Once again, stocks edged lower in today’s early morning trading, stalling a bit following Wednesday’s big rally. However, the sentiment on the Street eventually turned more bearish as the day went on, as investors and traders paid close attention to a number of statements given by some Federal Reserve Governors and Presidents this afternoon. Though we’ve heard this all before, market participants reacted as though the officials suggested that the future of the Fed’s monetary stimulus program will end sooner rather than later.
Dividend UpdatesThere was some big dividend news on Wall Street this morning; two big name companies announced that they were reinstating dividend payouts to shareholders years after suspending their respective distributions. First, The New York Times Company (NYT
) announced after the close yesterday that it would be paying out an annualized dividend of 14 cents per share, nearly five years since it last paid a dividend. Furthermore, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (GT
) announced that it would begin paying an annualized dividend of 20 cents per share, 11 years since its last dividend payout. As such, both stocks rose higher in today’s trading.
In other dividend news, Yum! Brands (YUM), Kroger (KR), and Sanderson Farms (SAFM) announced dividend increases. Conversely, American Capital Agency (AGNC) and Annaly Capital (NLY
) announced dividend cuts. Among all of these companies, only shares of Sanderson Farms were in positive territory this morning.
Aside from the stocks mentioned above, shares of these companies rose higher today: Pier 1 Imports (PIR), as the stock rebounds from yesterday’s post-earnings losses, and Agilent Technologies (A), after it received some positive analyst commentary.
Darden Restaurant (DRI) shares fell in today’s trading after it reported disappointing first quarter earnings. Also, shares of Senior Housing Properities Trust (SNH) were on the decline, even though the company announced the sale of some assets.
Moreover, due to Wall Street analysts’ downgrades, shares of NetApp (NTAP), Clorox (CLX), Dun & Bradstreet (DNB), and FactSet (FDS) were dragged into negative territory.
Be sure to check the Dividend Daily for all the latest earnings reports, analyst moves, and much more.
Crisis After Crisis: Ignore it AllThis week, investors and traders were focused on the Fed’s decision to either maintain or scale back its monetary stimulus. It seemed like it was all traders, analysts, and the business media could think, talk, or write about. But now that we know the Fed will, for at least the next month, keep up its $85 billion worth of monthly bond purchases, the media and traders need another crisis to focus on in an attempt to stir up emotions and drive viewership. In a perfect bit of timing, the looming budget and debt ceiling crises in Washington will be extensively covered and scrutinized by those attempting to give individuals investing advice. These analysts will note how in past manufactured crises by our policymakers, the stock market pulled back, most notably in the summer of 2011. This bit of fear might, unfortunately, cause some investors to leave the stock market in an attempt to avoid any losses.
However, what these analysts and pundits fail to remind investors of is that even in the midst of these crises and subsequent pullbacks, stocks eventually made up for those losses. If long-term investors were to just ignore the crisis, pullback, and crash talk, you’ll be in a position to let your holdings keep on rising higher, even if there is a pullback here and there. So, while there might be budget and debt ceiling standoffs in Washington over the next month, don’t let the immediate reaction by Wall Street scare you into making rash investing decisions. Like I’ve said before, these things tend to work themselves out. If you just stick to your long-term investing strategy, your portfolio will once again be seeing gains, even if there is a pullback.
Looking Toward Next WeekNext week, quarterly earnings from Carnival Corp. (CCL
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