With markets focused on tech plays, favorite short squeezes by masses of retail players, and other potential news-driven events, the relative boredom of dividend investing seems to have passed the market by. That’s creating some pockets of opportunity. Only a handful of companies came through 2020 with their dividends intact… or even increasing. Investing in these companies for the long haul may sound boring, but a dividend boost can sometimes lead to a short-term boost in shares too. One such company isClorox (CLX). An investor darling at the beginning of the pandemic, shares have f...

For years, investors have piled into big tech names, like the FANG stocks. Even with the recent weakness in the sector, however, some still see some value in these giant names, which dominate the list of trillion-dollar-plus companies. That includes other industry-dominating mega-cap companies as well. One value manager sees a number of opportunities in these names today, citing continued growth potential and healthy profit margins. Of the companies mentioned, all are industry dominators that have fared well in the past year even without a global pandemic. However, one of the more...

Retail investors are coming back to some of the top performing stocks of January and February with a vengeance. One such company that’s starting a new massive rally?BlackBerry (BB). Shares saw a move higher at the start of the year that nearly quadrupled shares. But that peak was undone was brokerage firms shut down the ability of traders to add to positions, only liquidate existing ones. Nevertheless, shares are moving higher again. While the recent move hasn’t been as extreme as that of GameStop or AMC, it’s still a powerful trend. And there’s a reason why. The company is a far cry...

The past few years have been some of the worst inBoeing’s (BA) history. The airline manufacturer has had to deal with rising international competition, the flaws in its 737 Max jet, and then the pandemic’s collapse in global air travel. These high-profile dangers have been well baked into shares. Now, with the 737 Max getting back into service and the pandemic ending, things are potentially looking up for the airliner. That may be why the company has started earning analyst upgrades. In addition to the company’s commercial operations, its also has aerospace operations that have been ...

Gold prices peaked at over $2,000 per ounce over the summer on a rapidly-inflating economy and concerns over rapid government spending. While the metal then saw a drop as the stock market roared higher, gold has quietly started moving higher in recent weeks as the overall stock market has slowed down. With the metal up 7 percent in the past month near $1,900 per ounce, technical indicators point to a potential move higher. With the metal finally up year-to-date, and with inflation signs soaring and other assets like Bitcoin selling off massively in recent weeks, gold may be the best ...

Even with the rise of e-commerce, it’s clear that some retail companies will continue to dominate the in-person experience. Those companies are usually big box stores, which offer sufficient variety as well as low prices. That’s why it’s no surprise that these companies have done well this earnings season. And why so many have also expanded their online presence, even if they’re still relatively smaller players there. One of the top retailers for this trend isCostco (COST). The warehouse giant is famous for keeping its profit margins low, and for providing a great customer experience...

Traders may be shifting towards airlines, cruise ships, and reopening movie chains as the world settles into a post-pandemic recovery. But many changes that occurred are likely to remain. One of those is the shift towards cloud services that started last year. As the work-from-home era likely won’t go back to the pre-pandemic levels of being in the office, it’s no surprise that many cloud names in tech have been reporting solid earnings in the first quarter of 2021. Case in point?Salesforce.com (CRM). The cloud-based enterprise software giant reported a 23 percent rise in earnings fr...

Technology trends are already starting to shape the decade of the 2020s. This decade will be a transformative one in many ways. Fossil fuel companies are already starting to address carbon emissions. For the automotive sector, the success ofTesla Motors (TSLA) is pushing other carmakers to also offer electric vehicles as well. The market is rewarding that news with much higher share prices. Case in point?Ford Motors (F). Shares jumped to a multi-year high as the company announced it was planning to spend $30 billion to build out its electric vehicle fleet by 2025. The company has ...

The past decade has seen the rise of economically viable forms of alternative energy. That’s occasionally spelled trouble for fossil fuel companies. Last year’s drop in oil into negative territory, fueled by traders trying to get out of a bad trade, has now become a distant memory. But the rise of socially responsible investing, now dubbed ESG for environmental, social and governance, is looking to make some big changes to big oil. The biggest potential change? Going carbon neutral. WithExxonMobil (XOM) facing a board proxy fight over its carbon emissions this week, and losing two bo...

A number of payments companies have started embracing cryptocurrencies in the past year, starting with Bitcoin. Some of those companies have struggled in recent weeks as the rapid moves in the cryptocurrency have had large swings in how these companies are valued. However,PayPal (PYPL) has held up more strongly than other names. That’s even as the company, along with its other division Venmo, has moved to increase its cryptocurrency trading abilities for customers in the past few months. However, right now, the perception is thatSquare (SQ) is the bigger play with Bitcoin and cryptoc...