A 12% Yielder Taking a Beating

Is this ship sinking? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 

AN OXFORD CLUB PUBLICATION

View in browser SPONSORED URGENT: Safe Stocks Help Rescue Americans From Market Storm Almost everyone is getting PUMMELED by this market... almost everyone. One group of stocks has "generated returns of almost 30% so far this year," according to Financial Times and Bloomberg. (Hint: It's not gold or energy stocks.) Click here to get all the details. Editor's Note: The subject of today's Safety Net isn't the only high-yielding stock that's recently taken a beating. This bear is biting every corner of the market. That's why Chief Income Strategist Marc Lichtenfeld is turning his sights away from the stock market. He's specifically targeting an investment that he considers the perfect asset to buy and hold during our current bear market. We're talking about an investment that pays out contractually obligated returns of up to 110% in less than five years... 100% outside of the stock market. It's just what we need, as a prominent research firm just said there's a 98% likelihood of a recession on the short-term horizon. Want to minimize your portfolio's exposure to the coming maelstrom? Or just want a strong, dependable yield to supplement your trades? Watch THIS FREE VIDEO now. - Kyle Wehrle, Assistant Managing Editor SAFETY NET Will Falling Cash Flow End This 12% Yield? Marc Lichtenfeld, Chief Income Strategist, The Oxford Club It's easy to see why a dividend investor would be attracted to telecommunications technology provider Lumen Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LUMN). Its current $0.25 per share quarterly dividend comes out to a plump 12.3% yield. But can investors rely on that dividend quarter after quarter? In the short term, probably. Longer term may be a different story. This year, Lumen is expected to record its lowest free cash flow total since 2017. Free cash flow is forecast to drop from $3.6 billion to $2.2 billion. Safety Net never wants to see free cash flow falling. If the decline continues, it could put a lot of pressure on the company's ability to pay the dividend. Lumen's payout ratio is low, which is why I don't expect an immediate dividend cut. SPONSORED $30 Trillion Debt Bill Is Now Due For decades... politicians have racked up huge debt with no thought of the future. Now... the bill is due. It's unleashed a financial storm called "America's Reckoning"... Discover Why You Must Prepare Before October 7 (CLICK HERE) This year, Lumen is projected to pay out just 47% of free cash flow to shareholders in dividends. Anything below 75% is a confidence booster. However, the company has cut the dividend twice in the past 10 years - once in 2013, when it dropped the dividend to $0.54 from $0.72, and once in 2018, when it slashed the dividend from $0.54 to the current $0.25. The company also has a brand-new CEO. Kate Johnson has not yet signaled her intention when it comes to the dividend, but it's not hard to imagine her cutting the dividend if free cash flow continues to deteriorate while she implements new plans and perhaps hires new personnel. The combination of two dividend cuts and falling free cash flow does not give me confidence that the dividend is safe. If Johnson can turn things around to the point where free cash flow is projected to be higher in 2023, then the stock's dividend safety will get an upgrade. But for now, Lumen's history of dividend-slashing and its plummeting free cash flow mean that you cannot consider the 12% yield safe. Dividend Safety Rating: F Let me know if you have a stock whose dividend safety you'd like me to cover next by typing the ticker in the comments section. But before you do, please check to see whether I've written about your favorite stock recently. There's a good chance I have. To see whether I have written about your favorite stock, click on "Search" at the top right part of the Wealthy Retirement homepage, type the company name in the box and hit enter. Boom, you'll see all the recent articles that mention your stock. Good investing, Marc Leave a Comment RECOMMENDED LINKS Could "XRI" spark the biggest investment boom since the internet? The #1 stock under $5... MORE FROM WEALTHY RETIREMENT The Best Place to Secure Profits During This Bear Market How to Earn Income the IRS Won't Touch Equifax Is Priced Better by the Day "Trash" Stocks Could Make You 1,000%-Plus Facebook Twitter Email Share Push Alert SPONSORED America's Reckoning... Are You Prepared? Starting October 7, we could face the worst economy in 50 years... I urge you to act NOW to prepare... Click Here ASAP to Discover the Shocking Truth You are receiving this email because you subscribed to Wealthy Retirement. Wealthy Retirement is published by The Oxford Club. Questions? Check out our FAQs. 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