Dodging dividend cuts

Securities Trust of Scotland (STS) is an income trust that pays quarterly dividends and currently offers a 4.4% yield. During the last twelve months STS has outperformed its benchmark, the FTSE All-Share Index, by 7.2% and 4.0% in terms of share price and NAV total return respectively. With the announcement of its recent interim results we believe STS is in line to maintain its dividend for the year ending 31 March 2011. Following 2009's dividend cuts, 2010 has seen good underlying growth in dividends which the manager expects to continue.

Securities Trust of Scotland (STS) is an income trust that pays quarterly dividends and currently offers a 4.3% yield. During the last 12 months STS has outperformed its benchmark, the FTSE All-Share Index, by 4.8% and 4.8% in terms of share price and NAV total return respectively. Following its interim results we believe STS is in line to maintain its dividend for the year ending 31 March 2011. Following cuts in 2009, 2010 has seen good underlying growth in dividends which the manager expects to continue during 2011.

By Osman Gulseven: By Ishtiaq Ahmed

By Williams Equity Analysis: Dividends are great - they provide a steady stream of income (if you hold enough shares), or they can be reinvested into the company to grow your holdings. When companies are paying out over 80% of their earnings to shareholders, even a small hit to free cash flow can seriously disrupt distributions. For a shareholder who relies on their dividends for income, this can be a disaster.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fidelity National Financial Inc , which controls one of the largest U.S.

By StreetAuthority: By Lisa Springer For an income investor, peace of mind comes from being able to offset monthly expenses with dividend income. This can be easily accomplished by owning monthly dividend stocks.

eChristian Investing submits:The Motley Fool recently published an article titled Why Big Dividends Are Bad News.