The 2011 list from 24/7 Wall Street had so many winners that they have dropped many, simply for exceeding price targets they had set. Notable drops include my favorite Altria Group (MO), and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP), both of which I have in my portfolio, and will stick with.
Their 2012 list includes names like AT&T (T) which they added because it is coming off a rough year for the stock price, due largely to their loss of the T-Mobile deal and the associated financial penalties. General Electric (GE), who they say “remains our favorite conglomerate with its valuation of less than 11-times expected earnings and a 3.7% dividend yield”. Other picks include utility companies American Electric Power (AEP) and American Water Works Company (AWK).
In addition they pick two REIT’s; Government Properties Income Trust (GOV) and Senior Housing Properties Trust (SNH). I mentioned SNH in my April blog post, at that time it was trading at $23.10 as the S&P was near its high. Today SNH is trading at $21.20 and they just hiked the dividend up in October. This REIT is particularly appealing because it has managed to not rely totally on government-dependant segments. In stark contrast to SNH is GOV, which relies 100% on government tenants. Almost all of GOV’s tenant clients are federal, state, and local government entities under long-term leases. If government cut-backs and austerity measures continue, this could dig into the bottom line. 24/7 Wall Street added it to their list because they feel those fears drove the stock down too much.
AT&T (T) is yielding nearly 6%
General Electric (GE) is a little above 4%
American Electric Power (AEP) around 4.75%
American Water Works Company (AWK) is at 3%
Senior Housing Properties Trust (SNH) is just over 7%
Government Properties Income Trust (GOV) is at 7.75%
I think all these stocks would be good additions to a conservative long-term portfolio, I plan to add AT&T back to mine (I sold for a gain when the T-Mo deal was announced and the stock spiked). I still hold GE, at pre-recession pricing, and will look to add SNH as the yield is too good to let pass. I do not plan to drop Altria Group (MO) which still yields over 5.5% or Kinder Morgan (KMP) which yields nearly 6%.
