🎯 My Dividend Hunt: Who’s in the Crosshairs?

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Intro

💡 Invest in companies you believe in - W. Buffett

Every week is another chance to keep the dividend snowball rolling. This week, just like clockwork, I’m sticking to the plan and putting another $3,000 to work. Toward the end of the week, I’ll be scanning the market again—because every now and then, the market drops a “gift” into our laps at a discount. And those who are ready with a plan in place are the ones who benefit.

My focus right now is on a select group of high-yield opportunities—names that can deliver income today and growth for tomorrow. Some are already on my radar for possible adds, others I’m watching closely for better entry points. It’s never about chasing—it’s about staying disciplined, building positions in quality names, and letting time and compounding do the heavy lifting.

I decided to revisit my watchlist to spot any promising dividend opportunities that could boost my portfolio.

09/03/2025

After some digging today, I found one solid idea for now that I plan to add to my main portfolio today: a footwear retailer with a strong balance sheet, steady cash flow, and a long history of rewarding shareholders through dividends and buybacks.

Let Me Share It with You!

Imagine a company delivering a ~3% dividend yield, boosting its payouts by more than 60% over the past five years, and steadily rewarding shareholders with reliable dividends year after year.

Here’s a retailer that doesn’t just ride fashion cycles—it built its reputation on disciplined expansion, tight cost controls, and a balance sheet that’s stronger than many peers in the sector.

It’s been quietly carving out a dominant niche in family footwear, consistently generating solid cash flow and rewarding investors through both dividends and buybacks. For long-term investors who want stability paired with steady growth, this is one of those rare retailers that feels more like a hidden gem than a roll of the dice.

Intrigued? Let’s explore further.

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🎯 My Dividend Hunt Today: Who’s on the Radar? Let Me Walk You Through!

When I go on a dividend hunt, I focus on buying stocks at great prices with a long-term perspective guided by the MaxDividends Investing Concept. Here’s what I prioritize:

• The company’s financial health

• Current dividends & their growth

• Future dividend yield on cost. Max Ratio

• The company’s fair value today

Let’s check my today’s ideas for these statements

🎯 Today’s Idea – Shoe Carnival (SCVL)

Shoe Carnival is a U.S. footwear retailer that has quietly built a reputation for steady growth, shareholder-friendly policies, and one of the most resilient balance sheets in retail. Headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, the company operates nearly 400 stores across the Midwest, South, and Southeast, serving families with affordable and brand-name footwear.

Its business model focuses on value pricing, strong customer loyalty, and a disciplined approach to expansion. While many retailers chase fast growth or lean heavily on promotions, this company thrives by keeping costs under control, managing inventory tightly, and delivering consistent profitability—even through retail downturns.

Founded in 1978, it has grown from a single store into a nationwide chain known for stability, reliable dividends, and conservative financial management.

👟 Retail Built Different — Disciplined, Not Flashy

What sets this retailer apart is its measured, disciplined growth strategy. Instead of overextending into risky markets, it carefully selects locations and maintains strong cash generation. This conservative playbook has allowed the company to weather tough retail cycles while still rewarding shareholders through regular dividends and buybacks.

While other retailers swing with fashion fads or carry heavy debt, this one sticks to a simple formula: affordable family footwear, operational efficiency, and a rock-solid balance sheet. The result? Reliable earnings and steady shareholder returns.

📊 The Company Financial Condition

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️+

Financial Score: 99 / 99 (Recent Update 99 → 99)

For Q2 2025, Shoe Carnival reported revenue of ~$340 million and net income of ~$28 million. EPS came in at $1.02, slightly ahead of consensus, and free cash flow remained positive despite cautious consumer spending. Gross margin held firm around 36%, reflecting disciplined inventory management.

The company carries virtually no long-term debt and has one of the strongest balance sheets in the specialty retail sector. That financial strength gives it plenty of flexibility to return capital to shareholders and invest in selective growth.

💰 Current Dividends and Dividend Growth

• Dividend Yield: ~2.80%

• Recession Proof: 10+ consecutive years (They started paying dividends 11 years ago and have raised them every year since).

• Dividend Growth 5Y: +218%

• Recent Jul’25 hike +11.10%. FWD Dividend Yield ~2.80%

• Payout Ratio: ~25% (very conservative for retail)

This isn’t just a dividend payer—it’s a dividend grower. Management has steadily raised payouts for over a decade while keeping plenty of room for future hikes thanks to low debt and strong cash generation.

📈 Future Dividend Yield On Cost (MaxRatio)

MaxRatio is an estimated dividend yield on cost calculated by combining the current dividend yield with the 5-year & 10-year average dividend growth rate, projected over the next 10 years. It provides a clear outlook on future dividend returns.

MaxRatio ~ 10+ ✅

That means an investor today can reasonably expect their yield on cost to approach 9–10% over the next 10–12 years if dividend growth trends continue. For a retail stock, that’s an exceptional long-term dividend compounding profile.

The Company’s Fair Value Today: Seems Undervalued

• Current Company P/E < Compare to Av. Competitors P/E? - Yes ✅

• Current P/E < 10 Years Company Av. P/E? - Yes ✅

• Current Dividend Yield > 10 Years Company Av. Dividend Yield? - Yes ✅

Analysts Price Consensus for Today

• Curren Price: ~ $ 22.00 → Av. Analysts Estimate Price: ~ $ 22.50

Max Conclusion: ✅

📝 Quarterly Highlights

• Revenue (Q2 2025): ~$340M

• Net Income (Q2 2025): ~$28M

• EPS: $1.02 (beat expectations)

• Operating Margin: ~8.5%

• Free Cash Flow: Positive, supported by low capex and efficient working capital

• Buybacks: Active share repurchase program continues

🔮 Outlook: Conservative Growth, Reliable Payouts

Management expects flat-to-modest sales growth in FY2025 given a cautious consumer environment but remains committed to dividend growth and opportunistic buybacks. With no debt, strong cash reserves, and disciplined store expansion, the company is positioned to keep rewarding shareholders regardless of retail cycles.

My Comments

Shoe Carnival stands out in the crowded retail space thanks to its clean balance sheet, steady profitability, and reliable dividend growth. It doesn’t chase trends—it plays the long game, prioritizing shareholder returns over risky bets.

I’ve been writing a lot about Shoe Carnival lately — but let’s keep the bigger picture in mind. This isn’t about trading or trying to catch some quick price pop because “the market suddenly woke up.” Not at all.

I’m sharing a company I personally invest in — with my own money and my family’s money. Why did I choose this business? That’s exactly what I’m breaking down here: my reasoning, my take, and the facts behind my decision.

• Fact #1: I hate losing money.

• Fact #2: I love growing dividend income.

And Shoe Carnival checks both boxes for me right now. Sure, a $19 entry price would be even sweeter, but waiting for that is more like guessing games. By the numbers, the business is in solid shape, the dividend looks attractive with strong growth momentum, and the balance sheet is rock-solid — no debt and healthy profits.

My main goal hasn’t changed — it’s all about dividends and growing passive income. Everything else is just about protecting my capital and building a safety cushion for unexpected situations. And it’s worth pointing out: if the company’s performance goes south — which we can’t rule out or guarantee against — then I just stick to the plan. If I see signs of stagnation, I sell the stock.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll keep adding shares into my portfolio — hopefully catching some at cheaper levels, but either way, I see this as a long-term play. One of those “buy it and forget it” businesses I like to hold for decades.

If you want to dive deeper, here’s another article I wrote about Shoe Carnival:

With respect for your well-being, Max

MaxDividends Community

We follow our time-tested strategy for tapping into overlooked dividend plays that can make your portfolio more resistant to recessions and other market panics and pack on consistent gains for years to come.

With MaxDividends Community you’ll always be part of a winning team and stop viewing the future as an uncertainty. Worry will fade, replaced by confidence and peace of mind. You’ll focus on doing what you love while your passive income continues to grow.

Choosing a strong environment is the key to achieving outstanding results. If you surround yourself with people who dream bigger than you, you increase your chances of reaching greater heights. Surround yourself only with those who will support you on your path to success.

Intro

Picture the Wall Street scene in 1896: twelve giants under one ticker — the birth of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Fast-forward 125 years, and only General Electric still bears the original badge. The rest?

A patchwork of mergers, spin-offs, and corporate evolution. Let’s time-travel through each company’s dramatic arc — because their stories are anything but ordinary.

#1 From Cottonseed Oil to Table Staples

American Cotton Oil started as a lowly crusher of cottonseed — hardly glamorous fuel for the industrial age. But by the early 1900s, thanks to the rise in demand for packaged goods, they pivoted.

In 1917, the company scooped up the Nucoa Butter Company and its “Best Foods” division, blessing consumers with mayo and sauces that became pantry staples.

Over the decades, it morphed into CPC International and rebranded as Bestfoods in 1997 — only to be swallowed by Unilever in 2000 in one of the largest cash deals at the time. Today, you still likely use their mayonnaise under either the Bestfoods or Hellmann’s label.

Notably, Unilever itself emerged from a 1929 union of Britain’s Lever Brothers (soaps like Vim, Lifebuoy) with Dutch Margarine Unie, forging the first modern multinational known globally today.

#2 American Sugar’s Sticky Transformation

Once dubbed the American Sugar Refining Company, the business evolved into Domino Sugar by 1900. It rode through acquisitions — most recently by ASR Group — but the familiar sugar brand still skulks on shelves.

#3 Pure Tobacco to Spirits & Brands

American Tobacco didn’t just ride the tobacco boom — antitrust laws broke it into pieces. One offshoot navigated multiple rebrands: American Brands, Fortune Brands, and eventually splintering into Beam Inc., known today as part of the Beam Suntory spirits empire. The original brand? Off to BAT in 1994.

#4 Gaslight to Grid

Chicago Gas Company evolved through “People’s Gas” and Integrys, ultimately becoming part of WEC Energy Group — still hot in Wisconsin and the Midwest, worth around $28 billion in 2025.

#5 Distilling Through Decades of Names

Started as Distilling & Cattle Feeding, this enterprise rebranded as National Distillers, then Quantum Chemical, shifted into Millennium Chemicals, and finally ended up in LyondellBasell.

It’s a chemistry textbook on corporate reinvention, rooted in innovations like the first polyethylene chain — winning chemical awards along the way.

#6 General Electric: The Only Survivor

General Electric, born in 1892, is the sole survivor of the original Dow list — though not without dramatic peeling. Once a broadcaster (think NBC), financier (GE Capital), and industrial conglomerate, it’s now reshaped into aerospace-focused divisions like GE Aerospace and Vernova. With a value near $182 billion, it still commands a spot on today’s Dow.

#7 Laclede Gas Still Sparks Life

Laclede Gas Light Co. transformed into Spire Inc., supplying natural gas in St. Louis. Unlike most of its peers, it kept plugging on — market cap just over $3 billion as of 2025.

#8 National Lead’s Modest Existence

National Lead Co., now NL Industries, pivoted from industrial lead to specialty titanium dioxide and precision components. It's still around — quietly — with a small but surviving market cap of roughly $184 million today.

#9 Electric Expansion with Ameren

North American Company eventually became Union Electric, and in 1998 merged to form Ameren Corporation, now a $19 billion utility presence across Missouri and Illinois.

#10 Steel & Soil: The U.S. Steel Story

Tennessee Coal & Iron was absorbed by U.S. Steel in 1907. Today, U.S. Steel endures as a solid — if not flashy — presence, worth about $7.9 billion.

#11 Leather’s Long Goodbye

U.S. Leather is the only name that truly vanished — liquidated in 1952, leaving shareholders with just small payouts and worthless oil stock. No legacy, no successor.

#12 Rubber Rolls into Michelin

U.S. Rubber became Uniroyal, then was acquired by Michelin in 1990. Today, Michelin’s market cap stands around $28 billion, still known for tires.

Final Thought

Only one of the Dow’s original dozen remains in recognizable form today. Yet almost all left legacies — some thriving in new sectors, others quietly spun off, and a few pivoting in entirely new directions.

Holding onto all 12 in a “coffee can” portfolio would’ve meant sitting on a remarkable tapestry of modern industries, even if today's names read differently.

***

With MaxDividends Community you’ll always be part of a winning team and stop viewing the future as an uncertainty. Worry will fade, replaced by confidence and peace of mind. You’ll focus on doing what you love while your passive income continues to grow.

With respect for your well-being, Max

MaxDividends Community

We follow our time-tested strategy for tapping into overlooked dividend plays that can make your portfolio more resistant to recessions and other market panics and pack on consistent gains for years to come.

With MaxDividends Community you’ll always be part of a winning team and stop viewing the future as an uncertainty. Worry will fade, replaced by confidence and peace of mind. You’ll focus on doing what you love while your passive income continues to grow.

Choosing a strong environment is the key to achieving outstanding results. If you surround yourself with people who dream bigger than you, you increase your chances of reaching greater heights. Surround yourself only with those who will support you on your path to success.

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