Top Five Reasons to Sell a Dividend Stock

Over the past two years, we've seen the worst side of dividends -- cuts, eliminations, and suspensions. In the S&P 500, 62 companies cut their dividends in 2008, followed by another 90 in 2009, including Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS). In 2009 alone, companies eliminated $58 billion in dividend payments to shareholders. Following regulators' warning to U.S. banks in March that dividends and buybacks shouldn't be reinstated until the economy has regained its footing, I wouldn't hold my breath for a recovery of their pre-crash dividend yields anytime soon.

No one wants to get fooled (lower case "f") again, of course, but trading in and out of dividend-paying stocks doesn't make much sense, either. Instead, here are five scenarios where a long-term, income-minded investor should consider selling a dividend stock.

Source: Motley Fool


Related Articles:

• Are REITs and Utilities Good Dividend Investments?
• Measuring Asset Allocation Across Your Entire Portfolio
• 7 Investor Traits to Achieve Success
• Fair Value Data
• Seven Stingy Dividend Stocks