Question about dividend stocks - Curious

[NW-Bound]

Buffett is a really funny guy. I still recall in the late 2007 or early 2008 when the news started to break about another bank being in trouble, a reporter asked Buffett if this would be the last shoe to drop, meaning this was all the trouble there was.

Buffett laughed and said that we did not know if it was a centipede. He has a way of making all these cute female reporters giggle. I can never have his wealth, but I like to have some of his humor.

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound But without TARP, many of them would be dead meat. Well, except for Wells Fargo and perhaps a few more I do not know about. Buffett knew about these guys' shenanigan back then. He bought Wells Fargo, if I remember right, but not others.

If I remember right, NW ol Warren also bent Goldman Sachs over the barrel and gave them his own special "private preferred stock offering" at 10% and then it was convertible. He made a killing on that. Of course they were begging for capital and he gave it to them at the price he wanted.
I am tinkering with a few bank trust preferreds (which are technically debt, not capital as most true preferreds are) that got their dividends suspended for several years and have made all shareholders current now. Their yields are around 8% today. Not betting the farm on these boys though. And yes they would never have paid them off if Uncle Sam hadn't help dig them out of the hole.


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[modhatter]

Thanks Mulligan for all that helpful information. As I had said, I have owned some preferreds over the years, and they served their purpose well. I did not select them as it was during a time when I first hired an adviser because I knew squat about stocks, bonds, etc.

Where did you look to educate yourself. I believe there are web sites devoted to discussing preferreds but, I don't know the names. Is there a particular site that you would recommend for good information?

I am pretty shy about financials but still own some. I like utilities, even though they can be volatile, but still have shown good returns over the years. It's just a roller coaster ride sometimes (like now, the roller coaster is coming off their highs)

eta2020: I think you were right in your analogy in the long term, but it is really comparing apples to oranges. I don't think Mulligan or anyone would necessarily look at preferreds as a growth move to maximize your returns later years. They are more to fulfill an immediate need as opposed to an eventual need. Besides, to get even a decent return, you should be re-investing the dividends, not spending them. But they can certainly help to boost your income of your current portfolio.

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by modhatter Thanks Mulligan for all that helpful information. As I had said, I have owned some preferreds over the years, and they served their purpose well. I did not select them as it was during a time when I first hired an adviser because I knew squat about stocks, bonds, etc. Where did you look to educate yourself. I believe there are web sites devoted to discussing preferreds but, I don't know the names. Is there a particular site that you would recommend for good information? I am pretty shy about financials but still own some. I like utilities, even though they can be volatile, but still have shown good returns over the years. It's just a roller coaster ride sometimes (like now, the roller coaster is coming off their highs) eta2020: I think you were right in your analogy in the long term, but it is really comparing apples to oranges. I don't think Mulligan or anyone would necessarily look at preferreds as a growth move to maximize your returns later years. They are more to fulfill an immediate need as opposed to an eventual need. Besides, to get even a decent return, you should be re-investing the dividends, not spending them. But they can certainly help to boost your income of your current portfolio.

Modhatter, the info is kind of random on them. Silicon Investor has a forum where people will notify others of new preferred issues. But they mention all types that may be riskier. Quantumonline has a feature that shows new preferreds when you register (free). Dividend Yield Hunter has a good website and shows many issues with their yields and call dates.
If you interested in electrical preferreds you almost have to type in a common stock utility company ticker symbols, in Quantumonline. Then hit "related securities" and then the list of prefferreds outstanding will show up. Many of these are not shown on other lists because they are not very liquid and can be small issues of 10-20 million.
After that it is checking the financials and such. But I don't get very deep into the numbers as I buy solid companies with decades of dividend payments without suspension.

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[modhatter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mulligan Modhatter, the info is kind of random on them. Silicon Investor has a forum where people will notify others of new preferred issues. But they mention all types that may be riskier. Quantumonline has a feature that shows new preferreds when you register (free). Dividend Yield Hunter has a good website and shows many issues with their yields and call dates. If you interested in electrical preferreds you almost have to type in a common stock utility company ticker symbols, in Quantumonline. Then hit "related securities" and then the list of prefferreds outstanding will show up. Many of these are not shown on other lists because they are not very liquid and can be small issues of 10-20 million. After that it is checking the financials and such. But I don't get very deep into the numbers as I buy solid companies with decades of dividend payments without suspension. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thank you. I will check those links out.

[rayvt]

Preferred Stock Investing

Spend the $15-$20 and buy the book.

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayvt Preferred Stock Investing Spend the $15-$20 and buy the book.

The author is a knowledgable person and writes occasionally on SA. However be aware the book tries to serve as a dual purpose to pay for his subscription service that are pretty well available with some minor research.


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