EnCana has also been active disposing of under-performing assets. The net proceeds received from property sales totaled more than $1.5 billion in 2011 and then $4 billion in 2012. This helped the energy company end 2012 with $3.2 billion in cash, well in excess of its $2.5 billion target.
Texas Instruments Incorporated (NASDAQ:TXN) pays one of the lower dividend yields at 3.2% but also has robust growth prospects. The company designs and makes semiconductors, which it then sells to electronics designers and manufacturers. It has sales operations in more than 35 countries, with an impressive exposure to fast-growing Asia, which accounted for around 60% of 2012 total revenue.
As part of the company’s growth strategy, it plans to focus on longer-life cycle products to help reduce dependence on smartphones and tablets. Texas Instruments Incorporated (NASDAQ:TXN) not only has a diverse product portfolio, but also a diverse mix of end market customers, ones that includes communications, which comprised 30% of 2012 revenue, industrial, which made up 17% of sales, computing at 25%, auto at 11% and consumer, which accounted for 13% of last year’s revenue. Texas Instruments is also a big-name tech stock paying a solid dividend.
Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC) pays a 4% dividend yield. Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC) owns and operates cable television systems, providing regional news and advertising sales services for the cable television industry. The company is coming off a challenging 2012, which includes the impact of super-storm Sandy. However, it still plans to keep capital expenditures high in an effort to build up its network for 2013.
In the fourth quarter, the company posted an EPS loss of $0.32 versus the loss expectations of only $0.19. The wider loss was due to a larger-than-expected impact from super storm Sandy and has put the stock trading relatively flat year-to- date, which appears to offer investors a solid entry point.
Cablevision also trades rather cheap compared to major peers at only 0.6 times sales, versus Time Warner Cable’s 1.3 times, Charter Communications, which trades at 1.4 times sales, and Comcast’s 1.7 times.
In the end
Steve Cohen made a lot of moves in the fourth quarter, including shaking up his top-five stocks completely and adding a number of new stocks, but he also has some interesting dividend picks; these include five stocks paying a dividend yield between 3% and 6%.
He likes a couple of top oil-and-gas companies, an energy producer, cable company and of course the semi-conductor pick, Texas Instruments, all of which appear to be solid dividend stocks worth pursuing.
The article 5 Dividend Picks From Billionaire Steve Cohen originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Marshall Hargrave.
Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
