Best Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now

BTIG Research has a note out today, in which Dan Greenhaus writes that on the heels of a bullish second-quarter earnings season, and dovish remarks from the Federal Reserve, it�� time to play catch-up:

��ith the bulk of earnings season now behind us, and several economic indicators in hand, we now feel comfortable doing what we always figured we would have to; we are increasing our S&P 500 price target to 1750, a modest 2.5% above current levels. We now estimate the S&P will earn $109 in 2013 (up from $108) and $117 (up from $114.50) in 2014. Assuming we end the year trading at 15x forward earnings expectations, that suggests the S&P should end the year at 1,755, representing a full year gain, not including dividends, of 23%.��/p>

He notes that while he has been surprised by the strength of the stock market, he doesn�� expect that indicators for weak economic growth will be enough to stall bulls��specially as it wasn�� able to halt the S&P�� huge gains since its bear market lows.

5 Best High Dividend Stocks To Own For 2015: Resource Capital Corp.(RSO)

Resource Capital Corp. operates as a specialty finance company that focuses primarily on commercial real estate and commercial finance in the United States. The company?s commercial real estate-related investments include first mortgage loans, first priority interests in first mortgage real estate loans, subordinate interests in first mortgage real estate loans, mezzanine loans, and commercial mortgage-backed securities. It also invests in commercial finance assets, including senior secured corporate loans, other asset-backed securities, equipment leases and notes, trust preferred securities, and debt tranches of collateralized debt and loan obligations. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust (REIT) for federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, it is not subject to federal corporate income tax to the extent that it distributes 90% of its REIT taxable income. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Shares of Resource Capital Corp. (RSO) �declined 3.8% to $5.82 in moderate volume after the real-estate investment trust said it would launch a $100 million offering in notes due 2018.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Resource Capital (NYSE: RSO  ) is dipping into its coffers for another shareholder payout. The company has declared a dividend for its current quarter of $0.20 per share, which is to be paid on July 26 to shareholders of record as of June 28. That amount matches each of the company's previous five distributions, the most recent of which was paid in late April. Before that, Resource Capital was more generous, dispensing $0.25 per share.

Best Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: Seadrill Limited(SDRL)

Seadrill Limited, an offshore drilling contractor, provides offshore drilling services to the oil and gas industries worldwide. It also offers platform drilling, well intervention, and engineering services. As of March 31, 2011 the company owned and operated 54 offshore drilling units, which consist of drillships, jack-up rigs, semisubmersible rigs, and tender rigs for operations in shallow and deepwater areas, as well as in benign and harsh environments. Seadrill Limited was founded in 1972 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  Of companies out there that are traded on the U.S. exchanges, Seadrill (NYSE: SDRL  ) is setting itself apart from the others, as it plans to build 14 new ultra-deepwater capable rigs between now and 2016. Not only will this move expand its ultra-deepwater fleet by 44%, but it also puts more rigs under construction than three of its main competitors -- ENSCO, Diamond Offshore, and Transocean -- combined. With day rates for these rigs averaging $450,000, an addition of 14 rigs could potentially increase the company's current annual revenue by 50%.�

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Higher oil prices have helped offshore drillers like Ensco (ESV), Noble (NE), Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO) and Seadrill (SDRL) rally and now they’re getting another boost today after fleet updates from Diamond Offshore and Ensco.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  SeaDrill (NYSE: SDRL) was down, falling 5.64 percent to $42.69 after the company reported downbeat Q3 profit.

  Commodities
  In commodity news, oil traded down 0.99 percent to $93.90, while gold traded down 0.32 percent to $1,240.60.

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  Of all the offshore rig companies out there, no one is as aggressive as Seadrill (NYSE: SDRL  ) in building out for the future. The company currently has enough rigs, drillships, and semi-submersibles under construction to expand its current fleet by almost 40% in the next couple of years. Also, with one of the youngest fleets of rigs, and a large share of the equipment used for ultra-deepwater exploration, the company is looking to make a big splash in the next several years.

Best Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: ITT Industries Inc.(ITT)

ITT Corporation designs, manufactures, and sells a range of engineered products, and provides related services worldwide. Its Defense & Information Solutions segment develops tactical communications equipment, electronic warfare and force protection equipment, radar systems, integrated structures equipment, and imaging and sensor equipment, including night vision goggles, as well as weather, location, surveillance, and other related technologies for military and government agencies. It also provides services comprising air traffic management, information and cyber solutions, large-scale systems engineering, and integration and defense technologies; satellite-based imaging payloads for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance solutions; and high-resolution commercial imaging systems with earth and space science applications, climate and environmental monitoring sensors and systems, and GPS navigation and software applications designed for image and data processing and dissemination. The company?s Fluid Technology segment provides water transport and wastewater treatment systems, pumps and related technologies, and other water and fluid control products with municipal, residential, commercial, and industrial applications. Its Motion & Flow Control segment manufactures shock absorbers and brake friction materials for the transportation industry; switch applications for the industrial and aerospace industries; electrical connectors used in telecommunications, computers, aerospace, medical, and industrial applications; and a range of pumps and tailored products for marine, food and beverage, and general industrial markets. The company was formerly known as ITT Industries, Inc. and changed its name to ITT Corporation in July 2006. ITT Corporation was founded in 1920 and is based in White Plains, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  Spun-off from industrial giant ITT (ITT) a few years ago, Xylem (XYL) could be a great starting point for investors looking at water stocks. Aside from its cool and appropriate name, XYL provides host of equipment — pumps, controllers and filtration devices — for wastewater treatment plants across the globe.

• [By Will Ashworth]

  As for the other stocks in the portfolio, you can’t ignore the performance of both Apollo (APO) and ITT Corp. (ITT).

  It’s been a busy year for private equity firm Apollo Global Management, which got the Twinkie back on grocery store shelves in July. Carried interest income more than doubled in the first six months of the year to $1.4 billion.

Best Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: ProLogis(PLD)

Prologis Inc. is an independent equity real estate investment trust. It invests in the real estate markets across the globe. The firm engages in the ownership, development, management, and leasing of industrial distribution and retail properties. It was previously known as Security Capital Investment Trust. Prologis Inc. was formed in 1991 and is based in San Francisco, California with an additional office in Denver, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [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 Oliver Pursche]

  As the real-estate crisis unfolded in 2008, Mr. Moghadam acted boldly and intelligently, taking advantage of opportunities around the world and eventually merging AMB with ProLogis (PLD) �in 2011 to create the current, a company who�� stock, since the bottom of the crisis in 2009, has outperformed the S&P 500.

Best Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now: FirstEnergy Corporation(FE)

Firstenergy Corp. operates as a diversified energy company. The company, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, involves in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity, as well as energy management and other energy-related services. It serves approximately 6 million customers within 67,000 square miles through 10 utility operating companies in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia and Maryland. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Akron, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE  ) announced today that it plans to retire two coal-fired Pennsylvania power plants by the end of October.

  A combination of low electricity prices and high costs to meet environmental regulations has pushed the utility to action, shuttering the equivalent of 2,080 MW at the two plants, representing around 10% of FirstEnergy's total generation capacity. According to the company's press release, these two plants would have required around $280 million in environmental compliance costs, or around 30% of FirstEnergy's total estimated spending to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency's Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.

• [By David Dittman]

  FirstEnergy Corp (NYSE: FE) is perhaps the riskiest play among the six stocks listed in the table. FirstEnergy is coming off a 34.5 percent dividend cut announced in January 2014 following a ��horough��study of the company�� businesses. The board concluded that a dividend rate ��ligned��with revenue and earnings generated by regulated operations ��ill provide the best path forward for FirstEnergy.��/p>

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  FirstEnergy
  FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE  ) reported earnings May 7, exceeding top- and bottom-line expectations. Unlike Atlantic, its priced-for-perfection dividend stock gave less punch to positive news, and investors aren't elated with FirstEnergy's 1.6 debt-to-equity ratio.