ARLP Div Cut

Not unexpectedly, ARLP cut their dividends. The coal industry has been under pressure from low natural gas prices in the short term, but also by an aggressive move away from coal as energy source. Several countries have set goals to increase energy from renewable sources. I believe energy demand will keep growing, and I'm not yet convinced that renewables can keep up. Having said that, the better investment would be in an NEE (that I also own), or SolarCity etc.

Still I think ARLP isn't completely dead. I do believe gas prices will go up, which will increase coal demand, bringing coal prices up as well.

Having said all that, their dividends were unsustainable with the lower revenues and earnings per share. So they had no choice but to cut div. And that puts them on my sell list. Like with COP, I won't sell on the news. I was already going to sell ARLP this year for tax and other reasons. I'll see what the stock does for the next few months and exit at a proper time for me. 

Dividend Report April 2016

April saw dividend cuts. In particular ARLP was a big hit, reducing my dividend income by roughly $130 annually. Offsetting this loss were increases by IBM (7.7%), and JNJ (6.7%). TAL, CVX, and HCP all maintained their previous payout, as expected. No transactions for my portfolio.

Stats:

• Income: $ 176.66
• Trailing 12 months: $ 4,961.31
• Forward 12 months: $5,494 -- a huge drop due to ARLP

In May I expect a record month of $822 in div income. I have money sitting idle, and I can't wait to add it to my portfolio. I'm debating if I should put in my div earnings first, or sell from my sell list (COP - cut, ARLP - cut, TAL - cut) and then invest the whole lot into another stock.