Every so often I flag what I call a "Dividend D-Day" -- a day when a massive number of stocks go ex-dividend. These D-Days give you the opportunity to load up on a great deal of dividend income in a short period. Of course, it is good to stockpile some capital to take advantage of the income flow, but I leave your cash-balance management up to you.
The next D-Day is coming up March 26, so you have Friday and Monday to buy the names that tickle your fancy. Below is my list of D-Day dividends. Note that this is a pre-screened list, so all the dividends have some level of attractiveness due to size, industry and trading volume, among other things. Naturally, do not just buy these indiscriminately. Do some homework, check the charts, look for the hidden risk of upcoming news and so on.
As always, some sectors are good for dividend capture, while that's less true for others. I generally avoid utilities, since these stocks are owned for the dividend and trade "efficiently," meaning they will drop and not come back to your purchase price for some time. For that reason, I am staying away from PG&E (PCG), Sempra Energy (SRE), Edison International (EIX) and the like. Similar risk is found in some of the energy income names, such as Penn West (PWE) and TransCanada (TRP).
Elsewhere on the list, I've highlighted names I am playing coming into this D-Day. I love consumer staples for dividend capture, and both Kraft Foods (KRFT) and Philip Morris (PM) fit that bill. Staples (SPLS) looks reasonably good in the retail space. I am actually long Deere (DE) for a capital gain, not just the dividend, but I highlighted it since I own it and will collect some nice income.
