Dividend.com Review – A Dividend Research and Analysis Tool

Dividend.com Introduction

Dividend.com is a research and analysis site dedicated to dividend analysis and income strategies. The site provides regular articles and updates with recommendations for the best dividend stock selections along with strategies, ex-dividend dates, commentary, and company news. Free registration enables access to the Dividend Assistant tool, which a useful analysis tool. Content is updated daily with selections based on many metrics, including their proprietary Dividend Advantage Rating System (DARS). A membership plan is required to unlock unlimited DARS ratings along with more extensive tools, including alerts, trackers, and screeners.  

While stagnant and boring dividend reinvestment plans (DRiPs) have been around for decades, proactive dividend portfolio investing has gained mainstream popularity in recent years as a viable strategy for generating passive income and capital appreciation. I found it compelling that dividends take credit for 40-percent of total returns for U.S. and European stocks since the 1970s. While traditionally engaged by fixed income investors like retirees, more demographics are engaging in partaking potential income generation strategies through dividend yield management.

How Dividend.com Works

Dividend.com can seem overwhelming to new users due to the vast amount of information. It’s a good idea to browse the homepage for the general lay of the land using the tabs starting to Best Dividend Stocks and work across and down to get a sampling of the free content and an indication of what a paid membership entails. The site limits data for free users, but there’s enough to kick the tires and decide if the information is useful enough to warrant a subscription. News is updated on the homepage and can be tracked throughout the day. I really like how they don’t bombard you with annoying pop-up ads and intrusive video banners.

The site is segmented into various sections ranging from news to information on best dividend stocks, ex-dividend dates, strategies, tools, articles, and premium content. 

Dividend Assistant

After signing up for free, users get access to the Dividend Assistant. This tool provides a bird’s eye snapshot of your dividend stocks along with pertinent information regarding upcoming payout dates and news alerts (similar to Simply Safe Dividends). To get full functionality, you will need a paid subscription. However, I can’t stress how convenient this tool is. No need to track down your dividend-paying stocks manually anymore as this tool also provides a “shot clock” countdown until ex-dividend date and estimate income projections for your portfolio.

DARS Rating

The Dividend Advantage Rating System (DARS) is an exclusive and proprietary rating model used by Dividend.com to assess the long-term sustainability, growth, and safety of a stock’s underlying dividend. It works on a scale of (weak) 1-to-5 (strongest). Sophisticated algorithms filter 7,000 stocks and ETFs through five key metrics, including dividend relative strength, overall yield attractiveness, reliability, uptrend, and earnings growth to generate the DARS score. The highest DARS rated stocks are updated daily under Best Dividend Stocks. 

Dividend Strategies

This is one of my favorite sections for ideas and learning new tricks of the trade. Not only do they explain each type of strategy, but it also provides stocks to select from to implement the strategy. From passive Monthly Income strategies to defensive Inflation Protection and Tax Optimization strategies to active and aggressive Trading Strategies, this section is deeply layered with useful content.

Dividend Capture Strategy 

This a popular trading strategy where you buy a stock within 10-days of its ex-dividend date to be a “shareholder on record” and then sell the position on or after the ex-dividend date. The investor will receive the dividend payout if they are registered as a holder up to the ex-dividend date. The goal is to capture as much of the dividend minus gap down. Dividend.com provides a curated list of Best Dividend Capture Stocks, which include useful information like Average Days for Stock Price Recovery as well as a handy Ex-Dividend Calendar. 

Ex-Dividend Calendar

This is a great tool for using a dividend capture strategy. With a universe of dividend-paying stocks, there are literally ex-dividend dates every day. This allows you to compare and analyze which ones may be worth trying to capture. However, it’s important to understand the mechanics of this strategy as it can also backfire depending on market sentiment and gaps. Passive long-term holders aren’t really phased by this. 

Risks of Dividend Investing

It’s important to know that dividend investing is not all upside. The reason a stock has a high-yield is due to increased risk and likely share price depreciation. High-yield is great when you are just entering the stock position but really stinks when you have been in the position when the yield was moderate and suddenly went high-yield due to big price drop. Stock price implosions also bear the risk of dividend cuts or reductions. 

Regarding the dividend capture strategy, you are betting that the stock will buffer the scheduled gap-down on the ex-dividend date and rally back up. However, if “everyone” were to dump their shares on the ex-dividend date, that would theoretically sink the stock price even harder. Bears may also enter the fray looking to panic out short-term players. These are the dangers of a “crowded” trade or strategy.

Education and Research

I find myself learning new facets of dividend investing every week and gaining an appreciation for this less active realm of investing. There’s a lot of free content in the Articles tab as well as the Dividend University, where even seasoned investors can gain knowledge. The depth of this style of management continues to impress me.

Dividend Stock Tools

This section helps enhance your efficiency with finding, tracking, and managing dividend stocks. The Dividend Portfolios tool works like other robo-advisors and helps create sample “Recommended” dividend portfolios based on user input (IE: risk profit and investment goals). The Dividend Scanner is useful if you have a template of the type of dividend stock you need. 

Dividend.com Pricing and Fees

Dividend.com offers two paid membership plans:

The Lite plan is $99-per year billed annually and includes:

The Best Dividend Stocks List and Special Dividends List, full access to Dividend Assistant, DARS stock ratings, Full Dividend and Growth history to 1993, Special Dividend research reports, and the Daily Dividend newsletter.

The Premium plan is $149-per year billed annually and includes:

All features from the Lite plan and the Complete Best Dividend Stock list, DARS Upgrades and Downgrades, Watch Lists with Performance Trackers, News, Alerts, and Most Watched Stocks List with export data capabilities to spreadsheets. It also includes tools like Dividend Portfolio and Monthly Income Generator and access to Premium Dividend articles and Annual Dividend Stock Guides.

Both plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Who is Dividend.com Best Suited For?

Traditionally dividend investing has primarily been reserved for retirees, baby boomers, and passive investors. While Dividend.com caters well to this older demographic, younger and beginner investors are also well suited to establish a foundation early to grow dividend gains. The popularity of robo-advisors has helped usher in Millennials into their segment with various dividend themed portfolios and focus on long-term compounding of gains. Even swing traders are getting in on strategies like dividend capture. The service caters to all investors looking to optimize dividend income and portfolio management. 

If you are looking for more active growth stocks, you may prefer a service like Stock Advisor or Action Alerts Plus. You could also use these services in conjunction with Dividends.com if you wanted to diversify your investment strategies.

Pros

• Easy to remember website, Dividend.com
• Generous amounts of free content and education just for registering
• DARS proprietary metric provides a solid rating score for investors to help anchor their decisions on stock selection
• A constant flow of news, blogs, and articles can only improve the user’s knowledge
• Nice detailed explanations, examples and step-by-step instructions to implement strategies
• A convenient one-stop-shop for all things dividend-related

Cons

• Dividend portfolio investing may become a “crowded” trade with so many new investors engaging in this endeavor
• With so much good content, it’s tempting to jump headfirst into the strategies without knowing the risk factors