Top Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now

On this day in economic and business history...

The first official recognition of Mother's Day occurred nearly a century ago, when on May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May would thereafter be a time to celebrate all things motherly. Dreamed up years earlier, the holiday gained legitimacy after Anna Jarvis mounted a spirited campaign to gain recognition, first as an American holiday and ultimately a global event. Jarvis also helped originate the tradition of giving and wearing carnation flowers on Mother's Day, in honor of the mother she'd lost and hoped to commemorate.

Mother's Day has since grown into one of the most heavily commercialized holidays on the calendar, and this process was so rapid and pronounced that it turned Jarvis herself against her own holiday. In our time, the National Retail Federation estimates that nearly $19 billion will be spent each Mother's Day. Here's where most of that money goes:

$2.2 billion on flowers $1.6 billion on clothing and accessories $1.6 billion on electronics (give Mom a tablet this year) $3.4 billion on dining out $1.8 billion on gift cards $1.3 billion on personal services (spa treatments and the like)

Unfortunately, Hallmark is private, but United Online� (NASDAQ: UNTD  ) , the owner of Florists' Transworld Delivery, might be your best bet for investing in the Mother's Day spending spree. If you really want to give Mom a gift that keeps on giving, look elsewhere -- with the right dividend stock, she'll be able to buy her own flowers each year, but shares of United Online�have fallen 20% in the last five years.

Top Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated(PEG)

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, operates in the energy industry primarily in the northeastern and mid Atlantic United States. The company primarily operates as a wholesale energy supply company that integrates its generating asset operations through its wholesale energy, fuel supply, energy trading, and marketing and risk management activities. It operates nuclear, coal, gas, and oil-fired generation facilities. The company also involves in the transmission of electricity and distribution of electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, as well as invests in the development of solar generation projects and energy efficiency programs. In addition, it owns and operates domestic projects engaged in the generation of energy; and offers appliance services and repairs to customers. As of December 31, 2010, it owned approximately 13,538 megawatts of generation capacity. The company also owned and operated approximately 17,608 miles of gas mains, 12 gas distribution headquarters, and 2 subheadquarters, as well as 62 natural gas metering and regulating stations. Public Service Enterprise Group was founded in 1985 and is based in Newark, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  Jefferies announced on Tuesday that it has upgraded Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PEG).

  The firm has lifted its rating on PEG from “Hold” to “Buy,” and has raised the company’s price target from $36 to $37. This price target suggests a 12% increase from the stock’s current price of $32.42.

  Analyst Paul Fremont commented: “We are upgrading to Buy based on the improving outlook for regulatory approval of the company’s “Energy Strong” capital spending program.

  “Each $1.0 billion of incremental spending will add an estimated $0.10 to PEG’s earnings. We assume that incremental spending is funded by debt and by incremental cash expected from the increasing gas basis differential between the Leidy hub and New Jersey. Our new estimates are considerably higher than consensus in 2014-16.”

  Public Service Enterprise Group shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Tuesday. The stock is up 6% YTD.

Top Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: Ventas Inc. (VTR)

Ventas, Inc. is a publicly owned real estate investment trust. The firm engages in investment, management, financing, and leasing of properties in the healthcare industry. It invests in the real estate markets of the United States and Canada. The firm primarily invests in healthcare-related facilities including hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, senior housing facilities, medical office buildings, and other healthcare related facilities. Ventas, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is based in Chicago, Illinois with additional offices in Louisville, Kentucky and Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sue Chang and Ben Eisen]

  Ventas Inc. (VTR) �rose 4.6%. The stock was upgraded to buy from neutral with a price target of $63 at UBS.

• [By Dimitra DeFotis]

  Among real estate trusts:

  American Tower��(AMT),�the diversified �REIT, is the best performer in the index.�It was�up 4.6% after saying�Friday it will buy the parent of tower operator Global Tower Partners for $4.8 billion. HCP (HCP), a healthcare REIT, was�up 3.3%. Prologis (PLD) an industrial REIT, was�up 2.8%. Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) was�up 2.7%. Boston Properties (BXP), the office REIT, was�up 2.3%. Equity Residential (EQR), a residential REIT, was�up 2.4%. Ventas (VTR), a healthcare REIT, was�up 2%.

   

• [By Brad Thomas]

  REITs mentioned: (VTR), (OHI), (O), (DLR), (HCP), (HTA), (KIM), (FRT), (SPG), and (SKT).

  Note: This article is intended to provide information to interested parties. As I have no knowledge of individual investor circumstances, goals, and/or portfolio concentration or diversification, readers are expected to complete their own due diligence before purchasing any stocks mentioned or recommended.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Senior housing and healthcare properties real estate investment trust (REIT) Ventas (VTR) raised its quarterly dividend 8% to 72.5 cents per share, payable on Dec. 31 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 16.
  VTR Dividend Yield: 5.16%

Top Services Companies To Invest In Right Now: Integrys Energy Group(TEG)

Integrys Energy Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a regulated electric and natural gas utility company in the United States and Canada. It provides natural gas utility services in Chicago, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. As of December 31, 2009, the company served approximately 1,669,000 residential, commercial and industrial, transportation, and other customers. It had approximately 22,000 miles of natural gas distribution mains; and approximately 1,010 miles of natural gas transmission mains. The company also generates and distributes electric energy form coal, natural gas, fuel oil, hydroelectric, and wind resources in Wisconsin and Michigan. It served approximately 489,000 residential, commercial and industrial, wholesale, and other customers. In addition, Integrys Energy offers nonregulated energy supply and services; and electric transmission services. The company was formerly known as WPS Resources Corporation and changed its name to Integrys En ergy Group, Inc. in February 2007. Integrys Energy Group, Inc. was founded in 1883 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Daniel Ferry]

  Another important development last week was the announcement that Trillium CNG, a division of Integrys Energy Group (NYSE: TEG  ) , would build 101 new compressed natural gas (CNG) refueling stations across the country by 2016. This would expand the existing infrastructure of publicly available CNG refueling stations by nearly 20%. This is good news for Westport because many of Westport's products run on CNG, including its bi-fuel WiNG system for light-duty Ford pickup trucks, as well as the medium-duty ISL G and heavy-duty ISX12 G engines it produces through Cummins Westport Incorporated, its manufacturing joint-venture with independent engine maker Cummins (NYSE: CMI  ) . Users of the ISL G and ISX12 G engines include long-haul truck manufacturers like PACCAR (NASDAQ: PCAR  ) , Volvo, and Daimler. Freight trucking is a critical growth industry for natural gas engines, because the long miles and heavy loads that freight trucks endure relative to passenger vehicles make them especially sensitive to fuel costs.

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  Subsidiary switch-up
  AGL Resources�announced Thursday that it has officially handed off subsidiary Compass Energy Services to Integrys Energy (NYSE: TEG  ) for an initial cash consideration of $12 million, with an additional $3 million to $8 million cash consideration. If the unregulated natural gas subsidiary fares well over the next five years, Integrys will fork over more finances for its purchase. If not, AGL could be left with $15 million total for the sale. For now, AGL will record a $9 million to $11 million pre-tax gain for Q2 2013.

Top Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: Regal Beloit Corporation(RBC)

Regal Beloit Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells electric motors and controls, electric generators and controls, and mechanical motion control products primarily in the United States and Asia. The company operates in two segments, Electrical and Mechanical. The Electrical segment manufactures and markets AC and DC commercial, industrial, and commercial refrigeration electric motors and blowers, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) electric motors and blowers. It also provides precision servo motors, electric generators, automatic transfer switches and paralleling switchgear, and control electric power generation equipment; AC and DC variable speed drives and controllers, and other accessories for industrial and commercial applications; and capacitors for use in HVAC systems, high intensity lighting, and other applications. The Mechanical segment manufactures and markets a range of mechanical motion control products, i ncluding worm gears, bevel gears, helical gears, and concentric shaft gearboxes; marine transmissions; after-market automotive transmissions, and ring and pinions; custom gearing; gearmotors; electrical connecting devices; and manual valve actuators, which are used in oil and gas, water distribution and treatment, and chemical processing applications. The company sells its products to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and end users through its direct sales people and manufacturer?s representative organizations. Regal Beloit Corporation was founded in 1955 and is based in Beloit, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Electric motor manufacturer�Regal Beloit� (NYSE: RBC  ) �will pay a�regular quarterly dividend�of $0.30 on July 12 to the holders of record at the close of business on June 28.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC  ) Merrill Lynch division and Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RBC  ) have provided HBC with fully committed credit facilities, which, together with the equity commitment provided by the pension plan, is sufficient to close the transaction.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Electric-motor maker�Regal Beloit (NYSE: RBC  ) announced on Friday its third-quarter dividend of $0.20 per share, the same rate it paid last quarter after raising the payout 5% from $0.19 per share.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Regal Beloit (NYSE: RBC  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: Public Storage(PSA)

Public Storage operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT). It engages in the acquisition, development, ownership, and operation of self-storage facilities in the United States and Europe. The company?s self-storage facilities offer storage spaces for lease on a month-to-month basis for personal and business use. Public Storage also has interests in commercial properties containing commercial and industrial rental space; facilities that lease storage containers; and ancillary operations, which include reinsurance of policies against losses to goods stored by its self-storage tenants, retail operations comprising merchandise sales and truck rental operations. As of December 31, 2008, the company had interests in 2,012 self-storage facilities with approximately 127 million net rentable square feet in 38 states; and 181 self-storage facilities with approximately 10 million net rentable square feet in 7 western European nations. It also had direct and indirect equity int erests in approximately 21 million net rentable square feet of commercial space located in 11 states in the U.S. As a REIT, the company would not be subject to federal income tax to the extent that it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders. Public Storage was founded in 1971 and is based in Glendale, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Public Storage's(PSA) third-quarter profit rose 7.7% on the strength of higher occupancy and rents. Meanwhile, the real estate investment trust’s funds from operations, an important metric in the sector, grew during the period.

• [By Amanda Alix]

  Is it risky to be putting so much money into an as-yet unproven business model? Some may think so, including investors. Noting the tumble in stock price that newbies like Silver Bay and American Residential have suffered recently, Colony Capital (NYSE: CLNY  ) chief Thomas Barrack postponed�the IPO of his new single-family rental company, Colony American Homes. Similarly, Public Storage (NYSE: PSA  ) has filed for an IPO, too, hoping to take its American Homes 4 Rent unit public -- at some unannounced, future date. In the meantime, American Homes can rely on its $500 million credit facility�with Wells Fargo, which may be bumped up to $1 billion if necessary.

• [By Lawrence Meyers]

  I also like both Public Storage (PSA) and its Series T preferred stock.

  As a result of the financial crisis, many people lost their homes. What happens when people get evicted from a house? They downsize. That�� one reason we��e seen apartment REIT stock prices appreciate, but that�� also why Public Storage has done so well. You can�� fit a household�� worth of stuff into an apartment, so you rent storage for all those extra-large sofas. Housing remains troubled, and with people increasingly being moved into part-time jobs or leaving the workforce, this overall secular trend is continuing.

Top Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: ONEOK Inc.(OKE)

ONEOK, Inc., a diversified energy company, operates as a natural gas distributor primarily in the United States. The company operates in three segments: ONEOK Partners, Distribution, and Energy Services. The ONEOK Partners segment engages in gathering, processing, fractionating, transporting, storing, and marketing natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) principally in the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions, which include Anadarko Basin of Oklahoma, Fort Worth Basin of Texas, Hugoton and Central Kansas Uplift Basins of Kansas, Williston Basin of Montana, and North Dakota and the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. This segment offers its services to oil and gas production companies; natural gas gathering and processing companies; petrochemical, refining, and NGL marketing companies; Local distribution companies (LDCs) and power generating companies; and natural gas marketing and NGL gathering companies, and propane distributors. The Distribution segment provides natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation customers, as well as public authority customers, such as cities, governmental agencies, and schools in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. The Energy Services segment delivers physical natural gas products and risk management services through its network of contracted transportation and storage capacity, and natural gas supply. This segment?s customers primarily comprise LDCs, electric utilities, and industrial end users. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividend Monk]

  Oneok Inc. (OKE) is a natural gas utility company that owns the General Partner of Oneok Partners LP (OKS).

  Seven Year EPS Growth Rate: 4.1%Seven Year Dividend Growth Rate: 12.6%Current Dividend Yield: 2.80%Balance Sheet Strength: Investment GradeOverview

  I published a stock report last week on Oneok Partners LP, which is a relatively large natural gas and NGL master limited partnership. In the article, I stated that quantitatively and qualitatively, it appears to be a strong investment with a great combination of yield and growth.

• [By The Part-time Investor]

  I sold ONEOK Partners (OKS), 265 shares at $51.25, and replaced it with ONEOK inc. (OKE), 267 shares at $52.31.

  Although I have removed these three MLPs from my portfolio, I am still holding ARLP, Buckeye Partners (BPL), Plains All American (PAA), and Williams Partners. I am going to continue to hold these until I receive the K-1 forms next year, so that I can more carefully analyze the tax implications, and decide what to do with these other positions. I may decide that the higher yield of the MLPs might make it worth holding on to them, even though I would eventually have to pay some extra taxes. I will have more to say about this when I see the K-1 forms. Perhaps people with have some comments on this issue?

Top Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: Merck & Company Inc.(MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. provides various health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. The company?s Pharmaceutical segment provides human health pharmaceutical products, such as therapeutic and preventive agents for the treatment of human disorders in the areas of bone, respiratory, immunology, dermatology, cardiovascular, diabetes and obesity, infectious diseases, neurosciences and ophthalmology, oncology, vaccines, and women's health and endocrine. This segment also offers human health vaccines, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines. Its Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets animal health products. This segment offers antibiotics, anti-inflammatory products, vaccines, products for the treatment of fertility disorders, and parasiticides for cattle, swine, horses, poultry, dogs, cats, salmons, and fish. The Consumer Care segment develops, manufac tures, and markets over-the-counter, foot care, and sun care products. Its over-the-counter product line includes non-drowsy antihistamines; treatment for occasional constipation; decongestant-free cold/flu medicine for people with high blood pressure; nasal decongestant spray; and treatment for frequent heartburn. This segment?s foot care products comprise topical antifungal, and foot and sneaker odor/wetness products; and sun care products include sun care lotions, sprays and dry oils; and sunburn relief products. The company serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, government agencies, physicians, physician distributors, veterinarians, animal producers, and managed health care providers, as well as food chain and mass merchandiser outlets in the United States and Canada. Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Only a couple of stocks posted losses today. Merck (NYSE: MRK  ) fell 0.1% in light of a Supreme Court decision that gave the Federal Trade Commission the power to challenge arrangements between primary-drug developers and generic-drug manufacturers that involve upfront payments in exchange for delays in releasing generic versions of name-brand drugs. Clearly, Merck and its peers have incentives to keep brand-name profits going as long as possible, and FTC challenges could reduce their ability to do so going forward.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Merck's (NYSE: MRK  ) �lambrolizumab, a PD-1 inhibitor that teaches that body's own immune system to attack cancer cells, stole some of the glory away from Bristol-Myers Squibb's nivolumab after it demonstrated an overall response rate of 38% in advanced melanoma. The drug already has been bestowed the rare "breakthrough therapy" designation by the Food and Drug Administration, so it could hit pharmacy shelves sooner than later if ORR data continues to prove strong.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Merck(MRK) & Co. unveiled a global revamp to sharpen its commercial and research and development focus, a move that includes roughly 8,500 additional layoffs as it aims to save about $2.5 billion a year by the end of 2015.� The latest round of jobs cuts, along with roughly 7,500 previously announced workforce reductions, are expected to reduce Merck’s total global workforce of 81,000 by roughly 20%.

Top Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: Windstream Corporation(WIN)

Windstream Corporation provides communications and technology solutions in the United States. The company offers various solutions, including IP-based voice and data services, multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) networking, data center and managed services, hosting services, and communications systems to businesses and government agencies. It also provides high-speed Internet, voice, and digital television services to residential customers primarily located in rural areas. The company?s data services include data center and managed hosting, MPLS networking, and dedicated access, as well as high-speed Internet to business customers; integrated solutions consist of multiple voice and data services delivered over an IP connection; voice services comprise local and long distance, call waiting, caller identification, and voicemail; and special access services include point-to-point switching arrangements for voice and data traffic. In addition, it provides wholesale services, which primarily include voice and data services on a wholesale basis to other carriers; usage sensitive services to long distance companies; and other local exchange carriers for access to the network in connection with the completion of long-distance calls, as well as reciprocal compensation received from wireless and other local connecting carriers for the use of its facilities. As of June 30, 2011, the company served approximately 3.3 million access lines, 1.3 million high-speed Internet customers, and operated approximately 60,000 fiber route miles. Windstream Corporation is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anders Bylund]

  So even after all the hacking and slashing, France Telecom's yield is orders of magnitude richer than American contemporaries AT&T (NYSE: T  ) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ  ) . It's fully comparable to the high-yield payouts of rural American telecoms such as CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL  ) and Windstream (NASDAQ: WIN  ) , but with the added bonus of growth plans in emerging markets. The French stock strikes a unique balance between generous yields, large-scale operations, and vibrant growth plans.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Shares of Cyan slumped 25% to $3.86 premarket after the company drastically cut its fourth-quarter revenue expectations due to a sharp drop in orders from the company’s largest customer, Windstream Holdings Inc.(WIN) Cyan is a provider of software-defined networking and packet-optical platforms for network operators.

Top Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: Philip Morris International Inc(PM)

Philip Morris International Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside of the United States. Its international product brand line comprises Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Chesterfield, Bond Street, Lark, Muratti, Next, Philip Morris, and Red & White. The company also offers its products under the A Mild, Dji Sam Soe, and A Hijau in Indonesia; Diana in Italy; Optima and Apollo-Soyuz in the Russian Federation; Morven Gold in Pakistan; Boston in Colombia; Belmont, Canadian Classics, and Number 7 in Canada; Best and Classic in Serbia; f6 in Germany; Delicados in Mexico; Assos in Greece; and Petra in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It operates primarily in the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Altria has topped the tobacco industry for decades, with its leading Marlboro brand retaining its popularity around the world. But with the company having spun off its Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM  ) division, Altria now has to rely on the U.S. market, with its unique challenges and risks. Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Altria over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report.

• [By Victor Selva]

  Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) manufactures and markets cigarettes outside the U.S. in 180 countries. The company麓s plan is to introduce new packaging, new blends and other line extensions. A key driver of the company is the strong market share and the economies of scale. Also, the company has combated unfavorable tax regulations with price increases, showing a good price-elasticity.