Top Five Watch List Performance Review
In our ongoing review of the NLO Dividend Watch List, we have taken the top five stocks on our list from July 25, 2014 and have checked the performance one year later. The top five companies on that list can be seen in the table below.
| Symbol | Name | 2013 Price | 2014 Price | % change |
| SCL | Stepan | 49.88 | 47.00 | -5.8% |
| TR | Tootsie Roll Industries Inc | 27.31 | 31.64 | 15.9% |
| FCBC | First Community Bancshares | 13.60 | 17.84 | 31.2% |
| WWW | Wolverine World Wide | 24.27 | 28.81 | 18.7% |
| YORW | The York Water Company | 19.20 | 21.26 | 10.7% |
| Average | 14.1% | |||
| DJI | Dow Jones Industrial | 16,960.57 | 17,568.53 | 3.6% |
| SPX | S&P 500 | 1,978.34 | 2,068.26 | 4.5% |
Our top five gained an average of 14.1%. This far exceeded the market performance. The only company that failed to meet or exceed the market performance was Stepan (SCL) which fell -5.8%. The other four companies had gains ranging from +10.7% to +31.2%. Our commentary about Stepan and Tootsie Roll is worth reviewing. Regarding Stepan, we said the following:
When we look at the price level compared to various fundamental figures (cash flow, earning, and book value), you will see that price has risen far beyond the fundamental. From 2003 to 2013, the stock has risen around 17% on an annual basis. Compared that to 5.6% for cash flow, 13% for earning, 10% for bookvalue, and 5.5% for dividend. While stock purchased at the low will mark a better entrance than stock at the high, we think that this stock will have some catching up to do on the fundamental front.
As for Tootsie Roll (TR), we all know there isn't anything exciting to write about the company other than it managed to gain nearly +16% while the S&P 500 had risen only +4.5%. The stock of Tootsie Roll has always appears to be 'expensive' on P/E basis but time after time, the company manages to maintain a consistent level of appreciation. That may be due to the predictability of their revenue and profit. We stated that the stock was worth a look at the current price while making note that it wasn't a screaming buy.
U.S. Dividend Watch List: July 24,2015
It was a train wreck for the market this week as the S&P 500 fell -2.2% while Industrial average lost nearly -3%. For those with cash on the sidelines, this is music to their ears. A pullback in the market will allow long-term investors to accumulate assets and utilize our dividend watch list to position themselves for income investing. Continue reading
