These five stocks may deliver big dividend raises. I’m talking potential payout hikes starting at 20%. It’s possible that one of these firms doubles their dividend because, heck, they did that one year ago! How do I know? Gaudy dividend growth numbers are especially attractive because they often lead to big price gains. I call this dynamic the “dividend magnet.” The “magnet” effect is pretty straightforward: When a company not only grows its profits, but shares gobs of those earnings with stockholders as dividends, investors on the outside see both a sign of quality and the potential for income and…

Armed with $50 billion in dry powder, Swedish private equity firm EQT believes it can become the number one buyout firm in Asia and Europe, despite its lack of interest in the booming private credit business. By Hank Tucker, Forbes Staff Conni Jonsson grew up on a farm in rural Sweden milking cows and working the fields, expecting that he would study agricultural science at one of Stockholm’s top universities and ultimately expand his family’s operation. But when his mediocre test scores dashed those hopes, he settled for accounting and finance at the University of Linkoping, some 100 miles southwest…

While market attention often focuses on mega-cap tech stocks, compelling opportunities exist in smaller, less-followed companies. Three stocks showing particular promise to double in value during 2025 are ANI Pharmaceuticals, Biote, and Lyft. Each company represents a unique turnaround story with specific catalysts that could drive substantial value creation. ANI Pharmaceuticals: Specialty Pharma’s Hidden Gem ANI Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ANIP) stands out in the specialty pharmaceutical sector through its dual strategy of developing both generic and branded drugs. The company’s recent transformation, particularly following the Novitium Pharma acquisition, has created multiple growth vectors that the market has yet to fully appreciate.…

Cisco Systems has been named a Top Socially Responsible Dividend Stock by Dividend Channel, signifying a stock with above-average ”DividendRank” statistics including a strong 2.7% yield, as well as being recognized by prominent asset managers as being a socially responsible investment, through analysis of social and environmental criteria. Environmental criteria include considerations like the environmental impact of the company’s products and services, as well as the company’s efficiency in terms of its use of energy and resources. Social criteria include elements such as human rights, child labor, corporate diversity, and the company’s impact on society — for instance, taken into…

Can professional analysts pick stocks? Don’t laugh. Analysts perform many valuable functions. They ask probing questions to management, estimate earnings, and provide a wealth of information on companies and industries. However, a study I’ve been conducting for a quarter of a century suggests they are no better at picking stocks than your Aunt Louise. Each January, I make note of the four stocks analysts most adore, and the four they most despise. When the year is over, I compare how those two groups of stocks have done. The results are not favorable to Wall Street. On average, over 26 years,…

Mortgage rates may decline somewhat in 2025 but the Federal Reserve currently expects interest rate cuts to be limited. Where mortgage costs trend from here will depend in part on unemployment and inflation data, which will, in term, inform interest rate decisions from the Fed. It seems likely that mortgage costs will remain relatively high compared to recent history for 2025. However, in recent years historically unusual factors have pushed up mortgage costs fractionally and those could reverse. Mortgage Rates Have Been Bumpy So far the decline in mortgage costs from November 2023’s peak levels has been bumpy. Despite an…

If Benjamin Graham were alive today, he might be examining the research on this group of stocks. The classic value investor, who wrote Security Analysis and The Intelligent Investor, favored the “below book value” names, especially if the price-earnings ratio seemed reasonable and the company paid dividends. One advantage to identifying these types of securities is that Wall Street money managers are caught up in hot tech stock fever and have little or no interest in old school valuation methods. That’s a shame because some of these may be likely to outperform over the next few years (no guarantees). 5…

You may have noticed that lately, the media is pumping out more stories on how the US economy and stock markets are leading the world. Well, it’s true. Today we’re going to get into a few reasons why that is. We’re also going to look at how us income investors can use a special kind of income play, closed-end funds (CEFs)—many of which yield north of 9%—to cash in on America’s runaway lead, boosting our dividends and setting ourselves up for 10% annualized returns, basically forever. We’ll wrap with a real “nuts-and-bolts” view of the factors that go into the…

We need to talk about tech stocks. Because, yes, there is a risk of a pullback here. But there’s also a way for us to minimize that risk—and grab 8%+ dividends, plus price upside, as we do so. First off, let me be clear that when I say “tech stocks,” I’m using the NASDAQ 100 as my benchmark. The index is about 60% tech, compared to about a third for the S&P 500. That higher level of tech exposure has allowed the NASDAQ to handily beat the S&P 500 over the long run NASDAQ Nearly Doubles the S&P 500 That…

In my recent articles, I’ve been pounding the table on gold’s crucial role in a well-diversified portfolio. Today, I’m here to tell you that the party in the gold market is just getting started, and it’s time to pay attention. For years, we’ve operated under the assumption that gold prices move inversely to real interest rates. Higher real rates typically mean lower gold prices, right? Well, 2023 and 2024 have thrown that playbook out the window. Despite real rates climbing from negative territory to a positive 2%, gold has surged by a staggering 42% – that’s nearly a 20% annualized…