Initial investment May 2017
About a month ago, I blew off the dust and took a look at my fair-to-middlin' slightly failing portfolio from the past 10 years. I proceeded to sell all the stocks and bonds, some at a loss, but without much attachment since that was from another lifetime. They were all poor decisions. There was one exception. 80 shares of Glatfelter (GLT). Not only was this stock a 20% total gain (and I found out later, quite a bit higher at some point), but I had 400+ dollars of accumulated dividends. I decided against selling it for a few reasons. It proved to be a solid dividend investment. GLT has been around since 1864, initially offered in 1980. I ran through the numbers, and I'm no expert and am aware that anything can happen - but paper typically isn't something that the bottom falls out of, at least not any more. I know the chart is a bit rocky (below is from the day I bought it, for 15.82), but analysts are bullish. I may increase my holdings if it drops. 0.13/share, 80 shares in.
(Green is S&P, Orange is Nasdaq, Yellow is Dow)
Something New.
I took my modest losses, added some mad money, and was ready to invest about $6k in dividend stocks to start with. I set up a watch-list of some heavily influenced prospects (thanks to Young Dividend), and began to dig deeper. This was before I intended to invest up to 20k and get more serious with an end-game plan. The solid companies I had selected were all priced high for my moderate investment, no round lots for me, unless I want to put all my eggs in one basket.
Starting at the low end of my watchlist, I bought 14 shares of Aqua America (WTR) - I was waiting for some of my sales to settle, but didn't want to miss a bounce (some old habits die hard) so snagged it at 31.68, up 3% today from when I bought. 0.19/share, 14 shares in. Got the bounce!
Next up, Hormel foods (HRL). Chances are, it is in your refrigerator right now. I wanted to get this before the earnings announcement, but they fell short, so a bit of a dip right off the bat, but it is recovering. 0.17/share, 20 shares in. Need to remember to try Spam.
Abbott Labs (ABT). I remember attending a symposium on virtual reality at one of their facilities. I moved to the other side of the country, and there is another one in my current town. On top of that, I used to go on field trips to some of their properties in elementary school. They've made solid in-roads, and while not a household name like Spam, they are pretty well esteemed in the health care field. This is a field that may have a major shakeup soon, but not the suppliers of the tech so much. 0.265/share, 17 shares. I really like this one and will most likely increase my holdings.
Coca-Cola (KO). What else to say? Leader in its industry, household name, constantly offering new and varied products, contracts with fast food chains, etc etc etc. 0.37/share, 16 shares.
AT&T (T). I did want to avoid this company, since I don't agree with some of their ethics. However, that's not thinking like a capitalist, but an emotional investor. I have been known to boycott, and have seen the meltdown of a few companies because of it, but there's no getting around AT&T. It is a juggernaut in so many communications markets. Being old enough to remember Ma Bell and one of the original baby bells, AT&T has to command some respect. Recently they have been upgrading their infrastructure, a sign of a healthy company. 0.49/share, 18 shares.
Finally, at the end of May, I cashed in some recently vested options with my company, and sent it off to the brokerage. I was looking for another Utility, then maybe increase holdings after that point, and went with Excel Energy (XEL). Energy stocks I think have a lot of chances for growth, and under the current administration, have potential to earn higher profits. 0.36/share, 24 shares.
I want to continue diversifying until I have something in every area. So far I have: GLT (Basic Industries-Paper), WTR (Utilities-Water), HRL (Consumable-Food), ABT (Health Care-Tech), KO (Consumable-Drink), T (Utilities-Communication), XEL (Utilities-Energy).
Something Borrowed.
Today I received my first dividend from this new venture, Aqua America shelled out a whopping 2.68 - as Scrooge McDuck said, "You gotta start somewhere.". My stocks have been performing well so far, which I attribute to the jobs report today, and pulling out of the Paris Accords yesterday. In fact, the market hit a record. From a long-term perspective, my portfolio is already up 6.28%, with a net gain of 361.28 after trade costs. Probably the best my portfolio has ever been (thanks Young Dividend for the inspiration and doing much of the heavy lifting research-wise). Anyhow, because I don't want to miss the next four years of record growth in many industries, and after much thought, soul searching, and talks with the wife, I'm going to borrow against my 401k to invest. Another time I'll go into the reasoning behind it, and why it is a good idea, at least for my situation. This will be the other 14k to begin at the magic 20k starting point Young Dividend started at. The funds should be available sometime next week. I do most of my trading on Thursday/Friday, so hopefully it will be in by then. If any of the above stocks have a dip, I'll consider increasing my holdings. If not, I will probably go with less than 10 new stocks with better positions... hey maybe even a round lot! In the meantime, I have a lot of reading and research to do until those funds are available. With 6k in, I am looking at an annual income of 177.48.
Something (out of the) Blue.
No, not IBM. Not a blue chip company. I can never resist playing with a penny stock. I bought a Texas based oil company, Zion Oil & Gas, who is attempting to drill for oil in Israel, in-land. I know, it's a bit out there, but if they ever hit oil, who knows what the stock will do. And if they don't well then I guess I'm out $45. 0.00/share, 32 shares. I won't waste my time with penny or dividend stocks going forward.
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