#vector group

[miamibeachcondolife]

Elliman made $186M in Q3 – but Vector’s profit dropped

Elliman made $186M in Q3 – but Vector’s profit dropped

From left: Howard Lorber (credit: Richard Lewin) and a rendering of 87 Park From the New York website: Douglas Elliman sold $6.6 billion worth of real estate during the third quarter and pulled in revenue of $186 million during the same period. But due to rising new development costs, the profit of its parent company…

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[topyields]

A Glance at 3 Less-Known Tobacco Related Dividend Players

Investing in cigarettes has been a lucrative undertaking. In fact, over the 10 years through year 2011, tobacco companies, as measured by the MSCI World Tobacco Index, had the best risk-adjusted return out of 67 industry sectors in the MSCI World Index, according to research released last year by BNY Mellon Wealth Management and Janney Montgomery Scott. Notwithstanding the adverse market environment due to increased regulation, litigation, and the trend of a decreasing prevalence of smoking in the developed world, such a strong performance has been a result of persistent pricing power amid a generally price-inelastic demand for addictive cigarettes, strong branding, and, in some cases, the expansion in emerging markets. With consistent (and recession-resilient) cash flows, the tobacco industry has been known as a source of dependable dividend income.

While the reputed cigarette-makers such as Altria Group (NYSE: MO), Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM), and British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS)(NYSE: BTI), are industry leaders grabbing all the attention among dividend investors, there are also some less-known dividend-paying companies in this or related industries that investors may have come across. The table below shows the stock profile and dividend characteristics of three companies that are either direct or indirect players in the tobacco/cigarettes industry.

Among the aforementioned stocks, Vector Group (NYSE: VGR), a discount cigarette maker and a real estate company, has the highest dividend yield; however, its elevated yield is a reflection of investor concerns about the sustainability of the company’s dividend, given that the company’s dividend payout ratio stands well in excess of both earnings and free cash flow. Universal (NYSE: UVV), the leading global leaf tobacco supplier with operations in more than 30 countries, has the longest streak of consistent annual dividend increases – some 42 years in a row. Therefore, its reliability and dividend dependability through all business cycles are its most appealing features. On the other hand, Schweitzer-Mauduit International (NYSE: SWM), the world’s largest maker of cigarette paper, has been boosting significantly its dividends recently. This stock could represent a good play on dividend growth driven by expected strong free cash flow generation.