Best Dividend Companies To Own In Right Now

Uranium prices are in for 2012, and costs continue to head higher. The magic molecule's price tag is up over 400% in the past decade and could continue to cut into your dividend stocks' profits in the years ahead. I ran the numbers for some of the top nuclear-producing utilities in the country, and here's what I found out.

It's not us; it's them
In 2012, U.S. nuclear power plant owners and operators purchased 59 million pounds of U3O8 equivalent, roughly the same amount as in 2003 and well below its 2006 demand peak of approximately 65 million.

Source: eia.gov�

But over the same period, prices have skyrocketed. In 2011, 10 bucks would get you a pound of uranium. Now, the same pound costs power companies an average $54.99 per pound.

Best China Stocks To Invest In 2015: Plum Creek Timber Company Inc.(PCL)

Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc. is a publicly owned real estate investment trust (REIT). The trust owns and manages timberlands in the United States. Its products include lumber products, plywood, medium density fiberboard, and related by-products, such as wood chips. The trust also focuses on mineral extraction and natural gas production, communication, and transportation. Plum Creek Timber Company was founded in 1989 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Victor Selva]

  Plum Creek Timber Co Inc. (PCL) owns 6.4 million acres of timberland across 19 states and manages timberland and manufactures wood products. The company is structured as a REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust), and so, it is not required to pay federal income taxes on earnings generated by timber harvest activities. Other earnings, like those from its wood products and real estate segments are subject to federal income tax.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Ordinarily, price pressure might lead to decreased demand for housing, which could send Weyerhaeuser's cyclical prospects downward. But so far, that hasn't materialized, and Plum Creek Timber (NYSE: PCL  ) has seen greater investment in mills as well as expanded work-shifts at existing facilities. Furthermore, logging capacity has been under pressure, which could continue to support prices.

Best Dividend Companies To Own In 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 David Dittman]

  Answer: I don’t anticipate a spate of dividend cuts. FirstEnergy Corp’s (NYSE: FE) problems were apparent last fall, when it announced 2013 Q3 numbers. We do have TECO Energy Inc (NYSE: TE) and PG&E Corp (NYSE: PCG) on the UF Dividend Watch List, though the latter is in a much more precarious position than the former.
  
  The regulatory environment is generally improving, as state and federal authorities are beginning to recognize the investment utilities have made over the past half-decade in system reliability and capacity expansion.
  
  Another key supporting dividends is a healthier US economy, which should support better power demand from commercial and industrial customers.

Best Dividend Companies To Own In Right Now: UMH Properties Inc.(UMH)

UMH Properties, Inc. (UMH) is a real estate investment trust. The firm engages in the ownership and operation of manufactured home communities. It leases manufactured home spaces to private manufactured home owners, as well as leases homes to residents. The firm invests in the real estate markets of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Tennessee. In addition, it invests in debt and equity securities of REITs. United Mobile Homes was incorporated in 1968. The company was formerly known as United Mobile Homes, Inc. UMH Properties is based in Freehold, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Trailer parks may have a bad reputation, but Yahoo! Finance�� Breakout segment was recently touting trailer parks as a hot new investment area���meaning its time for retail investors who don�� want to invest in physical parks to start taking a closer look at trailer park stocks Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc (NYSE: ELS), Sun Communities Inc (NYSE: SUI) and UMH Properties, Inc (NYSE: UMH). According to the segment, roughly 6% of Americans lived in trailer homes as of 2012 with the�supply of designated trailer parks being quite low because no one wants one in their backyard. Anthony Effinger, the author of another article about trailer parks for Bloomberg, was quoted as saying:

Best Dividend Companies To Own In Right Now: People's United Financial Inc.(PBCT)

People?s United Financial, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for People?s United Bank that provides commercial banking, retail and business banking, and wealth management services to individual, corporate, and municipal customers. Its Commercial Banking segment provides commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate lending, and commercial deposit gathering services, as well as equipment financing, cash management, correspondent banking, and municipal banking services. The company?s Retail and Business Banking segment offers consumer and business deposit gathering services; consumer lending products, including residential mortgage, home equity, and indirect auto lending; business lending; and merchant services. Its Wealth Management segment provides trust services, corporate trust, brokerage, financial advisory services, investment management services, and life insurance and other insurance services, as well as private banking services. The company also offers online and telephone banking, and investment trading services, and automated teller machine (ATM) services. As of March 31, 2011, it operated a network of approximately 341 branches, including full-service supermarket branches, investment and brokerage offices, and commercial banking offices, as well as approximately 518 automated teller machines in Connecticut, Vermont, New York, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1842 and is headquartered in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Maxfield]

  Given that you clicked on this article, it seems safe to assume you either own stock in People's United Financial (NASDAQ: PBCT  ) or are considering buying shares in the near future. If so, then you've come to the right place. The table below reveals the nine most critical numbers that investors need to know about People's United stock before deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold it.

• [By John Maxfield]

  While it's not obvious from the chart, you can separate these institutions into three different buckets. The first bucket concerns the most widely discussed too-big-to-fail banks: JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo. Then comes the unofficial too-big-to-fail lenders (those with assets in excess of $50 billion and thus subject to the Federal Reserve's more stringent stress test process). This group contains U.S. Bank (NYSE: USB  ) , PNC Financial (NYSE: PNC  ) , and BB&T Bank (NYSE: BBT  ) , among others. And the final group encompasses lesser-known banks like First Niagara Financial (NASDAQ: FNFG  ) and People's United Financial (NASDAQ: PBCT  ) with between $20 billion and $50 billion in assets.