Intel Corporation (INTC), Select Medical Holdings Corporation (SEM), Ford Motor Company (F): The Basic Needs Portfolio

Going ex-div

Perhaps the next best feeling of getting your dividend placed into your stock account is the anticipation of knowing you have a payment coming. That’s the feeling NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) shareholders experienced this week with the company going ex-div and $0.66 (the amount of the payout per share) was removed from the share price. Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) have been the weakest performer thus far within the portfolio as skepticism over whether it’ll get its requested price increases continues to cloud near-term growth. Based on my history of following utilities, I can say with a near certainty that NextEra will eventually get what it wants and the cash flow will continue to stream in! Shareholders can expect their $0.66-per-share payout on Sept. 16.

Another flash crash?

Of the 10 companies comprising the Basic Needs Portfolio, I consider none safer and less volatile than consumer-goods provider The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG). However, that notion was challenged last week, when a mini-flash crash was witnessed in P&G’s share price where 175 trades were executed within one second, causing The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price to fall about 5%. Although the trades were allowed to stand, P&G’s share price normalized very quickly. If anything, moments like these remind us how valuable it is to buy companies you believe in and not worry about trading from one day to the next.

Back to basics

With red across the board, this certainly hasn’t been a start to write home about, but this portfolio of basic needs and necessity stocks is more or less doing what I anticipated it would do prior to its inception. Over the past week this portfolio yet again outperformed the benchmark S&P 500 and we added even more upcoming dividends to the mix. While we’re unlikely to see any of these 10 companies double overnight, they provide the type of stability and steady income that’ll let an investor sleep better at night.

Check back next week for the latest update on this portfolio and its 10 components.

The article The Basic Needs Portfolio originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Sean Williams.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool owns shares of, and recommends, Ford, Intel, MasterCard, and Waste Management. It also recommends Chevron and Procter & Gamble.

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