Top 5 Dividend Stocks To Watch For 2014

There is a reason that most mortgages are paid monthly and not quarterly. Banks are looking for reassurance the payments will continue to come in. In much the same way, many investors find comfort in owning stocks that pay monthly dividends. There are several advantages to receiving dividends each month over the traditional quarterly, semi-annual or annual dividends. Here are a few, along with some monthly dividend payers:

Consistent Income

Quarterly, semi-annual or annual dividends will produce an erratic income each month. Depending on the mix and payment timing of securities in your portfolio, there may not be two months in which you receive the same amount of dividend income. Stocks that pay monthly dividends will help smooth it out some.

Easier to Budget

Retirees living on a limited income may find monthly payments easier to work with. If most of their bills are due on a monthly basis, owning income securities that pays dividends each month makes it easier to balance the budget.

5 Best Promising Stocks To Invest In Right Now: TECO Energy Inc.(TE)

TECO Energy, Inc., an electric and gas utility company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric energy. It provides retail electric service to approximately 672,000 customers in West Central Florida with a net winter system generating capability of 4,684 megawatts. The company also engages in the purchase, distribution, and marketing of natural gas. It serves approximately 336,000 residential, commercial, industrial, and electric power generation customers in Florida. In addition, the company owns mineral rights, owns or operates surface and underground mines, and owns interests in coal processing and loading facilities. TECO Energy, Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  Coal is expected to benefit the most, with demand jumping 7.8% for 2013. That'll provide a welcome burst of energy to coal-centric TECO Energy (NYSE: TE  ) , but nuclear should also emerge ahead for 2013.

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  But increasing natural gas prices are excellent news for nuclear's long-term outlook. Cheap natural gas nearly killed the competitiveness of fuels like nuclear and coal, but its recent rise should put these energies back in business. With 61% coal capacity, TECO Energy (NYSE: TE  ) will be right beside Exelon as it enjoys its nuclear comeback.

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  TECO Energy (NYSE: TE  ) is as close to a pure coal pick as utilities get, but even TECO is taking a step back. The utility's Appalachian coal mines churn out 9 million tons annually, and its regulated division relies on coal for 61% of its capacity. But last week, the company announced that it's dishing out $950 million for a regulated New Mexico natural gas utility. The acquisition adds 50% to TECO's customer base and could provide some natural hedging if coal and natural gas continue their price tango.�

Top 5 Dividend Stocks To Watch For 2014: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company(DD)

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company operates as a science and technology company worldwide. It operates in seven segments: Agriculture & Nutrition, Electronics & Communications, Performance Chemicals, Performance Coatings, Performance Materials, Safety & Protection, and Pharmaceuticals. The Agriculture & Nutrition segment provides hybrid seed corn and soybean seed, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, value enhanced grains, and soy protein under the Pioneer brand name. The Electronics & Communications segment supplies materials and systems for photovoltaic products, consumer electronics, displays, and advanced printing. The Performance Chemicals segment offers fluorochemicals, fluoropolymers, specialty and industrial chemicals, and white pigments for various markets, such as plastics and coatings, textiles, mining, pulp and paper, water treatment, and healthcare. The Performance Coatings segment supplies high performance liquid and powder coatings for motor vehicle origi nal equipment manufacturers (OEM); the motor vehicle after-market; and general industrial applications, such as such as coatings for heavy equipment, pipes and appliances, and electrical insulation. The Performance Materials segment provides polymers, elastomers, films, parts, and systems and solutions for the automotive OEM and associated after-market industries, as well as electrical, electronics, packaging, construction, oil, photovoltaics, aerospace, chemical processing, and consumer durable goods. The Safety & Protection segment primarily offers nonwovens, aramids, and solid surfaces for the construction, transportation, communications, industrial chemicals, oil and gas, electric utilities, automotive, manufacturing, defense, homeland security, and safety consulting industries. The Pharmaceuticals segment represents its interest in the collaboration relating to Cozaar/Hyzaar antihypertensive drugs. The company was founded in 1802 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Dela ware.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  DuPont (NYSE: DD  ) is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings report tomorrow, and with its stock at its highest levels in more than a decade, investors are pleased with the company's success lately. But some recent concerns about DuPont's earnings make this quarterly report crucial for the company's future prospects, and a disappointment could set the stage for a reversal in the stock's strong performance.

• [By Dan Burrows]

  Here are the top 10 Dow dividend stocks by yield for November:

  #10: DuPont (DD)

  Dividend Yield: 2.9%
  YTD Performance: +37%

  Neither the chemicals sector nor agricultural stocks have really been on fire this year, but don’t tell that to DuPont (DD). The stock is up 37% so far in 2013, beating the S&P 500 by nearly 11 percentage points.

Top 5 Dividend Stocks To Watch For 2014: Telular Corporation(WRLS)

Telular Corporation designs, develops, and distributes products and services that utilize wireless networks to provide data and voice connectivity among people and machines primarily in the United States and internationally. It provides machine-to-machine and event monitoring services, including Telguard that comprises a specialized terminal unit, which interfaces with commercial security control panels and communicates with event processing servers to provide real-time transport of alarm signals from residential and commercial locations to an alarm company?s central monitoring station; and TankLink solution that combines a cellular communicator, wireless data services, and a Web-based application into a single offering, which allows end-users to monitor the product level in a given tank vessel. The company also offers fixed cellular terminals for voice, fax, and Internet access over the wireless networks. It sells its products to security equipment distributors, cellular carriers, and value added resellers. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Telular (NASDAQ: WRLS  ) will most likely soon be an asset belonging to another company. It has entered into an agreement to be bought by private equity firm Avista Capital Partners for total consideration of $253 million. This consists of $12.61 per share in cash and roughly $18.5 million in assumed debt.

Top 5 Dividend Stocks To Watch For 2014: 3M Company(MMM)

3M Company, together with subsidiaries, operates as a diversified technology company worldwide. The company?s Industrial and Transportation segment offers tapes, coated and non-woven abrasives, adhesives, specialty materials, filtration products, energy control products, closure systems for personal hygiene products, acoustic systems products, and components and products that are used in the manufacture, repair, and maintenance of automotive, marine, aircraft, and specialty vehicles. Its Health Care segment provides medical and surgical supplies, skin health and infection prevention products, inhalation and transdermal drug delivery systems, dental and orthodontic products, health information systems, and food safety products. The company?s Display and Graphics offers optical film solutions for LCD electronic displays; computer screen filters; reflective sheeting for transportation safety; commercial graphics sheeting and systems; and mobile interactive solutions, includin g mobile display technology, visual systems products, and computer privacy filters. The company?s Consumer and Office segment provides office supply products, stationery products, construction and home improvement products, home care products, protective material products, certain consumer retail personal safety products, and consumer health care products. Its Safety, Security and Protection Services segment offers personal protection products, safety and security products, cleaning and protection products for commercial establishments, track and trace solutions, and roofing granules for asphalt shingles. The company?s Electro and Communications segment provides packaging and interconnection devices; fluids that are used in the manufacture of computer chips, and for cooling electronics and lubricating computer hard disk drives; high-temperature and display tapes; insulating materials, including tapes and resins; and related items. The company was founded in 1902 and is based in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  Only one Dow stock reported earnings today, 3M (NYSE: MMM  ) , which finished up 0.2%. The maker of everything from office products to health-care supplies posted earnings per share of $1.71, slightly up from $1.66 a year ago, and better than the analyst estimates by $0.01. Revenue increased 2.9%, to $7.75 billion, just shy of the experts' mark at $7.77 billion. CEO Inge Thule cited "challenging conditions" in the first half of the year, but said the company performed well, adding that he expected demand to improve in the second half of the year.

• [By Matt Thalman]

  Shares of 3M (NYSE: MMM  ) slid lower today by 0.04%. The move came after the stock was downgraded by Morgan Stanley from an overweight rating to equal weight. The reason given for the downgrade was valuation, as the stock had risen 17.73% during the first six months of 2013. You may be wondering if the valuation is high, and my colleague Rich Smith tackled that question earlier today after hearing of the news. Rich believes that even though the company has a solid dividend yield of 2.3% and the stock's stated P/E is 17, he feels that it's trading closer to 20 times its actual annual cash profits, making the stock more expensive than it may seem. �