF Contact High

But where exactly do these dividends come from? Most of the stocks the fund holds are not profitable. And the lone dividend payer Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG) in the fund is only 7.2% of assets.

HMMJ actually makes its money by lending its shares to short sellers. Remember, when you sell a stock “short,” you are actually borrowing shares so that you can sell them at their current market price. Later, you must buy back these shares to “cover” your short position.

Normally it doesn’t cost that much money to short a stock. But the mostly-unprofitable shares that HMMJ holds are in high demand by short sellers today, and the ETF itself holds much of the supply. So, the fund’s “side hustle” of renting out its holdings is booming.

But there is no actual cash flow backing up its distribution. Nor is there any guarantee that its “short lending” business will remain as robust in future quarters. To paraphrase Prince, this distribution is just a party and parties weren’t meant to last.

How about Scotts, which does manufacture actual products? It’s more of a “pick and shovel” play on weed. The company doesn’t peddle the crop directly but sells growing equipment. Scotts stock pays 2.7% today and, while the firm raises its dividend regularly to the tune of about 5% per year.

As much hype as there is around weed, the power of the “dividend magnet”—the gravity exerted by a payout on its stock price—is even stronger. While Scotts has hiked its dividend by 17% over the last three years, its stock price has risen by the exact same amount:

The All-Powerful Dividend Magnet 

The firm’s subsidiary for cannabis growers has, troublingly, not been growing organically. It’s been more hype than hemp to date for this baked maker of lawn and garden products.

A better backdoor play on the sector is landlord Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR). Remember, while many states have legalized pot, it remains illegal under federal law. Financing is challenging for weed peddlers, so many sell their properties to IIPR to get cash in the door for their operations. The firms then rent their former buildings back from IIPR.

Why IIPR? It’s the only real estate investment trust (REIT) that works with weed growers. As a publicly traded company, it gets to borrow money at much lower rates than it collects from its cannabis clients. As a REIT, IIPR is obligated to dish most of its profits back to its shareholders as dividends. The result is a good old-fashioned payout boom, a 200% increase in less than two years:

The Landlord’s High

The only “problem” with the chart above is that, if you don’t yet own IIRP, it is now quite expensive to do so. Its price line has run away from its payout line, which is a sign that shares are dangerously overvalued. The stock now pays just 2.1% and trades for an extremely rich 31-times its annual cash flow.

Sure, you may be able to buy IIRP “high” and sell it higher. But that’s a different dividend drug altogether.

Forget dividends you say? Let’s not forget the example that money-losing, no-dividend firm India Globalization Capital (IGC) set for us. IGC found the magic investor formula when they put two investing buzzwords side-by-side:

  1. Cannabis, and
  2. Blockchain.

The savvy marketers at IGC then introduced an energy drink infused with hemp, and wow, what a rush!

IGC Jumped 10-Fold on Buzzwords

We rational income investors fortunately avoided this clown show. I wrote to you as the blockchain-weed craze was peaking:

We level-headed contrarians should stay away from this circus. In fact, you need to be honest with yourself about the latest weed craze. If you’re tempted at all to buy this junk, it’s better if you change the channel.

Many marketers know that you and your peers are fixating on these parabolic charts. It’s going to end in tears, but they don’t care. They know they can get your attention now with a weed-fueled promise of 100% to 1,000%+ gains and get out while the getting is good.

The epilogue on IGC? Tears would be putting it mildly:

IPC’s Fast Rise and Fall

One of the smartest investors I know is a sweet grandma. She’d never fall for this speculative stuff! Grandma has a modest $387,000 nest egg that is on pace to last forever. No joke.

Recently I was chatting with a reader of mine who manages money for a select group of clients. He’s using my 8% Monthly Payer Portfolio to make a client’s modest savings – a nice grandmother with $387,000 – last longer than she ever dreamed:

“She brought me $387,000,” he said. “And wants to take out $3,000 per month for ten years.”

“Well she’s already withdrawn money for eight months (at $3,000 per month) and her balance has actually grown to $397,000. If the portfolio continues yielding 7% per year plus 2% per year in capital gains, and she withdraws $3,000 per month, it will pay my fees and still last her 27 years!”

Now many retirement experts pitch real estate as the best way to bank monthly income. But this grandma isn’t hustling to collect rent checks, or fix broken light bulbs. She’s simply collecting her “dividend pension” every month, which is 100% funded by her stocks and funds.

Actually her monthly salary is more than 100% financed – which is why her portfolio has grown by $10,000 as she’s withdrawn $3,000 per month.

I’m ready to give you everything you need to know about this life-changing portfolio now. Let’s talk about Grandma’s secret – her 8% monthly dividend superstars (which even have 10% price upside to boot!)

Grandma focuses on the 12 monthly payers in my “8% Monthly Payer Portfolio.” If you’ve got a bit more than she does–say $500,000 invested–it’ll hand you a rock-solid $40,000-a-year income stream. That’s an 8% dividend yield … and it’s easily enough for most folks to retire on.

The best part is you won’t have to go back to “lumpy” quarterly payouts to do it! Of the 19 income studs in this unique portfolio, 12 pay dividends monthly, so you can look forward to the steady stream of $3,333 in income, month in and month out—give or take a couple hundred bucks – on every $500K in capital you’re able to invest.

Editor's Note: The stock market is way up – and that’s terrible news for us dividend investors. Yields haven’t been this low in decades! But there are still plenty of great opportunities to secure meaningful income if you know where to look. Brett Owens' latest report reveals how you can easily (and safely) rake in 8%+ dividends and never worry about drawing down your capital again. Click here for full details!

Source: Contrarian Outlook

Two Under-the-Radar REITs to Buy for a Reserved Fed

It was only six months ago that Fed Chairman Jay Powell said that the Fed was “a long way from neutral,” meaning that they were going to keep raising rates.

How times have changed!

In December, the central bank hiked rates and the market threw a fit, and the stock market plunged. Still, the Fed’s economic projections saw them raising rates two more times this year.

Now those plans are out the window. It looks like rates may go unchanged all year. In fact, there are some folks calling for a rate cut. Larry Kudlow, President Trump’s economic advisor, recently said the Fed should jump in and cut rates by 0.5%—immediately.

Investors must understand that we now live in a low-rate world. The old rules of rates swimming up and down between 3% and 6% are gone. Just last week, we got another tame inflation report.

The good news is that for income investors, there are plenty of low-risk ways to profit. Here are two real estate investment trusts, or REITs, that aren’t your garden-variety REIT. Both are ready to ride long-term growth trends. Let me explain….

The REIT Being Powered by Millennials’ Love of Food

The first REIT is Americold Realty Trust(NYSE: COLD). The company is still fairly new to the markets. COLD completed its $834 million IPO in January 2018. The REIT currently yields about 2.6%.

What makesAmericold Realty Trust different is that it’s the largest REIT that’s focused on owning and running temperature-controlled warehouses.

Why is that important? Well, these warehouse are vital to the food industry. COLD owns and operates 156 such warehouses with approximately 928 million refrigerated cubic feet of storage. They now serve more than 2,400 customers worldwide.

Don’t be fooled. The food industry is hardly a no-growth area. A lot more of these warehouses will be needed, and soon. With Millennials embracing online grocery shopping, demand for cold storage facilities is rising.

I want to emphasize the uniqueness of its business. COLD isn’t just a landlord. The firm also provides services that help their customers properly move their products around the supply chain. Here’s an important stat for you to ponder: 96% of all the frozen food that you find in the grocery store comes through some company like Americold. This is potentially a huge market that’s barely been tapped.

The REIT Riding the Data Wave

Sounds boring, right?

The other REIT is American Tower(NYSE: AMT), which is in the cell phone tower business. Tower companies lease the space on their structures to several tenants like wireless carriers and government agencies.

Guess again. Consider that this business has a strong growth component, thanks largely to the coming of 5G wireless networks. These faster, more powerful networks are an absolute necessity for our interconnected world.

The explosive growth in data traffic is driven by two key trends. The first is an expected 50% increase in connected wireless devices by 2021. The second is a major rise in the amount of data consumed per device as users upgrade to new smartphones.

This new tech also includes things like ultra-HD video, augmented reality and connected self-driving cars. And they all consume huge amounts of data, and that means towers.

If you think of the wireless network as a toll road, 5G would have significantly larger lanes for wireless traffic and dramatically higher speed limits than 4G—in both cases 100 times greater.

Each new generation of wireless technology has required a greater level of investment from wireless carriers which closely correlates with tower leasing activity. It is highly likely the adoption of 5G will follow this historical trend.

Now let’s get back to American Tower. The company has over 170,000 tower sites. What I like is the economics of this business. As the company explained to Bloomberg, “single-tenant towers have gross margins of 40% from rentals…two tenants have 74% margins…three tenants have 83% margins.” You can see the benefits of steady growth.

American Tower generates more than half its total revenue here in the U.S., with its customers being all the major wireless carriers. Another big plus I see for American Tower is its vast overseas footprint. This is important because the U.S. does not lead in 5G technologies.

American Tower is also in key emerging markets. For example, AMT has its largest international exposure in India where data usage has been growing 100% per year. Within a few years, I think most of AMT’s revenue will come from outside the U.S.

Latin America has a lot of potential too. There are over 200 million people in the middle class in Latin America. A significant proportion of these consumers are under 40 years old (the heaviest data users). American Tower is a REIT very well positioned to ride the trend of a more interconnected world!

Pay Your Bills for LIFE with These Dividend Stocks

Get your hands on my most comprehensive, step-by-step dividend plan yet. In just a few minutes, you will have a 36-month road map that could generate $4,804 (or more!) per month for life. It's the perfect supplement to Social Security and works even if the stock market tanks. Over 6,500 retirement investors have already followed the recommendations I've laid out.

Click here for complete details to start your plan today.

Source: Investors Alley

Monday’s Vital Data: Disney, Netflix and Wells Fargo

Options activity provides a look at expectations on DIS, NFLX, WFC

U.S. stock futures are headed for a quiet open this morning. Ahead of the bell, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 0.02%, and S&P 500 futures are up 0.03%. Nasdaq-100 futures have gained 0.02%.

In the options pits, call volume raced to the moon on Friday, helping to drive overall volume well above average levels. Specifically, about 24.2 million calls and 16.2 million puts changed hands on the session.

The CBOE saw call domination as well, with the single-session equity put/call volume ratio slamming to 0.54 — a two-week low. Meanwhile, the 10-day moving average slipped to 0.60.

Here were three stocks landing atop the options most-actives list: Disney (NYSE:DIS), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC).

Let’s take a closer look:

Disney (DIS)

Disney finally released the details of its highly anticipated streaming service during its investor day and WOW! Traders went absolutely bananas, sending DIS stock up 11.54% on historic volume. More on the price action in a minute, but first, here are the details.

Disney’s streaming service, Disney+, will debut in November at the cost of $6.99 per month or $69.99 annually. The price undercuts Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), the indisputable champ of the streaming space, by a substantial margin. Netflix plans currently range from $8.99 to $15.99. The number of movies and shows in the library will top 400 and include 25 original series and 10 original movies.

With Friday’s breakout, Disney shares have finally departed the range they’ve been locked in for four years. Now that resistance has finally fallen, and the stock is basking in record highs, the path of least resistance is unequivocally higher.

On the options trading front, call options were the hot ticket. Activity swelled to 625% of the average daily volume, with 752,989 total contracts traded. 68% of the trading came from call options.

The increased demand drove implied volatility higher on the day to 29%, placing it at the 61st percentile of its one-year range. Premium sellers will be happy to note this is the highest level of 2019.

Netflix (NFLX)

Disney’s gain will be Netflix’s pain. At least that was the knee-jerk reaction on Friday. While DIS stock surged 11.5%, NFLX tumbled 4.5%. The fear is warranted. Disney is willing to invest billions in delivering its unmatchable content at a price that makes Netflix appear downright expensive.

Starry-eyed analysts are already posting mind-blowing subscription estimates for Disney+. JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) thinks it will eventually top 160 million which surpasses Netflix’s current number of 139 million. There is no doubt that a substantial portion of Disney’s growth will come from the millions of media lovers who currently subscribe to Netflix.

The next catalyst for NFLX stock will be its earnings announcement on April 16. We’ll see if the company can pull a rabbit out of the hat to distract investors who are now nervous that Disney has irrevocably stolen their future.

On the options trading front, calls won the day despite the stock’s drubbing. Activity ramped to 265% of the average daily volume, with 376,738 total contracts traded. Calls claimed 56% of the day’s take.

Implied volatility drifted sideways at 46% and remained at the 42nd percentile of its one-year range. Premiums are pricing in daily moves of $10, or 2.8%.

Wells Fargo (WFC)

While the Disney-Netflix drama certainly captured the imagination on Friday, bank stocks and their quarterly earnings also drove the market narrative. While some heavy hitters like JPMorgan and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) soared on the day, Wells Fargo sunk like a stone.

But not initially! Wells Fargo was actually up about 2% after reporting earnings of $1.20 per share on $21.6 billion in revenue. Both measures topped expectations. The cause for the sudden downturn and eventual loss of 3% for the day was the bank slashing its forecast for net interest income.

With WFC now sitting well below falling 20-day, 50-day and 200-day moving averages, I see zero reasons for optimism. Buyers will find greener pastures in other banks right now.

On the options trading front, traders came after calls dominated during the volatile session. Total activity grew to 653%, with 352,033 contracts traded. Calls accounted for 66% of the take.

As of this writing, Tyler Craig didn’t hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Check out his recently released Bear Market Survival Guide to learn how to defend your portfolio against market volatility.

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Source: Investor Place

Cash in on Lyft’s Big Moves (either way) With This Simple Option Trade

Whether or not it’s worth investing in IPOs always seems up for debate. It almost certainly varies from company to company. However, one thing that most investors agree on is that IPOs are interesting to talk about and can be fun to follow.

After several mostly dull years on the IPO front, 2019 seems like it could be quite a bit more interesting. We’ve already had Levi Strauss (LEVI) and Lyft (LYFT) come out with big IPOs. We could have Uber and Pinterest in the near future. Later in the year, we may get Airbnb, WeWork, Slack, and perhaps others. That’s quite a year for IPOs.

Trading IPOs is nothing if not exciting – especially once the options are listed. That’s not to say that every IPO has multiple large magnitude moves after launching. But, IPOs where there’s no consensus agreement on the valuation can certainly have their share of volatility.

This often takes place with companies which aren’t earning profits but have spent a ton of money already (in expenses). When the stock price is based entirely on future potential, opinions will vary greatly. How do you price hype?

We’ve seen this situation play out with LYFT. The ride share company is one of two huge players in the space – the other one being Uber. The growth potential in the ride sharing space is vast. However, the company also has net losses of over $900 million.

LYFT’s IPO price was $72, and it quickly climbed to as high as $88 on the day of the launch. However, the hype didn’t take long to fade, and the stock price quickly dropped below the IPO price. As I write this, the share price is all the way down to about $61.

So, how do you trade a stock like Lyft with options? Can you take advantage of all the volatility? Is it worth the risk?

At least one options trader thinks so. This trader purchased a straddle in LYFT, which makes money if the stock moves far enough either up or down from the strike price. By the way, a straddle is simply buying a call and put at the same strike, in the same expiration.

In this case, the trader purchased the May 10th 68 straddle in Lyft, with the stock price right at $68. Most of the time, you’ll see the straddle purchased at the strike that is closest to the actual price of the underlying stock, also know as the at-the-money strike.  

The cost of the straddle (the combination of the 68 call and put) was $9.53, which is certainly expensive. Of course, that’s what you’d expect from a stock that moves as much as Lyft has so far. The breakeven points for the trade are roughly $58.50 and $77.50. So, if the straddle moves beyond those points (and it’s currently already most of the way towards the lower the number) then the trade profits.

About 250 straddles were purchased, so each dollar above or beyond the breakeven points will generate $25,000 in profits. However, the trader paid over $250,000 for these straddles and that premium is at risk the closer the stock closes to $68 at expiration.

So – should you make a straddle trade in Lyft? Well, in this case, it looks like it was a successful gamble. You could still pay about $950 per straddle at whatever the current at-the-money strike is, but that’s clearly a lot of money to spend on one spread (strategy).

On the other hand, Lyft has been sufficiently volatile to justify the price of the straddle so far. I wouldn’t make a habit out of trade like this, but doing a small amount (like 1 or 2 straddles) in a situation like this will likely work out in the short-term. The risk is certainly high due to the cost, but the rewards may also be substantial.

For those curious, professional options traders may make a trade like this, but they’d hedge it with shares of LYFT. It’s a strategy called gamma scalping. It can work really well when there’s volatility, but can be costly and requires you to be at your screen for most of the trading day.

Source: Investors Alley

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Two Automation Stocks to Buy to Welcome our Robot Overlords

The other day, I decided to reward myself with a trip to McDonald’s (MCD). I’ll confess that I’m not a regular patron of MickeyD’s, but I’d had a long day, and, as a red-blooded American male, I can resist my McNuggets for only so long. So I gave in to temptation.

But once inside the restaurant, I came face to face with an astounding sight. There I saw it. Behold! The future!!! Or, more specifically, an electronic ordering kiosk.

I placed my order, swiped my credit card, and a few moments later, a human being brought me my fried bounty. Total time: four minutes. It couldn’t have been easier or more convenient.

These kiosks are popping up around the country. McDonald’s says it’s planning 1,000 new kiosks a quarter. Actually, the U.S. market is behind Europe and Canada, where the kiosks more established.

The benefits are obvious. The kiosks never get an order wrong. They never get tired. They never take lunch breaks. (Of course, they never form unions either.)

At first sight, the kiosk seemed odd, but it really shouldn’t. After all, much of our world is being automated. It’s changing our economy, and even changing our culture. Could we eventually see a day when a McDonald’s is run by machines? I think so.

Science fiction has had a lot of play with this idea, but what’s interesting to me is that the movies have looked at the macro scene, with big robots like Skynet and the HAL 9000. But what’s more intriguing is the micro level. How will an automated world impact boring mundane transactions?

The world of automation is loaded with investing opportunities, but investors need to be careful. Not every stock in this sector will be a winner, but a few have the potential to see fantastic returns. I’ll give you two such examples. Cognex (CGNX) is what I call the “Terminator” stock. They’re the world’s leading supplier of machine-vision products. Simply put, they help machines see.

These products have dozens of applications. For example, they make code readers that deliver fast and accurate reading of both 1-D and 2-D barcodes. These systems are far more accurate than laser-based ones, and they’re easier for people to work with. On the assembly line, machine-vision products can detect defects, monitor production lines, guide assembly robots, and track, sort and identify parts such as engine parts and semiconductors. Apple is a key customer.

I especially like that Cognex’s gross margins are near 80%. Their last several earnings reports have topped expectations, but the stock is down after a raucous rally in 2016 and 2017. I think the lower price gives us an opening. The next earnings report is due on April 29 after the closing bell. The consensus on Wall Street is for 17 cents per share. I’m expecting another beat.

The other stock is Rockwell Automation (ROK). This is the largest company in the world dedicated to industrial automation and information. Last year, Rockwell had revenue of $6.6 billion. The company is over 100 years old, and they have operations in more than 80 counties. Rockwell has 23,000 employees.

When you think of any assembly line with robot arms flinging parts around, you’re probably picturing Rockwell. Let me break down their business. Rockwell gets about half of its sales from heavy industries like energy, mining, paper and chemicals. Another 30% comes from consumer industries like food and beverage, home and personal care, and life sciences. Another 15% comes from transportation, and the final 5% is from a scattering of industries.

Truth be told, Rockwell is more of an industrial-software company. I say that because 70% of their sales include some sort of software. Rockwell has two operating divisions. The slightly larger one is their Control Products & Solutions division. That accounts for 55% of sales. This division deals with motor-control products.

The other division is Architecture & Software. This unit runs Rockwell’s control and information architecture capable of connecting a customer’s entire fabrication operations. Both units have been doing very well lately.

Three months ago, Rockwell crushed earnings. For Q1, they made $2.21 per share, which beat the Street by 22 cents per share. Rockwell’s CEO, Blake D. Moret, said,

“I am pleased with our results for the quarter. Almost six percent organic sales growth was well above expectations, led by consumer and heavy industries. Adjusted EPS grew by 13 percent, and our backlog increased.”

For fiscal 2019, Rockwell sees adjusted earnings ranging between $8.85 and $9.15 per share. Moret added “We have had wins across all regions and in our key industry verticals, and the pipeline of opportunities is growing every day.” I have to agree. The Q1 will be coming out soon. Look for a good report. Wall Street expects earnings of $2.09 per share.

Rockwell also pays a dividend which has increased for more than five years straight, albeit small at 97 cents, with the next payment coming up in a few weeks.

Bonus: The Robot ETF

I’ll give you a bonus. Another way to play the robotics sector is with the Robot ETF (BOTZ). The official name of the ETF is the Global X Funds Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF. The benefit of owning BOTZ is that you get instant diversification within the sector. The fund currently owns 36 stocks. The largest holdings are Intuitive Surgical, Keyence and Mitsubishi. BOTZ is up 26% YTD.

We’re living in an increasingly automated world. The applications are endless. It’s something to ponder they next time you ask a machine to get you a cheeseburger.

Pay Your Bills for LIFE with These Dividend Stocks

Get your hands on my most comprehensive, step-by-step dividend plan yet. In just a few minutes, you will have a 36-month road map that could generate $4,804 (or more!) per month for life. It's the perfect supplement to Social Security and works even if the stock market tanks. Over 6,500 retirement investors have already followed the recommendations I've laid out.

Click here for complete details to start your plan today.

Source: Investors Alley

Weekly Market Summary: U.S. Stocks Kick Off April With Winning Streak

The domestic stock market averages started April on a positive note and on Thursday, the S&P 500 index achieved its longest winning streak in over a year.

Taking a bit further look back, Bespoke Investment Group noted this week that it’s now been 100 days since the major U.S. indexes bottomed in late December. Highlighted in the following table, Industrial and Technology names have led the average 22% gain in the S&P 500 since then, while healthcare stocks have lagged.

Source: Bespoke Investment Group  

Full Slate of Economic News

In overseas news this week, Theresa May suffered yet another defeat in Parliament, regarding the Brexit process. As a result, May finally proposed conceding to a strategy that could result in the UK pursuing a “softer” exit from the European Union.

Elsewhere, President Trump met with China’s Vice Premier Liu in Washington on Thursday. Earlier in the week, two separate reports of China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index confirmed that the economy returned to a state of expansion in March.

Back in the U.S., the March jobs report came in slightly ahead of expectations on Friday. The economy added 196,000 non-farm payrolls last month and numbers from the past two months were also revised higher by 14,000 jobs.

Looking ahead to next week, we’ll get a look at inflation measures for both consumer and producer prices in the U.S. In addition, the minutes from the latest FOMC meeting will be released on April 10.

Q1 Earnings Could Decline

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) was a big earnings-related loser this week, falling 12% a day after disappointing investors with forward guidance.

Once again, earnings season is just around the corner, with activity set to pick up the week of April 22. In the meantime, the companies below are scheduled to headline the reporting calendar next week:

DateCompanyExp. EPS
4/10Delta Air Lines (DAL)$0.91
4/12JP Morgan Chase (JPM)$2.36
4/12Wells Fargo (WFC)$1.11

According to Factset, S&P 500 earnings are expected to decline 3.9% in the first quarter of 2019, down from expectations for 2.9% growth at the beginning of the year. Even though actual profits have historically exceeded expectations, the final result will likely be a far cry from the double-digit growth posted in each of the four quarters of 2018.

Stocks are up 22% over the past 100 days, but we’re staring at a potential earnings recession in the first quarter of 2019.

At times like this, a key question we usually hear is: “what’s still worth buying now?”

It’s important for investors to remember that whether stocks are up or down, the market always places a premium on growth.

A stable dividend of 5% or more is nice, but what investors really need to build wealth over time, is a dividend that management continues to raise year in and year out.

It may sound too good to be true, because growth investors and income investors don’t usually see eye to eye.

Income seekers want the security of 5%-plus annual dividend yields, while growth hounds think that cash should be reinvested back into the business– because a solid earnings report can send a stock up that much in one day.

We’re here to tell you it’s possible to have the best of both investing worlds, and my colleague Brett Owens can show you how, with his simple (and safe) way to earn 12% a year from stocks with “hidden yields”.

At that rate, your money will double every six years, plus you can triple the retirement income that most dividend aristocrats or “safe” fixed income investments currently offer.

How do we accomplish this? Brett has discovered a key relationship between dividends and price gains that allow investors to find both growth and income in “hidden yields”.

Companies that consistently grow their dividends over time tend to outperform. The trick is the best dividend stocks almost never show high yields, because stock gains tends to track the size of dividend increases. If a company increases its dividend by 10% and the higher yield brings new buyers in, it often will send the price up and the yield back down toward where it started.

Editor's Note: The stock market is way up – and that’s terrible news for us dividend investors. Yields haven’t been this low in decades! But there are still plenty of great opportunities to secure meaningful income if you know where to look. Brett Owens' latest report reveals how you can easily (and safely) rake in 8%+ dividends and never worry about drawing down your capital again. Click here for full details!

Source: Contrarian Outlook

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