Best Dividend Companies To Invest In Right Now

Once a company becomes a member of the elite Dividend Aristocrats list, it takes a lot to dislodge that company from its ranks. After all, having demonstrated a 25-year history of raising dividends even through the ups and downs of the economy, companies don't want to give up the hard-earned distinction without a fight. Unfortunately, though, sometimes losing Dividend Aristocrat status is unavoidable, and SUPERVALU (NYSE: SVU  ) marks a good example of what can happen to derail a company's dividend success.

SUPERVALU is the company behind the Cub Foods, Farm Fresh, and Shop 'n Save grocery store chains, as well as its Save-A-Lot discount grocery chain. For years, SUPERVALU was able to raise its dividends consistently even as it faced the pressures of low margins and rising competition that plague the entire grocery industry. Let's take a closer look at SUPERVALU to see what happened to force it to cut its dividends and abandon its status as a Dividend Aristocrat.

Best Dividend Companies To Invest In Right Now: DTE Energy Company(DTE)

DTE Energy Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company in Michigan. It also involves in non-utility operations. The company?s Energy Utility segment engages in the generation, purchase, distribution, and sale of electricity in southeastern Michigan. It generates electricity from various fuels, including coal, as well as from nuclear and hydro facilitates. As of December 31, 2010, this segment owned and operated approximately 674 distribution substations and approximately 412,100 line transformers; and supplied electricity to 2.1 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers in southeastern Michigan. The company?s Gas Utility segment engages in the purchase, storage, transmission, distribution, and sale of natural gas in Michigan. As of December 31, 2010, this segment?s distribution system included approximately 19,000 miles of distribution mains, 1,036,000 service lines, and 1,319,000 active meters. It also o wned approximately 2,000 miles of transmission lines that deliver natural gas; and supplied natural gas to approximately 1.2 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers throughout Michigan, as well as to approximately 17,000 customers in Adrian, Michigan. The company?s non-utility operations include natural gas pipelines and storage; unconventional gas exploration, development, and production; power and industrial projects, and coal transportation and marketing; and energy marketing and trading operations. Its customers include electric utilities, merchant power producers, integrated steel mills, and industrial companies. DTE Energy Company was founded in 1995 and is based in Detroit, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Martin]

  Deutsche Telekom AG is a diversified telecommunications & Information technology company operating in 5 areas: Germany, the United States, Europe, Southern and Eastern Europe. The company has a solid strategy in place to become the largest 4G network in the United States, increase its annual revenue to $3 billion by 2014 & increase its profit margins while decreasing churn. Currently, the company's stock trades at almost 19 times earnings and sports a nice 6.52% dividend yield. The company has a market cap of almost $43 billion and it trades on the Frankfurt stock exchange. For the 3rd quarter of 2010, the company generated Euro 4.8 billion of free cash flow from which Euro 4 billion was paid in dividends. While this represents a high payout ratio, most companies in the telecommunications sector are known to pay a large portion of their cash to shareholders as dividends, in a bid to increase shareholder value.

Best Dividend Companies To Invest In Right Now: Lexington Realty Trust (LXP)

Lexington Corporate Properties Trust operates as a self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). The company acquires, owns, and manages a portfolio of office, industrial, and retail properties net-leased to corporate tenants in the United States. It also provides investment advisory and asset management services to institutional investors in the net lease area. As of June 30, 2005, the company operated 185 properties and managed 2 properties. Lexington Corporate Properties Trust has elected to qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, it would not be taxed on the portion of its income, which is distributed to shareholders, provided it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income. The company was founded in 1991 and is based in New York City.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Lexington Realty Trust (NYSE:LXP), a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on single-tenant real estate investments, reported that it would release its third quarter 2012 results the morning of Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Lexington will conduct a teleconference that same day at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Time.

Top 5 Heal Care Companies To Own For 2014: Cedar Shopping Centers Inc (CDR)

Cedar Shopping Centers, Inc., real estate investment trust, engages in the ownership, operation, development and redevelopment of supermarket-anchored community shopping centers and drug store-anchored convenience centers in the United States. As of December 31, 2007, it owned 118 properties, aggregating approximately 12.0 million square feet of gross leasable area primarily in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia, Ohio, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Michigan, and New York. Cedar Shopping has elected to be treated as a REIT for federal income tax purposes and would not be subject to federal income tax, if it distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its stockholders. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Port Washington, New York.

Best Dividend Companies To Invest In Right Now: Dreyfus Municipal Income Inc.(DMF)

Dreyfus Municipal Income, Inc. is a close ended mutual fund launched and managed by The Dreyfus Corporation. It invests in the fixed income markets. It primarily invests in municipal bonds. Dreyfus Municipal Income, Inc. is domiciled in United States.

Best Dividend Companies To Invest In Right Now: Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation(RL)

Ralph Lauren Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, marketing, and distribution of lifestyle products. The company offers men?s, women?s, and children?s clothing; and accessories comprising footwear, eyewear, watches, jewelry, hats, and belts, as well as leather goods, including handbags and luggage. It also provides products for homes, including bedding and bath products, furniture, fabric and wallpaper, paint, tabletop, and giftware; and fragrance products for women men. In addition, the company licenses its products, such as men?s sportswear, men?s tailored clothing, men?s underwear and sleepwear, eyewear, fragrances, cosmetics, and color and skin care products. It offers its products under the Polo by Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Ralph Lauren Women?s Collection, Black Label, Blue Label, Lauren by Ralph Lauren, RRL, RLX, Rugby, Ralph Lauren Childrenswear, American Living, Chaps, and Club Monaco brand names. Ralph Lauren sells its products to department stores, specialty stores, and golf and pro shops; full-price retail stores, factory retail stores, and concessions-based shop-within-shops; and online through RalphLauren.com and Rugby.com. As of April 3, 2010, it operated 179 full-price retail stores and 171 factory stores worldwide, as well as 281 concessions-based shop-within-shops and 2 e-commerce Websites. The company was formerly known as Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation and changed its name to Ralph Lauren Corporation in August 2011. Ralph Lauren Corporation was founded in 1967 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Kathy Kristof]

  Ralph Lauren has been a force in high-end fashion threads for more than 40 years. But Ralph Lauren Corp. recently launched a luxury accessory line that makes Coach products seem downright affordable. With handbags, for instance, retailing for up to $22,500, the brand is aimed at the truly rich, not the merely affluent. But the New York City–based fashion house also offers more-affordable clothing and accessories under its Polo and Chaps labels. UBS analyst Michael Binetti believes the combination of super-chic and more moderately priced fare will lead to big earnings gains in the fiscal year that ends in March 2014.

• [By iStockAnalyst]

  The company is one of America's leading lifestyle brands encompassing multiple permutations targeted at specific demographics, usage occasions and price points. Merchandise is available at approximately 10,000 retail locations throughout the world.

  RL holds leading market shares in department stores with four key department stores accounting for about 40 percent of its wholesale volume and Macy's (the largest wholesale account) for 19 percent. RL competes with Jones Apparel Group, Liz Claiborne and VF Corp., as well as private label offerings, which garner about a third of total apparel purchases and are an important differentiator for retailers. RL also sells directly to consumers through 367 specialty retail locations globally, spanning the luxury, mid-market and factory channels and at RalphLauren.com and Rugby.com.

  The company's well-managed portfolio of strong brands, long track record of successful operating performance, and relatively stable profitability over recent years despite weak retail conditions make me bullish on the stock. Moreover, I see the stock benefiting from continued development and expansion of accessories, denim and home categories as well as brand re-positioning in China.