I added to ETP, and the price dropped; am I missing something?

I am more than a few days behind on this post, I do apologize. I am trying to keep my posts as close to the day of trade. This, however, is an improvement over my last post.

Excuses aside, on February 23rd, I added to my position of ETP. The price of the purchase was $59.95 per share. This purchase was at the opening of the day following earnings. On the day of the purchase, and the following three days, the price drifted down; but not by much and on below average volume. On the forth day after the purchase, the price went up and closed above the opening price of the past three days; but, unfortunately, still below my purchase price by about 50 cents.

What I am seeing by this price movement is that the market is only accepting earnings and the future prospects as okay. My primary concern for this stock is that it continues to payout its dividend. At 6.69%, I am very happy to accept. As long as ETP continues to earn enough to cover its dividend, I don't see any reason to worry or reconcider.

My philosophy for stock purchases is to curate a portfolio capable of paying for my bills and putting spending money in my pocket. Currently, ETP is a key contributor to that philosophy. If I'm missing something, I am more than willing to review any criticism.

That's my opinion. What's yours? Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

ETP - Energy Transfer Partners LP

Portfolio Update: Catching Up.

I fell behind some, so this post might be a bit longer than usual. There haven't been a lot of changes. The changes just haven't been posted in a timely manner. So here we go.

I temporarily had to stop funding my account, but will recommence doing so shortly. The last of my funds in the account have been used to make the following purchases in order to increase the payout of my dividend schedule.

On May 3rd, I added to my position of AGNC. My reasoning here is that because it pays out at such a high yield with a lower investment, I can leverage that to help fund the purchases of my other positions. The risk is that the market value is dropping because it missed the last quarter expectations. For that reason it might actually be smarter to move the entire position over to either NLY or CIM. But in those two the focus would be on equity growth where as my focus is more on income with the side effect of growth due to planned reinvestment.

On May 8th, I added to my position of ETP. My reasoning here is much the same as AGNC. There may be better options for growth, but growth isn't my first priority, as was mentioned above.

The market has shown that investors are ignoring the "Sell in May and go away..." rhyme and are continuing to invest. But of course, it is only the middle of may. The second half may turn out differently, but only time will tell. That's my opinion. What's yours.

Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion. blogspot.com

AGNC - American Capital Agency Corp
CIM - Chimera Investment Corp
ETP -Energy Transfer Partners, LP
NLY - Annaly Capital Management, Inc

Portfolio Update: Catching up.

So here is the update. In my last post I wrote about rolling my call option on SAND. Since then I have allowed the option to expire worthless. My reasoning being that I lost my faith in it and I want to increase the payouts of my dividend schedule plan further. Because of that I used all further funds in the account to buy more shares in my current positions. But I also sold my position in a low yield stock that I held.

On the 23rd of November, I sold my shares of YUM because I believe the yield is too small for the dividend schedule plan I have for my portfolio. For my plan to work I need bigger payouts. These payouts and the additional funds from the sale of YUM stock will help to accelerate the purchase of more shares of the same stocks I currently hold and a few others I want to add to my portfolio.

On the 27th of November, I bought shares of JNJ. This purchase increased my dividend payout for the third phase of every quarter, which is currently the weaker of the three phases. It also increased my current position of JNJ, a stock I already own.

On the 21st of December, the SAND $15.00 Call option expired worthless. This was a disappointment. I believe the failure is that I bought into it being a cheaper play on gold while gold has been on a three month down trend that has yet to reverse. The hustle over gold might be over since the Mayan Apocalypse didn't happen and there might have been a lot of gold investors who believed in that foolishness.

On the 28th of December, I bought shares of PG. This purchase increased my dividend payout for the second phase of every quarter, the second weakest of the three phases. It also increased my current position of PG, a stock I already own.

The three phases of every quarter are much closer together in strength, now, but maintain their sequential order of strength. My available funds have almost all been depleted as I wait for a scheduled order to be triggered. I will be continuing to fund the account with cash from my day job and monitoring the market for additional investments to add to my portfolio.

That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com


JNJ - Johnson & Johnson
PG - Procter & Gamble Co.
SAND - Sandstorm Gold Ltd.
YUM - Yum! Brands Inc.

Portfolio Update: Long Over Due

It has, once again, been too long since my last post. In the time that has passed there have been seven changes to my portfolio. I have made 5 purchases, 1 sale, and had an option position expire on me. The 4 of the 5 purchases and the one sale were strategic moves to my portfolio. The remaining 1 purchase and option expiration are my speculation plays.

To start I BTO additional shares in my ETP position. This purchase added to my dividend payout for the second phase of each quarter. This was done on the 3rd of October.

On the 8th of October, I BTO a SAND Nov 17 2012 $15 Call option position. This was done as my speculation play. Unfortunately, I have to admit that the decision to get in was poorly timed and selected. I should have waited for the pull back and then choose an expiration further out. As of this post, it is in the red but seems to be showing signs of improvement. I will be holding it until my profitable sale trigger is hit or it's expiration, which is a week away from this post.

On the 19th of October, my speculation play for FB Oct 20 2012 $15 Put options locked and expired. This was again an unfortunate speculation gone wrong. In hinds sight I should have taken my profits when I had them or probably should have chosen to purchase one option closer to the money instead of three so far out of the money. I still think FB is over-priced, but it seems that they are finally accepting that they have to make revenue in order to attract investors and are making changes that will actually create revenue even at the expense of loosing some of there ~1 billion users.

On the 31st of October, I STC my entire position of DE. I made this decision because DE did not fit the minimum yield requirement of my strategy of holding high dividend yielding stocks. Fortunately, I was able to get out with a very small profit.

On the 2nd of November, I BTO additional shares in two of my existing positions, T and VZ. These purchases added to my dividend payout for the second phase of each quarter. As a result I am almost 70% of my phase one dividend payouts, which are currently the largest.

Finally on the 7th of November, I BTO additional shares in my MCD position. This purchase added to my dividend payout for the third phase of each quarter. As a result I am almost 50% of my phase one dividend payouts.

Despite the fact that falling over the "Fiscal Cliff" will result in an increase of the dividend tax rate, I am not going to change my core strategy of building a portfolio of dividend paying stocks. My portfolio is not currently generating enough income to alter my effective tax rate significantly. I will, however, use the fear in the market to build up my positions.

That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

BTO - buy-to-open/bought-to-open
DE - Deere & Co.
ETP - Energy Transfer Partners LP
FB - Facebook CL A
MCD - McDonalds Corp
SAND - Sandstorm Gold LTD
STC - sell-to-close/sold-to-close
T - AT&T, Inc
VZ - Verizon Communications

Portfolio Update

I have made a few changes to my portfolio over the past, almost, two months. The first set of changes were made on the 27th of July as I STC my ZNGA position for a loss that I could not bare to see grow any further, as well as my CIM position for the same reason. I need more profitable choices in my portfolio that will pay me dividends while growing or at least hold on to their value. But since speculating keeps me attentive to the market I will do it with options. This way, while I can see more exciting gains from option trades, I can narrowly define my losses better. So for longer term purchases I will be buying stocks, and for excitement trade options.

With the cash I freed by STC my ZNGA and CIM positions, I first BTO, as a trade, Puts against FB. My reasons being that I don't see them bottoming at this current time and that I believe the lockout which expires this week will result in an even lower price. Next I BTO a position into AGNC another REIT with growth and a better dividend than CIM and it's commercial counter-part NLY. These trades were made on the same 27th of July

Finally, on the 8th of August I BTO a position in ETP. I believe the price has become low enough that the dividend yield is too attractive not to buy. I want to continue to add to this position as time goes by but the majority of my free cash is not allocated for positions in a few other stocks to balance out my monthly dividend payout strategy. I will allocate more cash to purchase ETP and the other dividend paying stocks in my portfolio as the capital gets added from my day job. That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

AGNC - American Capital Agency Corp.
BTO - buy-to-open / bought-to-open
CIM - Chimera Investment Corporation
ETP - Energy Transfer Partners LP
FB - Facebook, Inc.
STC - sell-to-close / sold-to-close
ZNGA - Zynga Inc.

Portfolio Update

The last portfolio update I made covered a stock purchase of DE. Since then I have added another equity to my account. On April 5th, I BTO a position into T. As of that date, I now have a quarterly dividend being payed to me every month. This does not include the fact that the TLT seems to pay me a dividend every month, I say seems as I have received a deposit of interest from this bond fund every month last quarter.

Outside of the new position that I have opened, I have adjusted my limit order prices for the remaining five equities I have in my plan to purchase. These five equities may change as I compare them against their competitors, looking for the ones I believe fit my criteria of paying good dividends, have relative growth potential, and are priced in at a level I can afford. That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

BTO - buy-to-open/bought-to-open
DE - Deere & Co.
T - AT&T Inc.
TLT - iShares Trust Barclays 20+Year Treasury Bond Fund

Portfolio Update

In my last update I posted that I added DE, ETP, and PEP to my portfolio in accordance with the investing strategy of buying share in strong companies with sustainable dividends with the goal of being paid every month. I have since then added MCD to my portfolio. MCD has not held its value as well, but the decline does not yet seem to be justified as anymore than profit taking.

My position in the TLT has paid out again this month. Unfortunately, the volume in the bond market is now reversing. As a result of the recent decline, I have lowered my limit order even more. No point in over paying.

I have also made adjustments to my other orders. Some of them I have increased the limit and reduced the number of shares I will purchase because they have moved higher recently. Others I have lowered because I think I see better entries at lower prices based on my technical analysis. That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

DE - Deere & Co.
ETP - Energy Transfer Partners, LP
MCD - McDonalds Corp
PEP - Pepsico Inc.
TLT - iShares Trust Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond

Portfolio Update

This post covers a few new changes to my portfolio. On March 1st, I made two purchase for my investing account. The first of my two purchases was for a pair of DE shares. The second of my two purchases was for a pair of PEP shares. On March 2nd, I made a purchase of an additional pair of ETP shares to add to my portfolio's existing shares.

The purpose behind my most recent purchases were based on the following facts. These are dividend paying stocks. These stocks have shown to be strong earners. The dividend payouts of these stocks increase my monthly income for eight of the twelve months of the year. I am however, still missing four months of payouts; January, April, July, and October. I have orders for stocks that cover these months and I am waiting and watching for them to be executed. This all falls in line with my current strategy. That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

DE - Deere & Co.
ETP - Energy Transfer Partners, LP
PEP - Pepsico Inc.

Portfolio Update: Put Exercised

As of this post, the weekend past was option expiration and my CIM put options for the 4$ strike was exercised against my cash. This put's me in at a 55 cent per share loss, less that cost of the premium that I collected for the option. Although this is an initial negative, I am satisfied with the result. The result being that my total position is now 400 shares and I can adjust my option order for the 4.50$ December calls from 1 contract to 4 contracts. I will also be increasing my limit for the STO order to 25 cents per contract share which is a net of about 92$ if it gets purchased. Not to mention I get to hold onto an expected 56$ after the next dividend payout between now and December. That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

CIM - Chimera Investment Corp.
STO - sell-to-open / sold-to-open

Portfolio Update: Premium Pocketed and Exercise in Patience

The Friday just past was option expiration for May options. I mention that because the Call option I sold against my iShares Silver Trust ETF position (SLV) expired for my benefit. The result of that is the pocketing of a little cash and the retention of 100 shares of SLV. Despite last week's meltdown, I am still positive. Should I hold on to my position or sell? Good question.

That is it for the pocketed premium portion, now for the patience exercise. Both my optionable position of Capital Product Partners, LP (CPLP) and the Call option I purchased is in the negative. To hold on to the Call option was irresponsible of me, but fortunately there are 4 months until expiration. I am going to take the opinion that it will level off and reverse before the 4 months is out. I am comfortable with my decision to hold onto the stock because the dividend payout is good for the earnings they make. I am not expecting large growth from this stock.

Unfortunately, the CPLP Call option wasn't the only irresponsible move I made. I also am still holding on to a Call option for the United States Natural Gas ETF (UNG). I am currently only down part of the commission cost. Fortunately, I have 5 months until expiration. I am going to continue to hold and be patient for this correction to return back up.

I am, however, going to make an adjustment to my expectations. I am going to recalculate my exits for smaller gains on these options. I am thinking somewhere around 25% plus the cost of round trip commissions. I shouldn't expect too strong of a rebound after this correction.

That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it. Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com

Personal Stock Pick

I am making a personal stock pick for Monday. It will be for 10 shares of EVEP. This is one of the stocks in the energy sector that I have been watching. It is actually considered fundamentally unworthy because of it's highe EPS and low PE. However, it has a track record of defying it's fundamentals. Additionally it has a dividend yield of over 11%. Yes, it is near it's 52-week high. But I truly want to find out how much profit it can make, as well as how much profit it has to make before it is considered a fundamentally favorable company. That is my opinion, you can take it or leave it.

Disclaimer: See bottom of page. http://investorsopinion.blogspot.com