Top 10 High Dividend Companies To Invest In 2014

Combining nice dividends with a growing industry that comprises roughly one-fifth of the nation's GDP should make for an attractive stock -- in theory. Unfortunately, the theoretical doesn't always translate well in the real world.�

While there are quite a few solid dividend stocks in the health care sector, not all of them are as good as they might seem. In fact, some of them might be downright scary. Here are two health-care stocks that could have investors shaking in their boots over the next few years.

Mayan calendar deja vu
Sky-high dividend yield? Low payout ratio? PDL BioPharma (NASDAQ: PDLI  ) checks these items and more off an investor's list. The company's 7.8% yield ranks as one of the highest in the entire stock market. Its payout ratio of 41% is quite attractive. Unfortunately, PDL's situation is reminiscent of the Mayan calendar hoopla from last year. The difference with PDL is that when its calendar ends, that means it's really the end.

Top Mid Cap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Ishares Msci Switzerland (EWL)

iShares MSCI Switzerland Index Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded securities in the aggregate in the Swiss market, as measured by the MSCI Switzerland Index (the Index). The Index seeks to measure the performance of the Swiss equity market. The Index is a capitalization-weighted index that aims to capture 85% of the (publicly available) total market capitalization. Component companies are adjusted for available float and must meet objective criteria for inclusion in the Index. The Index is reviewed quarterly.

The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mark Salzinger]

  iShares MSCI Germany (EWG) and iShares MSCI Switzerland (EWL) continue to have relatively attractive valuations.

  EWG recently sported an average price/earnings (P/E) ratio on 2013's projected earnings of 12.6 and a price/book value (P/B) of just 1.4.

• [By Carlton Delfeld]

  The iShares Switzerland (EWL) is a wonderful way to gain exposure to a basket of Switzerland's leading multinationals and has an expense ratio of only 0.59%. In addition, while a rising Swiss franc puts pricing pressure on Swiss exporters, a strong Swiss franc supercharges returns for investors in EWL.

Top 10 High Dividend Companies To Invest In 2014: Questerre Energy Corp (QEC)

Questerre Energy Corporation (Questerre) is engaged in the exploration for, and the development, production and acquisition of oil and gas projects, particularly shale oil and gas. Questerre holds assets in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec. Questerre has three core areas where it conducts the majority of its activity: Oil Shale Mining, Western Canada and the St. Lawrence Lowlands, Quebec. The Company has a 100% interest in two licenses covering approximately 100,000 acres in the Pasquia Hills area of east central Saskatchewan. The Antler area is approximately 200 kilometers from Regina in southeast Saskatchewan. The Vulcan area in Southern Alberta is prospective for natural gas and oil in multiple horizons. The Lowlands are situated in Quebec south of the St. Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City. As at December 31, 2011, the Company had an interest in 98 gross (55.2 net) producing and 40 gross (17.8 net) non-producing oil and natural gas. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  What do Questerre Energy Corp. (TSE:QEC) and Crescent Point Energy Corp. (TSE:CPG) know about oil in Saskatchewan that Centor Energy Inc. (OTCBB:CNTO) doesn't? Absolutely nothing. All three companies know there's oil in the southern part of the Canadian province, and they know exactly how to go get it. The only difference between QEC, CPG, and CNTO is, Questerre Energy and Crescent Point Energy are further along the development of their operations there than Centor Energy.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Well, that answers that question. Questerre Energy Corp. (TSE:QEC) and Crescent Point Energy Corp. (TSE:CPG) likely knew they had some shale-oil mining neighbors in the Bakken Shale neighborhood in Saskatchewan, Canada, but they hadn't seen much of that competition. That's about to change soon. Adequately funded and eager to begin laying its final mining plans, Centor Energy Inc. (OTCBB:CNTO) is going to officially own 55% of a 21,000 acre shale oil property that's anywhere from just a few miles away to just a few meters away from and Crescent Point Energy's and Questerre Energy's operations in one of the oil-richest known areas in the Bakken formation. And to be clear, it's not like Centor Energy is just getting the ball rolling; the planning for this project has been underway for months. Once the property-acquisition deal is inked in mid-February, CNTO will likely finish up its feasibility study and begin the approval process for its facility later in the year. That's pretty quick, but as was noted, a great deal of the legwork has already been done.

Top 10 High Dividend Companies To Invest In 2014: Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc (BR)

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (Broadridge), incorporated on March 29, 2007, is a global provider of investor communications and technology-driven solutions to banks/broker-dealers, mutual funds and corporate issuers. The Company's systems and services include investor communication solutions, and securities processing and operations outsourcing solutions. It operates in two segments: Investor Communication Solutions and Securities Processing Solutions. The Company provides the infrastructure that helps the financial services industry operate. It serves a client base across its four businesses: Bank/Broker-Dealer Communications, Mutual Fund and Retirement Solutions, Corporate Issuer Solutions, and Bank/Broker-Dealer Technology and Operations. It delivers a range of solutions that help its clients serve their retail and institutional customers across the entire investment lifecycle, including pre-trade, trade and post-trade processing. In February 2014, the Company announced that it has acquired Emerald Connect, LLC, a provider of websites and related communications solutions for financial advisors, from StoneRiver Group, L.P.

Investor Communication Solutions

The Company's Bank/Broker-Dealer Communications, Mutual Funds and Retirement Solutions and Corporate Issuer Solutions businesses operate within this segment. A large portion of the Company's Investor Communication Solutions business involves the processing and distribution of proxy materials to investors in equity securities and mutual funds, as well as the facilitation of related vote processing. ProxyEdge, its electronic proxy delivery and voting solution for institutional investors and financial advisors, helps ensure the participation of the stockholders of many companies. The Company also provides the distribution of regulatory reports and corporate action/reorganization event information, as well as tax reporting solutions that help its clients meet their regulatory compliance needs. In addition, it provides f! inancial information distribution and transaction reporting services to both financial institutions and securities issuers. These services include the processing and distribution of account statements and trade confirmations, traditional and personalized document fulfillment and content management services, marketing communications, and imaging, archival and workflow solutions that enable and enhance the Company's clients' communications with investors. All of these communications are delivered in paper or electronic form. In addition, Broadridge provides corporate issuers with registrar, stock transfer and record-keeping services.

The Company distributes more than one billion investor communications annually through a combination of physical and electronic channels. Through the Company's governance activities, Broadridge has a service relationship with every major mutual fund complex in the United States. Broadridge is an independent provider of retirement fund processing and provides data-driven market intelligence, specialized marketing communications and fund governance. Broadridge serves corporate issuers with a variety of their needs, including proxy and transfer agency services, both domestically and globally.

The Company provides proxy distribution, vote tabulation, and various additional investor communication tools and services to institutional investors, corporate issuers and investment companies. The Company handles the entire proxy materials distribution and voting processes for its bank and broker-dealer clients on-line and in real-time, from coordination with third-party entities to ordering, inventory maintenance, mailing, tracking and vote tabulation. It offers electronic proxy delivery services for the electronic delivery of proxy materials to investors and collection of consents; maintenance of a database that contains the delivery method preferences of its clients' customers; posting of documents on the Internet; e-mail notification to investors notifying th! em that p! roxy materials are available, and proxy voting over the Internet, mobile devices and tablets. The Company also provides a complete reorganization communications solution to notify investors of reorganizations or corporate action events, such as tender offers, mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcies and class action lawsuits.

The Company offers its bank and brokerage clients financial information distribution and transaction reporting services to help them meet their regulatory compliance requirements and business needs, including prospectus fulfillment services; electronic prospectus services; PostEdge, its electronic document archival and electronic delivery solution for documents, including trade confirmations, tax documents and account statements; marketing communications; imaging, archival and workflow solutions, and on-demand digital print services. In addition, the Company offers its Mailbox productsAdvisor Mailbox and Investor Mailbox, which provides a holistic network environment that support and complements any investor communication strategy. The Company's Advisor Mailbox is an electronic communications platform for financial advisors that delivers immediate electronic access to the communications and documents sent to such advisors' customers. Advisor Mailbox streamlines multiple communication paths for all investor-related documents into a single-visit portal that is integrated onto an advisor's platform.

The Company offers tax services to financial services firms that support their various information year-end reporting (e.g., Forms 1099) and withholding requirements, with a focus on securities and fund processing/clearance operations. The Company's tax data services provide tax content and data management, including securities tax classifications and reclassifications, calculations of original issue discount and other accrual and cost basis adjusting events. The Company's tax managed services provide technology and personnel outsourcing, withholding services and cl! ient repo! rting, including print/electronic distribution and archival.

The Company provides a suite of services to manage the entire proxy voting process of institutional investors, including fulfilling their fiduciary obligations and meeting their reporting needs, such as ProxyEdge, its workflow solution that integrates ballots for positions held across multiple custodians and presents them under a single proxy. ProxyEdge also provides for client reporting and regulatory reporting. ProxyEdge can be utilized for meetings of United States and Canadian companies and for meetings in many non-North American countries based on the holdings of the Company's global custodian clients. The Company is a processor and provider of investor communication solutions to public companies. It offers its corporate issuer clients many tools to facilitate their communications with investors, such as Internet and telephone proxy voting, electronic delivery of corporate filings, and householding of communications to stockholders at the same address. It also offers proxy services to non-North American corporate issuers in connection with their general and special meetings of stockholders. The Company's corporate issuers services include ShareLink, which provides complete project management for the beneficial and registered proxy process.

The Company's Shareholder Forum solution is an online venue that offers public companies the ability to host structured, controlled communication with their shareholders on a timely and regular basis. The Company's Virtual Shareholder Meeting service provides corporate issuers in a number of states with the ability to host their annual meeting electronically on the Internet, either on a stand-alone basis, or in conjunction with their physical annual meeting.

The Company provides a range of tools that enable mutual funds to communicate with audiences of investors and often with substantial cost savings. The Company's solutions allow mutual funds to centralize all in! vestor co! mmunications through one resource. The Company also provides printing and mailing of regulatory reports, prospectuses and proxy materials, as well as proxy solicitation services. In addition, it distributes marketing communications and informational materials and creates on-demand enrollment materials for mutual fund investors. Its position in the industry enables the Company to manage the entire communication process with both registered and beneficial stockholders. The Company's SalesVision platform provides data aggregation and data management solutions. SalesVision is software delivered as a service (SaaS) and assists mutual funds in processing commission and distribution payments, monitoring their compliance with regulatory requirements, and assembling shareholder and intermediary data in a form to better drive their sales strategy and marketing programs. The Company provides mutual fund processing services for third party administrators, financial advisors, banks and wealth management professionals through its subsidiary Matrix Financial Solutions, Inc.

Securities Processing Solutions

The Company's Bank/Broker-Dealer Technology and Operations business operates within this segment. The Company offers a suite of advanced computerized real-time transaction processing services that automate the securities transaction lifecycle, from desktop productivity tools, data aggregation, performance reporting, and portfolio management to order capture and execution, trade confirmation, settlement and accounting. The Company's services help financial institutions consolidate their books and records, gather and service assets under management, focus on their core businesses and manage risk. In addition, the Company's operations outsourcing solutions allow broker-dealers to outsource certain administrative functions relating to clearing and settlement, from order entry to trade matching and settlement, while maintaining their ability to finance and capitalize their business. Broadridge is! a back- ! and middle-office securities processing platform for North American and global broker-dealers. Provided on an application service provider (ASP) basis, Broadridge's platform is a global market solution, clearing and settling in over 50 countries.

The Company's securities processing solutions automate the transaction lifecycle of equity, mutual fund, fixed income, and option securities trading operations, from order capture and execution through trade confirmation, settlement, custody and accounting. The Company's services facilitate the automation of straight-through-processing operations and enable financial institutions to efficiently and cost-effectively consolidate their books and records, gather and service assets under management, focus on their core businesses, and manage risk. With the Company's multi-currency capabilities, the Company supports trading activities on a global basis.

The Company provides a set of multi-currency systems that support real-time processing of securities transactions in North American equities, options, fixed income securities and mutual funds. Brokerage Processing Services (BPS) is the Company's core multi-currency back-office processing system that supports real-time processing of transactions in the United States markets. The Company also offers a version of BPS for processing Canadian securities. In addition to the Company's BPS offering, the Company provides specialized transaction processing tools and services for small to mid-market financial firms in the United States and Canada that are operated on separate Broadridge technology platforms. The Company's securities processing services can be integrated with the Company's Web-based desktop applications, wealth management tools, enterprise workflow, automated inquiry reporting and record-keeping services.

The Company provides advanced multi-currency transaction processing solutions for institutional and retail securities operations, corporate actions, and business processes ! outsourci! ng services, such as data cleansing. The Company also provides operations outsourcing services relating to a variety of securities clearing, record-keeping, and custody-related functions. The Company's clients execute and clear their securities transactions and engage the Company to perform a number of related administrative back-office functions, such as record-keeping and reconciliations.

The Company's core systems for processing equity, option, and mutual fund transactions in the United States markets can also be combined with the Company's specialized systems for processing fixed income and international securities transactions. These specialized securities processing services can be fully integrated with operations outsourcing services. In addition, its clients can integrate its securities processing and operations outsourcing services with its other services, including the processing of trade confirmations and account statements, delivered in paper or electronically; equity and mutual fund prospectus processing; automated workflow tools that help its clients streamline their securities processing and operations activities, and a suite of wealth management products, including data aggregation tools, end-customer Websites, broker desktop, financial planning and modeling tools, performance reporting and portfolio accounting.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By M. Joy, Hayes]

  2. Exclusive access to early voting tallies
  JPMorgan recently gained another advantage over activist shareholders when proxy communications and voting company Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE: BR  ) cut off activist investors backing shareholder proposals from information about early voting tallies. This change occurred after trade group Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, which includes JPMorgan as a member, challenged Broadridge's decision to provide shareholders with this information.

• [By Louis Navellier]

  Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR) is the leading provider of investor communications and technology-driven-solutions to banks, broker-dealers, mutual funds, and corporations globally. BR makes the back-office systems that allow these companies to process forms and communicate with their customer base on critical matters.

• [By Chuck Carnevale]

  Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR) Historical Graph

  ��roadridge Financial Solutions Inc is the leading provider of investor communications and technology-driven solutions for broker-dealers, banks, mutual funds and corporate issuers globally.��/p>

• [By Sid Riggs]

  Something else that's not commonly understood is that a lot of insider buying and selling occurs as part of stock options offered as compensation. Let's use a recent example from Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE: BR) to illustrate this:

Top 10 High Dividend Companies To Invest In 2014: Health Net Inc. (HNT)

Health Net, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides managed health care services. The company offers commercial health care products, such as health maintenance organization plans through contracts with participating network physicians, hospitals, and other providers; preferred provider organization plans that provide coverage for services received from health care provider; and point of service plans. It also provides Medicare products, including Medicare advantage plans with and without prescription drug coverage; and Medicare supplement products that supplement fee-for-service Medicare coverage. In addition, the company offers Medicaid and related products; indemnity insurance products; auxiliary non-health products, such as life, accidental death and dismemberment, dental, vision, and behavioral health insurance; and other specialty services and products comprising pharmacy benefits, behavioral health, dental, and vision products and services, as well as managed care products for hospitals, health plans, and other entities. Further, it engages in government-sponsored managed care federal contract with the Department of Defense under the TRICARE program in the North Region; and other health care, mental health, and behavioral health government contracts. The company provides administrative services comprising provider network and referral management, medical and disease management, enrollment, customer service, clinical support service, and claims processing service to military health system eligible beneficiaries. It serves approximately 5.4 million individuals in the United States through group, individual, Medicare, Medicaid, the U.S. Department of Defense, and Veterans Affairs programs. Health Net, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Woodland Hills, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Stoffel]

  Will it carry through?
  Other Fools have already covered much about this topic. Keith Speights wondered aloud if the ultimate winners would be companies that chose to participate in the plan -- like WellPoint (NYSE: WLP  ) and Health Net (NYSE: HNT  ) �-- or those that opted not to.

Top 10 High Dividend Companies To Invest In 2014: Rutter Inc (RUT)

Rutter Inc. (Rutter) focuses on providing technologies and manufacturing solutions. The Company supplies technologies to improve efficiency and safety in the marine, defense, transportation, oil and gas sectors. The Company produces and globally markets enhanced radar systems, including oil spill detection, ice navigator, small target detection and wave-monitoring systems. The Company also offers a full range of outsource manufacturing services including: product engineering and design; materials management; manufacturing; sub-assembly; systems integration; project management; testing; logistics and documentation and provides full cycle customer support for all Company products and selected third party components/products that it manufactures under contract. Rutter�� sigma S6 radar signal processing products are designed to enable end users to detect and track objects which would not be visible with conventional radar equipment only. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anora Mahmudova]

  The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks (RUT) � fell 32.30 points, or 2.8%, to 1,127.66. Panic-selling was evident from the jump in the volatility. The CBOE Vix index (VIX) � of implied volatility on the S&P 500 jumped 15% to nearly 16.

Top 10 High Dividend Companies To Invest In 2014: Clearfield Inc.(CLFD)

Clearfield, Inc. offers telecommunications equipment and products in the United States. It engages in the design and manufacture of standard and custom connectivity products, such as fiber distribution systems, optical components, outside plant cabinets, and fiber and copper cable assemblies. The company?s products include Clearview cassettes; Clearview xPAK to land small port count fiber terminations and optical components; Fieldsmart fiber crossover distribution systems that provide fiber management modularity and scalability across the fiber network; FieldSmart fiber scalability center, a modular and scalable outside plant cabinet, which allow users to align their capital equipment expense with subscriber revenue; and FieldSmart fiber delivery point product line for the access network that incorporates the delivery of fiber connectivity to the neighborhood or business district. It also offers FieldSmart Small Count Delivery, a series of enclosure systems and wall-mount enclosures optimized for environments, such as cell backhaul, business class service delivery, node segmentation, and fiber exhaust in a field pedestal, sub-station turn-up, or fiber-to-the-desk deployment; and CraftSmart, a line of optical protection field enclosures used in the fiber industry for the optimization of fiber protection and storage. In addition, the company packages optical components for signal coupling, splitting, termination, multiplexing, demultiplexing, and attenuation for a seamless integration within its fiber management platform. It serves communication service providers consisting of fiber-to-the-premises; large enterprises; and original equipment manufacturer markets through various sales channels comprising direct to customers, distribution partners, and original equipment suppliers. The company was formerly known as APA Enterprises, Inc. and changed its name to Clearfield, Inc. in January 2008. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Plymouth, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By GuruFocus]

  George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) just reported his first quarter portfolio. He buys Citrix Systems Inc, Baker Hughes Inc, Comcast Corp, Spansion Inc, etc during the 3-months ended 03/31/2014, according to the most recent filings of his investment company, Soros Fund Management LLC. As of 03/31/2014, Soros Fund Management LLC owns 305 stocks with a total value of $10.1 billion. These are the details of the buys and sells.New Purchases: BHI, CODE, CTRP, CLI, AVB, COMM, CNQ, AGO, AUY, ATML, ASH, BXMT, CSTM, AEM, CMA, ARE, CHKP, AUQ, BEAV, CX, ADSK, AALCP, BLK, AIG, BIIB, ADEP, AMRI, ARWR, ATHX, BALT, BCRX, BEAT, CFX, CLFD, CUR, CODE,Added Positions: CTXS, CMCSA, CNP, ALTR, BRCD, CBS, CRM, CHTR, CCJ, CIEN, BIDU, ALLE, ABT, CDNS, ACT,Reduced Positions: AAPL, CCI, AMT, ABBV, AAL, BITA, AL, ANGI, ARIA, CBST, BA, BIRT, EXAR,Sold Out: C, BAC, CRI, AMZN, AGN, CF, BRCM, COTY, BMY, AMCX, CAR, A, ADBE, AFL,For the details of George Soros (Trades, Portfolio)'s stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=George+SorosThis is the sector weightings of his portfolio:Technology18.9%Energy14%Healthcare8.3%Consumer Defensive8.2%Communication Services8.1%Consumer Cyclical5.4%Industrials5.1%Basic Materials4.9%Financial Services2.5%Real Estate1.9%Utilities0.5%These are the top 5 holdings of George Soros (Trades, Portfolio)1. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA) - 10,310,041 shares, 5.4% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 10.67%2. Herbalife Ltd (HLF) - 4,901,337 shares, 2.8% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 52.9%3. EQT Corp (EQT) - 2,573,814 shares, 2.5% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 3.27%4. Adecoagro SA (AGRO) - 25,915,076 shares, 2.1% of the total portfolio.5. Halliburton Co (HAL) - 3,596,353 shares, 2.1% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 20.73%New Purchase: Baker Hughes Inc (BHI)George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) initiated holdings in Baker Hughes Inc. His purchase prices were between $51.82 and $65.27, with an estimated

• [By Garrett Cook]

  In trading on Thursday, healthcare shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.16 percent. Top decliners in the sector included Clearfield (NASDAQ: CLFD), down 15.30 percent, and Invacare (NYSE: IVC), off 16.77 percent.

Top 10 High Dividend Companies To Invest In 2014: Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI)

Hanesbrands Inc., a consumer goods company, engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, and sale of apparel essentials in the United States and internationally. Its product portfolio includes T-shirts, bras, panties, men?s underwear, kids? underwear, casualwear, activewear, socks, and hosiery. The company offers its products under the brand names of Hanes, Champion, Playtex, Bali, L?eggs, Just My Size, barely there, Wonderbra, Stedman, Outer Banks, Zorba, Rinbros, and Duofold. Hanesbrands also licenses its Champion name for collegiate apparel and footwear. The company sells its products through various distribution channels, which include mass merchants, national chains and department stores, direct to Consumer, and other retail channels, such as embellishers, specialty retailers, and sporting goods stores. As of January 2, 2010, it operated 228 outlet stores. The company is headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Hanesbrands Inc. operates independently of Sara L ee Corp. as of September 5, 2006.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ovenerio]

  The company has a current ROE of 19.24% which is higher than the one exhibited by PVH Corp. (PVH) and the industry median. In general, analysts consider ROE ratios in the 15-20% range as representing attractive levels for investment. So for investors looking at higher levels of ROE, VF Corp. (VFC) and Hanesbrand Inc. (HBI) could be the options. Coach Inc. (COH) and Michael Kors have very good ratios. It is very important to understand this metric before investing and it is important to look at the trend in ROE over time.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  HanesBrands (NYSE: HBI  ) is to return money directly to shareholders for the first time in its history as an independent entity. The company will distribute $0.20 per share of its common stock on June 3 to shareholders of record as of May 20.

• [By Dan Radovsky]

  HanesBrands (NYSE: HBI  ) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Maidenform Brands (NYSE: MFB  ) , Hanes and Maidenform� announced today.

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap apparel stock G-III Apparel Group, Ltd (NASDAQ: GIII) has been making bullish moves lately plus the stock is up 97.1% since the start of the year, making it the third best performing apparel stock (according to stock screener Finviz)�after small cap�Ever-Glory International Group Inc (NYSEMKT: EVK) and mid cap Fifth & Pacific Companies Inc (NYSE: FNP) followed by mid cap Hanesbrands Inc (NYSE: HBI). But is the G-III Apparel Group dressed for long term success for investors?