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By Paul Dykewicz A company’s dividend payout ratio indicates how much money is returned to shareholders rather than kept by a company to reinvest in growth, pay off debt or boost cash reserves. The payout ratio, first and foremost, helps to assess whether a company’s earnings can sustain the payment of a dividend. An investor wants to know that a…

Virtually all of the equity markets have bounced back strongly from the rocky 2016 start in January.  The S&P500 was off 10% by February 11th, when the markets bottomed and headed strongly higher. On February 3rd we wrote an article titled “Wild January Could Have Inflicted More Harm Than It Did” and in the article we mentioned that the wholesale…

Upscale hotel owner, Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) has sold a new preferred stock issue with the intention of redeeming their only other preferred stock issue outstanding.  The new issue carries a coupon of 6.95%, while the old issue to be redeemed carries a 8% coupon.  This is what we call a “refinancing” issuance. Like preferred issues from other REITs this…

Financial services holding company BB&T Corporation (NYSE:BBT)  joins the banking parade of companies in selling a new perpetual preferred stock offering.  BB&T  has sold a new 5.625% preferred stock offering and the new, investment grade shares now are trading on the OTC Grey Market under the temporary ticker BBTTP.  In the 1st day of trading the shares traded in a…

The investment firm Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) sold a new 5.95% preferred stock offering and the investment-grade shares are now trading on the OTC Grey Market under the temporary ticker SCWBP. In the first day of trading, the share price ranged between $25.00 and $25.25. While that coupon appears stingy, we expect that these shares will climb up to the $25.25 to $25.50…