Out Fox The $treet

Summary AT&T reported Q1'15 earnings that exceeded analyst EPS estimates. The reported numbers were a decline from the previous year due to lower margins from declining phone ARPU. The wireless provider isn't preferred at these levels with FCF and mounting debt levels from the DirecTV deal.   When reviewing the quarterly numbers for AT&T (NYSE: T ), one needs to keep in mind that the quarterly beat was still a reduction from prior-year levels. The wireless provider produced contrasting numbers to the earnings growth delivered by Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ ).  Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long DTV. Please read the disclaimer page for more details .

Summary The AT&T and DirecTV deal isn't set to be finalized until next year. AT&T is potentially the big bidder at the AWS-3 spectrum auction that could harm the valuation ultimately obtained by DirecTV shareholders when the deal closes. The domestic wireless pricing wars and wireless spectrum auctions continue to dilute the potential windfall for DirecTV shareholders. With AT&T (NYSE: T ) in the middle of closing the DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV ) merger, the apparent aggressive spending on the domestic wireless auction brings up corporate governance issues for shareholders. Along with the domestic wireless pricing war, the situation highlights the issues with corporate stock deals that take so long to finalize. It leaves investors of the acquired company trapped waiting to cash out of the stock while hoping the acquirer doesn't make moves in the meantime to impact the stock.  Read the full article at Seeking Alpha.  Di...

Summary CenturyLink continues growing high-speed Internet and video customers. The company is following the path of DirecTV with strong buybacks. Stock remains attractive with a net payout yield of 10%.  The recent agreement by AT&T (NYSE: T ) to purchase DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV ) for nearly $50 billion highlights a couple of trends that investors can utilize with other stocks. The obvious trend is that video customers are in high demand these days. The not so obvious trend is that stock buybacks are once again proven to be an effective tool of value creation for shareholders.  Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long CTL, DTV.  Please review the disclaimer page for details.

After years of strong stock gains for the cable operators, the deal to buy Time Warner Cable ( NYSE: TWC     ) by Comcast Corp. ( NASDAQ: CMCSA     ) raises a lot of eyebrows that the company is overpaying for the assets . In light of the news that AT&T ( NYSE: T     ) is going to purchase satellite provider DirecTV ( NASDAQ: DTV     ) in a $50 billion deal, investors need to consider whether these deals are top ticking the market. The odd part of the equation is that the companies' stocks have surged the last couple of years, while their revenues are seeing limited growth. In fact, Time Warner Cable now trades at a historically high 21x trailing earnings. The company has squeezed out higher profits from existing operations, but how long can that last with revenue only growing roughly 4% each year? Based on the chart below and the limited revenue growth, now  doesn't appear the time to buy these stocks. Read ...

With the recent buyouts in the video subscriber area, DISH Network ( NASDAQ: DISH     ) becomes a speculative target for other cable and wireless network operators. The second-largest satellite provider offers investors a large subscriber base of 14.1 million and a unique asset, assuming DirecTV ( NASDAQ: DTV     ) consummates the merger with AT&T ( NYSE: T     ) . At the same time, DISH faces tougher competition going forward from a DirecTV, now backed by the bigger AT&T that offers the potential triple play of pay TV, broadband, and wireless services. DISH Network offers a unique asset to the market, whether via an acquisition from a major cable operator or a wireless provider such as Verizon ( NYSE: VZ     ) . In a lot of cases, the integration of a major competitor can leave the independent provider with an advantage of being focused on the target market. Unfortunately, a potential acquirer must overcome some hurdl...

After holding a stock for a few years, no better exit opportunity exists than unloading the stock on a buyout with a nice premium. In the case of DirectTV Group ( NASDAQ: DTV     ) , the company's stock has nearly doubled in the last couple of years and the gains are attracting competition. The purchase price of $95 by AT&T ( NYSE: T     ) would provide an ideal exit point from an investment in the leading satellite television provider. Exiting a position is always tricky, especially for one that has worked extremely well. The stock of DirectTV Group traded below $45 as recently as the middle of 2012. With the company's stock now worth nearly $42.5 billion with it trading around $85, it might have peaked... especially with competition heating up from AT&T ( NYSE: T     ) and the recently proposed Comcast ( NASDAQ: CMCSA     )   and Time Warner Cable ( NYSE: TWC     ) merger. Read the full article ...

Summary List of top net payout yield stocks for March. Reviews returns from the February list. Discusses the benefits of net payout yields. This article is a continuation of a monthly series highlighting the top net payout yield (NPY) stocks that was started back in June, 2012 (see article ) and explained in August, 2012 (see article ). The series highlights the best stocks for the upcoming month. Please review the original articles for more information on the NPY concept. February Returns Below are two charts highlighting the monthly returns of the top ten stocks from February (see list here ). Due to limitations with YCharts, the chart was broken into the Top 5 and Next 5 lists. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long CTL, DTV, HAL, MSI, NLY, NOC, and T. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

This article is a continuation of a monthly series highlighting the top net payout yield (NPY) stocks that was started back in June, 2012 (see article ) and explained in August, 2012 (see article ). The series highlights the best stocks for the upcoming month. Please review the original articles for more information on the NPY concept. September Returns Below are two charts highlighting the monthly returns of the top 10 stocks from September (see list here ). Due to limitations with YCharts, the chart was broken into the Top 5 and Next 5 lists. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long AMP, CTL, DTV, KSS, MSI, NLY, T. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

This article is a continuation of a monthly series highlighting the top net payout yield stocks ( NPY ) that was started back in June, 2012 (see article ) and explained in August, 2012 (see article ). The series highlights the best stocks for the upcoming month. Please review the original articles for more information on the net payout yield concept. August Returns Below are two charts highlighting the monthly returns of the top-10 stocks from August (see list here ). Due to limitations with YCharts, the chart was broken into the Top 5 and Next 5 lists. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long AMP, CTL, DTV, KSS, MSI, NLY, T. Please read the full disclaimer page for more details. 

This article is a continuation of a monthly series highlighting the top net payout yield stocks that was started back in June, 2012 (see article ) and explained in August, 2012 (see article ). The series highlights the best stocks for the upcoming month. Please review the original articles for more information on the net payout yield concept. July Returns Below are two charts highlighting the monthly returns of the top ten stocks from July (see list here ). Due to limitations with YCharts, the chart was broken into the Top 5 and Next 5 lists. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long AMP, CTL, DTV, KSS, MSI, NLY, and T. Please read the full disclaimer page for more details. 

This article is a continuation of a monthly series highlighting the top net payout yield stocks that was started back in June, 2012 (see article ) and explained in August, 2012 (see article ). The series highlights the best stocks for the upcoming month. Please review the original articles for more information on the net payout yield concept. June Returns Below are two charts highlighting the monthly returns of the top 10 stocks from June (see list here ). Due to limitations with YCharts, the chart was broken into the Top 5 and Next 5 lists. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long AMP, DTV, KSS, WPL. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.

This article is a continuation of a monthly series highlighting the top net payout yield stocks that was started back in June, 2012 (see article ) and explained in August, 2012 (see article ). The series highlights the best stocks for the upcoming month. Please review the original articles for more information on the net payout yield concept. May Returns Below are two charts highlighting the monthly returns of the top ten stocks from May (see list here ). Due to limitations with YCharts, the chart was broken into the Top 5 and Next 5 lists. The Top 5 stocks had a strong May after a weak April. American International Group ( AIG ), DirecTV ( DTV ) , and Kohl's ( KSS ) had strong gains for the month that easily beat the 2.3% gain of the S&P 500. Seagate Technology ( STX ) though smashed those performances with a phenomenal 17.4% gain. The only disappointment was that L Brands ( LTD ) dropped 0.8% for the month. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclos...

This article is a continuation of a monthly series highlighting the top net payout yield stocks that was started back in June, 2012 (see article ). The series highlights the best stocks for the upcoming month. Please review the original article for more information on the net payout yield concept. April Returns Below are two charts highlighting the monthly returns of the top 10 stocks from April (see list here ). Due to limitations with YCharts, the chart was broken into the Top Five and Next Five lists. The Top Five stocks had a disappointing month after a strong April. American International Group ( AIG ) and Kohl's ( KSS ) had solid gains for the month that easily beat the 2.4% gain of the S&P 500. Both Seagate Technology ( STX ) and DirecTV ( DTV ) performed ok with flat results for the month. The biggest problem was that Motorola Solutions ( MSI ) plunged 10.2% after an earnings warning. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long all sto...

This article is a continuation of a monthly series highlighting the top net payout yield stocks that was started back in June, 2012 (see article ). The series highlights the best stocks for the upcoming month. Please review the original article for more information on the net payout yield concept. March Returns Below are two charts highlighting the monthly returns of the top ten stocks from March (see list here ). Due to limitations with YCharts, the chart was broken into the Top 5 and Next 5 lists. The Top 5 stocks had a huge month after a weak February. Seagate Technology ( STX ) and DirecTV ( DTV ) had huge gains in March that easily offset the substantial 5% losses in February. DirecTV had a smashing 17.5% gain followed by 13.7% for Seagate. WellPoint ( WLP ) followed the February loss as well, with a 6.5% gain in March. Both Motorola Solutions ( MSI ) and Kohl's ( KSS ) also had small gains, though smaller than the 3.8% gain of the S&P 500. Read the ful...

This article is a continuation of a monthly series highlighting the top net payout yield stocks that was started in June, 2012 (see article ). The series highlights the best stocks for the upcoming month. Please review the original article for more information on the net payout yield concept. February Returns Below are two charts highlighting the monthly returns of the top ten stocks from February (see list here ). Due to limitations with YCharts, the chart was broken into the Top 5 and Next 5 lists. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long AMP, DTV, KSS, MSI, NLY, NOC, and WLP. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

This article is a continuation of a monthly series highlighting the top net payout yield stocks that was started in June, 2012 (see  article ). The series highlights the best stocks for the upcoming month. Please review the original article for more information on the net payout yield concept. January Returns Below are two charts highlighting the monthly returns of the top ten stocks from January (see list  here ). Due to limitations with YCharts, the chart was broken into the Top 5 and Next 5 lists. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long AMP, COP, DTV, KSS, MSI, NLY, and WLP. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

This article is a continuation of a monthly series highlighting the top net payout yield stocks that was started in June (see article ). The series highlights the best stocks for the upcoming month. Please review the original article for more information on the net payout yield concept. December Returns Below are two charts highlighting the monthly returns of the top 10 stocks from December (see list here ). Due to limitations with YCharts, the chart was broken into the Top 5 and Next 5 lists. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long AMP, COP, DTV, KSS, MSI, NLY, WLP. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

This article is a continuation of a monthly series highlighting the top net payout yield stocks that was started in June (see article ). The series highlights the best stocks for the upcoming month. Please review the original article for more information on the net payout yield concept. November Returns Below are two charts highlighting the monthly returns of the top 10 stocks from November (see original list here ). Due to limitations with YCharts, the chart was broken into the Top 5 and Next 5 lists. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long AMP, COP, DTV, GS, KSS, MSI, NLY, WLP. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

This article is a continuation of a monthly series highlighting the top net payout yield stocks that was started in June (see article). The series highlights the best stocks for the upcoming month. Net Payout Yields Defined The net payout yield is the combination of the dividend yield and the net buyback yield added together to calculate the yield returned to shareholders. The net buyback yield adds stock repurchases and subtracts shares issued. The yield is calculated using the amount of buybacks over the last four quarters divided by the current market cap. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long COP, DTV, GS, KSS, MSI, WLP. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

This article is a continuation of a series highlighting the top net payout yield stocks that was started in June (see article) and repeated in July (see article). The series is meant to highlight the best stocks for the upcoming month so this report is clearly late. Though with the majority of the month left, it is still worth reviewing last month's results and the updated list as of data from August 10th. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long all positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details.