Forget Kimberly-Clark: Procter & Gamble Is the Better Dividend Stock

They each sell branded staple products like diapers and tissue paper to consumers around the world. But that's about where the similarities end between Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) and Kimberly Clark (NYSE:KMB). The companies have posted dramatically different operating results in the last year, in fact, which put P&G in a stronger, and improving, market position while its smaller rival still struggles with its rebound plan.

Those dynamics suggest income investors would be better off buying Procter & Gamble today even though the stock's yield is lower. Let's take a closer look at this stock match-up.

P&G vs Kimberly Clark stocks

Metric

P&G

Kimberly Clark

Market cap	$247 billion	$40 billion
Sales growth	2%	1%
Operating profit margin	22%	17%
Dividend yield	2.9%	3.6%
P/E ratio	29	24
52-week performance	24%	3%

Sales growth excludes acquisitions and divestments and is on a constant-currency basis for the past complete fiscal year. Data sources: Company financial filings and S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Sales and profit momentum

The past few quarterly reports have painted starkly different pictures for these two businesses. Procter & Gamble posted a market-thumping 4% organic sales increase over the last six months, while Kimberly Clark's growth has been closer to 2%. P&G is finding success in areas like beauty and fabric care, which is offsetting a continued slump in its Gillette shaving franchise. Kimberly Clark, on the other hand, has struggled with falling sales volumes in the core U.S. market. P&G's sales footprint isn't as heavily tilted toward that one geography, and that global posture is just another reason the consumer products giant is outperforming right now.

Image source: Getty Images.

There's even more daylight between the two companies when it comes to profits. Both competitors are trying to strike a balance between market share and the need to raise prices as commodity costs increase. P&G is faring much better at this challenge. Last quarter's 4% organic sales boost was powered by a healthy mix of rising volumes and improving prices. Kimberly Clark's volume was flat over the past year, and its 2% sales uptick in the past six months came entirely from increased prices.

Finances and outlook

P&G is in a stronger financial position, too. Operating profit margin has inched up toward 22% of sales in the last year, while Kimberly Clark's comparable metric declined to 17% from 18.4%. Their outlooks are starkly different on this score. Back in late January, Kimberly Clark CEO Mike Hsu sounded a cautious tone about pricing and volume challenges, saying, "it's appropriate not to plan for much improvement right now." P&G, on the other hand, cited firming demand momentum when it raised its fiscal 2019 guidance.

Investors have responded to these diverging trends by sending P&G shares much higher in the past year while Kimberly Clark's have barely kept up with the market. As a result, Kimberly Clark is cheaper on a price-to-earnings basis and delivers a more robust 3.6% dividend yield.

Still, that discount isn't enough, in my view, to make Kimberly Clark a more attractive buy right now. With sales volumes barely improving, the company is likely to struggle at least through 2019 to get its profitability back on the right track. P&G, meanwhile, has a firm foundation it can build on to start capturing more market share while sending piles of cash back to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks.

What Scott Gottlieb's FDA Departure Means for Investors

Scott Gottlieb's resignation as the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) commissioner surprised biopharma investors. Gottlieb's legacy of holding tobacco companies accountable and battling opioid manufacturers is notable, but his other achievements, including accelerating drug review times and streamlining guidance for next-generation gene therapies, were also important. The high-profile departure creates uncertainty among investors, so let's take a closer look at Gottlieb's time running the FDA and what could be next for the drug industry.

A vocal advocate

An industry insider, Gottlieb brought with him to the FDA valuable experience that he leveraged to reshape the agency's policies on opiates.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

In an official statement on Oct. 30, 2017, he wrote, "One of my highest priorities as the Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is to take whatever steps we can to reduce the scope and human tragedy created by the epidemic of addiction to opioids."

It wasn't simply lip service.

Only weeks after Gottlieb's being sworn in as the FDA's 23rd commissioner, the FDA asked Endo International to stop selling Opana ER, an extended-release opiate, based upon the determination that its benefit "may no longer outweigh its risks." The drug was being manipulated to allow it to be injected, which was contributing to addiction and other health risks, including increasing the risk of spreading HIV and hepatitis C.

Gottlieb issued guidance to encourage generic-drug makers to develop alternatives to expensive, brand-name opioids that are specifically designed to limit their risk of abuse. He advocated against stigmatizing opioid addiction. Under his leadership, the agency approved a long-acting treatment for moderate to severe opioid use disorder, and it encouraged drugmakers to develop more innovate addiction treatments. He expanded the risk evaluation and mitigation strategy requirements for extended-release opioids to immediate-release opioids. He called for more training of healthcare providers on managing pain in patients. He put online sellers of illegal, unapproved, and misbranded opioids, including tramadol and oxycodone, in the crosshairs. And earlier this year, he said the FDA would begin implementing new packaging requirements that may better match the number of opioid doses to a patient's need. He also said the FDA was exploring ways to make Narcan-like products available over the counter to reduce death caused by addiction.

Opioids weren't Gottlieb's only target, though. He also took aim at tobacco companies and e-cigarette and vaping companies. For example, on March 4, he said e-cigarette use among children was at "epidemic levels." He targeted companies using kid-friendly marketing and flavors for their bad behavior, cracked down on stores for selling to minors, and instituted new studies to evaluate risks.

Gottlieb was also a big supporter of innovation. During his time at the FDA, it developed new regulatory frameworks for technology-specific and disease-specific innovations. He oversaw the approvals of the first gene therapies for cancer and blindness and an approval of a comprehensive genetic screening test for cancer patients. The first cancer drugs addressing the genetic makeup of the cancer, rather than its location, were also given the green light.

He advocated to support follow-on innovations that could boost competition to help crimp costs. The agency approved the first biosimilars -- lower-cost alternatives to high-priced specialty drugs -- on his watch too. Overall, his goal to speed the FDA's review of drugs contributed to the approval of 46 new therapies in 2017 and 59 new drugs in 2018, a record high. He also laid groundwork for new trial designs that could foster even faster drug development and approvals in the future.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

Now what

Gottlieb's success in holding drug companies accountable, while also spearheading innovation, was refreshing. Will his successor be as vocal a critic of opioid drugmakers and tobacco companies? Will they be as comfortable changing the FDA's long-standing practices and processes? Or will the FDA take a slower, more traditional approach from here on out? Until a new commissioner is named, biopharma and medtech stocks will probably become more volatile as stakeholders debate the pros and cons of potential replacements. That volatility could create buying opportunities, especially in companies working on next-generation treatments, but that will depend on how much the next FDA commissioner shares Gottlieb's vision. Therefore, investors should expect uncertainty until a new person's in charge of the FDA.

Why Raytheon Stock Jumped 13% in February

What happened

Shares of Raytheon (NYSE:RTN) rose 13% in February according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. It was a continuation of a trend for the military industrial company, which gained roughly 21% in the first two months of the year. That February gain, meanwhile, easily outpaced the performances of some of its largest peers. But the news driving it really started in January.

So what

On Jan. 31, Raytheon delivered its fourth-quarter earnings report, and it was fairly good reading. Sales were up 6.7% for the full year and earnings advanced 46%. Cash flow, meanwhile, hit a record at $3.4 billion. However, one of the most compelling pieces of information was that the company booked $32.2 billion worth of new business in 2018. That resulted in a book-to-bill ratio of 1.15.   

Image source: Getty Images

That ratio is important because it means Raytheon more than replaced all of the work it completed in 2018, thus growing its backlog of future business. That, in turn, suggests a brighter future. Indeed, its $42.2 billion backlog is the highest in the company's history. And it reported additional contract wins in February, which will keep the good news rolling.   

The company's outlook for 2019, meanwhile, was also fairly positive, including continued revenue and earnings growth. The projections also call for the repurchase of as many as 8 million shares, showing that Raytheon is willing to share its success with its investors.   

Now what

After the nice run it has had to start off 2019, Raytheon stock isn't nearly as compelling as it looked in late 2018. And even then, it wasn't exactly a great bargain. That said, the stock's valuation metrics are somewhat mixed today. Although price-to-sales and price-to-book value are both above their five-year averages, the price-to-earnings, price-to-cash-flow, and price-to-earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratios are below their five-year averages. The last metric suggests that the company's growth potential isn't fully reflected in its price today. Few would suggest that Raytheon is a screaming buy, but for investors willing to pay full price for a well-positioned company, it might be worth a closer look. Just keep in mind that the stock has already had a big run in 2019.   

This Might Be the Biggest Benefit of Being Self-Employed

Self-employment comes with a lot of risks. You give up the stability of a regular paycheck for having to fend for yourself. In addition, you no longer get to only do your job; you have to also be human resources, sales, janitor, and who knows what else, depending upon the size of your business.

It's a potentially rewarding lifestyle but one that also generally comes with long hours, sleepless nights, and a whole lot of responsibility. Despite those negatives, for many people, being self-employed is the culmination of a dream -- a chance to answer to nobody and benefit (or fail) based on your hard work.

Self-employment also comes with a surprising benefit. Despite all the work that needs to be done, 50% of self-employed workers said they have more time for themselves, while 55% said they have more family time, according to a new survey from Intuit's QuickBooks Self-Employed. In addition, roughly another 20% said they had about the same amount of time for family as when they worked for someone else, and the majority of respondents said they had the same or more time for friends, vacation, and exercise.

Being self-employed offers flexibility in many cases. Image source: Getty Images.

Work smarter, not harder?

Only 35% of the 1,000 people surveyed said they work longer hours now that they work for themselves. Another 38% work less, while 27% reported they work about the same amount of hours. Among those who work shorter hours, the top reason given was "I make more per hour," followed by "better work-life balance."

"More surprising were the answers given by those who now work longer hours than they used to," wrote QuickBooks' Danielle Higley. "Besides earning more income, many of these individuals also reported feeling a greater sense of fulfillment and having lower levels of stress. While a higher income may be directly responsible for less stress, it's possible these individuals simply don't mind working more, so long as it's work that's meaningful to them."

More control

The self-employed have more time for family and personal pursuits at least partly because working for yourself comes with increased flexibility. Over three-quarters of those surveyed (81%) said they did not keep the same schedule every day, compared to only 19% who said they do.

That control over when you work requires discipline, but it also makes it easier to devote time to things other than work. A self-employed person might, for example. work early or late in order to attend a school event or to meet a significant other for lunch. The same trades can be made to fit in a workout or even to take a day off.

With that control, of course, comes the responsibility that whether you are a solo act, working as a freelancer, or running a small business, the buck stops with you. That means that you can enjoy all the benefits working for yourself entails, but you must also endure the hardships that come with the package. 

That could mean anything from having to work during a vacation to dropping what you're doing to keep a client happy. Self-employment offers a path toward a better work-life balance, but you have to figure out how to make that happen for yourself.

You have to be able to go to work when maybe you don't want to and leave work when, well, maybe you don't want to as well. Both can be a challenge, but it's possible to find the right balance, and this survey shows that most self-employed people (about 70% reported an increase in happiness over when they worked for someone else) manage to make it work despite the challenges.

Top 5 Growth Stocks To Own Right Now

tags:TBI,MED,BWLD,JWN,ISRG,

It was, as the local public radio station said, the day “Seattle Nice” died. On May 2, the residents of Seattle were hit with a one-two punch. For months, the city council had been debating a new tax on large employers to raise $75 million for new affordable housing and services for the homeless, whose growing population had burst out of shelters and into tents around the city.

In the late morning, just before a council hearing, a columnist for the Seattle Times broke the news that Amazon.com Inc., the city’s largest employer, was playing hardball. The typically hermetic company said it paused expansion plans for buildings that would house about 7,000 employees pending the outcome of the upcoming tax vote.

Later that night, hundreds of residents packed a Methodist church in the gentrifying Ballard neighborhood, turning what was supposed to be a civil town hall discussion into a scrum that exposed deep division in the city.

Homeowners shouted down the council members and each other—decrying how growth and homeless encampments were encroaching into neighborhoods. Some opposed the tax, shivering at the thought of risking jobs at the city’s largest employer and furious about giving more money to a municipal government that already seemed inept at addressing housing issues. “It's refreshing to see ordinary citizens revolting against this lousy city council,” one man said to cheers.

Top 5 Growth Stocks To Own Right Now: TrueBlue Inc.(TBI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) by 21.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 137,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,951 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Trueblue were worth $3,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) by 24.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 95,307 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,680 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Trueblue worth $2,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.50.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Trueblue Inc (NYSE:TBI) by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Trueblue were worth $823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Media stories about Trueblue (NYSE:TBI) have trended somewhat positive on Monday, according to Accern Sentiment. The research firm rates the sentiment of news coverage by reviewing more than 20 million news and blog sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Trueblue earned a media sentiment score of 0.09 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media stories about the business services provider an impact score of 45.3296498009881 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near future.

Top 5 Growth Stocks To Own Right Now: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Logan Wallace]

  MediBloc [QRC20] (MED) is a proof-of-work (PoW) token that uses the HybridScryptHash256 hashing algorithm. It was first traded on January 3rd, 2014. MediBloc [QRC20]’s total supply is 4,097,545,844 tokens and its circulating supply is 2,966,384,100 tokens. MediBloc [QRC20]’s official website is medibloc.org/en. MediBloc [QRC20]’s official Twitter account is @MEDDevTeam. The official message board for MediBloc [QRC20] is medium.com/@MediBloc. The Reddit community for MediBloc [QRC20] is /r/MediBloc and the currency’s Github account can be viewed here.

• [By Lisa Levin] Gainers Biostar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BSPM) shares rose 35.8 percent to $3.00. Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVGI) shares surged 32 percent to $8.94 after reporting upbeat Q1 earnings. Carbon Black, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBLK) gained 29.6 percent to $24.62. Carbon Black priced its IPO at $19 per share. California Resources Corporation (NYSE: CRC) shares rose 26.8 percent to $32.70 following upbeat Q1 earnings. Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P) gained 25 percent to $7.185 after reporting strong quarterly results. Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) shares climbed 23.7 percent to $122.87 after the company reported strong Q1 results and raised its FY18 guidance. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE: NGVC) rose 23.2 percent to $8.4999 after reporting Q2 results. Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTLA) gained 22.2 percent to $41.27 after the FDA approved the company's Andexxa, the only antidote indicated for patients treated with rivaroxaban and apixaban. Shake Shack Inc (NYSE: SHAK) rose 22.2 percent to $57.955 after the company reported upbeat results for its first quarter and raised its FY18 guidance. Atomera Incorporated (NASDAQ: ATOM) jumped 19.7 percent to $6.12 after reporting Q1 results. Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) rose 16.4 percent to $21.00 after reporting strong preliminary results for the third quarter. Titan International, Inc. (NYSE: TWI) shares rose 16.4 percent to $12.21 following Q1 earnings. Integer Holdings Corporation (NYSE: ITGR) shares gained 14.9 percent to $63.75 following Q1 results. Control4 Corporation (NASDAQ: CTRL) shares climbed 14.5 percent to $23.98 folloiwng strong Q1 results. B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE: BGS) climbed 12.6 percent to $25.40 after reporting Q1 earnings. HMS Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: HMSY) shares gained 10 percent to $19.59 after reporting upbeat quarterly earnings. Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAV) rose 7 percent to $10.09 following Q3 r
• [By Max Byerly]

  MediBloc [QRC20] (MED) is a proof-of-work (PoW) token that uses the HybridScryptHash256 hashing algorithm. It was first traded on January 3rd, 2014. MediBloc [QRC20]’s total supply is 4,097,545,844 tokens and its circulating supply is 2,966,384,100 tokens. The official website for MediBloc [QRC20] is medibloc.org/en. MediBloc [QRC20]’s official Twitter account is @MEDDevTeam. The Reddit community for MediBloc [QRC20] is /r/MediBloc and the currency’s Github account can be viewed here. MediBloc [QRC20]’s official message board is medium.com/@MediBloc.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  MediBloc [MED] (CURRENCY:MED) traded 11.7% lower against the U.S. dollar during the 1 day period ending at 20:00 PM ET on February 16th. MediBloc [MED] has a total market capitalization of $19.63 million and $281,103.00 worth of MediBloc [MED] was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. During the last seven days, MediBloc [MED] has traded down 27.6% against the U.S. dollar. One MediBloc [MED] token can currently be bought for $0.0066 or 0.00000100 BTC on major exchanges including Coinrail, Bibox and Gate.io.

Top 5 Growth Stocks To Own Right Now: Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.(BWLD)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  A long term performance chart shows Dave & Busters Entertainment tripling in value before falling back while small cap upscale gentlemen's clubs and restaurant owner RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: RICK) began taking off in 2016 and small cap Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) is being acquired by Arby's Restaurant Group:

• [By Steve Symington]

  That's not to say it was a quiet day for every stock on the market. With earnings season ramping up, brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD) and restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ:BWLD) served as an exercise in contrast as investors reacted to their respective quarterly reports.

Top 5 Growth Stocks To Own Right Now: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jim Crumly]

  As for individual stocks, PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) popped on strong earnings and Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) fell after its investor day didn't generate enthusiasm for its future.

• [By Chris Neiger, Danny Vena, and Jamal Carnette, CFA]

  To help investors hone in on some of the best retail stocks right now, we reached out to three Motley Fool contributors for their top retail picks. They came back with Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN), and Home Depot (NYSE:HD). Here's why.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Nordstrom (JWN)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

Top 5 Growth Stocks To Own Right Now: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Todd Campbell, Chris Neiger, and Sean Williams]

  There are thousands of stocks investors can buy, so deciding which make the most sense to own in long-term portfolios, such as retirement accounts, can be tough. Economies can rise and fall, and competitors can disrupt business models, but our three Motley Fool contributors think Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN), Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG), and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) have what it takes to reward investors over the long haul. Read on to see what separates these stocks from the countless others that you could stash away for 20 years or more.

• [By Motley Fool Staff]

  In the healthcare world, one of those has to be the impressive quarterly report from Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG). The company increased its revenue by 25%, and accelerated its sales of the da Vinci robotic surgical systems that made it famous. But it's not just the expensive hardware that is allowing it to prosper -- it's that every machine needs a steady supply of the disposable instruments and accessories used during its procedures. The Fools consider the recent numbers, the outlook, and the investment thesis for Intuitive Surgical stock. But in the, say, anti-healthcare space, cigarette slinger Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) took a big hit as demand slackened in major foreign markets. Sales of its e-cig devices are also not growing the way management had hoped.

• [By Chris Lange]

  The stock posting the largest daily percentage gain in the S&P 500 ahead of the close Wednesday was Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG) which rose over 6% to $423.76. The stock's 52-week range is $217.19 to $426.98. Volume was 1.7 million compared to its average volume of nearly 1 million.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The medical equipment provider reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.28, Bloomberg Earnings reports. The company had revenue of $909.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $877.43 million. Intuitive Surgical had a return on equity of 20.72% and a net margin of 23.25%. Intuitive Surgical’s quarterly revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.95 earnings per share.

• [By Brian Stoffel]

  That's because these three companies -- Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) -- share the three characteristics I value above all else in my portfolio: a wide and defendable moat, multiple ways of growing their businesses moving forward, and stellar balance sheets.

Yes Bank gains 2% as Ravneet Gill takes charge as MD & CEO

Yes Bank shares gained more than 2 percent in morning on Friday after Ravneet Gill has taken a charge as Managing Director and CEO of the bank.

His tenure as approved by RBI is 3 years from the date of his joining, i.e. March 1, 2019 to February 28, 2022.

"The appointment of Gill will be subject to approval of shareholders' at the ensuing Annual General Meeting of the Bank to be held in the month of June 2019 on the terms and conditions including remuneration as approved by the Reserve Bank of India, the private sector lender said.

The bank further said Gill is not related to any of the Directors of the Bank and he has affirmed that he is not debarred from holding office of Director by virtue of any order of Securities and Exchange Board of India or any other such authority.

Hence, Ajai Kumar ceased to be an interim MD & CEO of the bank. He continues as a Non-Executive Non Independent Director on the board of the bank.

At 10:45 hours IST, the stock was quoting at Rs 236.00, up Rs 4.80, or 2.08 percent on the BSE. First Published on Mar 1, 2019 10:55 am