Antimatter (ANTX) Price Reaches $0.0001

Antimatter (CURRENCY:ANTX) traded flat against the U.S. dollar during the one day period ending at 12:00 PM E.T. on July 22nd. In the last seven days, Antimatter has traded up 17.8% against the U.S. dollar. Antimatter has a total market capitalization of $0.00 and $1.00 worth of Antimatter was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One Antimatter coin can currently be bought for $0.0001 or 0.00000001 BTC on popular cryptocurrency exchanges.

Here’s how other cryptocurrencies have performed in the last 24 hours:

Get Antimatter alerts: XRP (XRP) traded up 1% against the dollar and now trades at $0.46 or 0.00006127 BTC. Stellar (XLM) traded 2.8% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.30 or 0.00003970 BTC. IOTA (MIOTA) traded down 0.1% against the dollar and now trades at $1.01 or 0.00013485 BTC. Tether (USDT) traded up 0% against the dollar and now trades at $1.00 or 0.00013304 BTC. TRON (TRX) traded up 0.2% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0361 or 0.00000480 BTC. NEO (NEO) traded 0.4% lower against the dollar and now trades at $34.60 or 0.00460786 BTC. Binance Coin (BNB) traded up 0.8% against the dollar and now trades at $12.26 or 0.00163257 BTC. VeChain (VET) traded 0.7% higher against the dollar and now trades at $1.82 or 0.00024176 BTC. 0x (ZRX) traded 0.8% higher against the dollar and now trades at $1.20 or 0.00015950 BTC. Zilliqa (ZIL) traded up 1.1% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0745 or 0.00000992 BTC.

Antimatter Profile

Antimatter Coin Trading

Antimatter can be purchased on the following cryptocurrency exchanges: CoinExchange. It is usually not currently possible to buy alternative cryptocurrencies such as Antimatter directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to trade Antimatter should first buy Ethereum or Bitcoin using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as Changelly, Coinbase or Gemini. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Ethereum or Bitcoin to buy Antimatter using one of the aforementioned exchanges.

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UniFirst (UNF) Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday.

According to Zacks, “UniFirst Corporation has become an industry leader and remains one of the fastest growing companies in the Uniform and Textile Services business. Its business is the rental Lease and Sale of work clothing, uniforms, protective apparel, careerwear, and facility service products to businesses in virtually all industrial categories. The major portion of the Company’s business is Uniform Rental Service Programs, wherein it provides customers with all necessary products plus weekly cleaning, maintenance, and any needed replacements of work clothing. The Company became the first private industrial launderer to be granted a government license to process nuclear-contaminated garments. The Company has developed a separate division, UniTech Services Group, which now includes specialized plants throughout the United States and in Europe. UniFirst is a national leader in cleaning and decontaminating the garments worn by workers who maintain and refuel nuclear power and nuclear processing equipment. “

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UNF has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of UniFirst from $183.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, June 28th. Barrington Research restated a hold rating on shares of UniFirst in a report on Friday, June 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. UniFirst has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $203.00.

Shares of UNF traded up $0.75 on Wednesday, reaching $187.20. 49,281 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 66,489. The company has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.61. UniFirst has a 12 month low of $135.95 and a 12 month high of $193.05.

UniFirst (NYSE:UNF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 27th. The textile maker reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $427.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $420.45 million. UniFirst had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 8.21%. UniFirst’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. equities analysts anticipate that UniFirst will post 6.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 28th. Investors of record on Friday, September 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.1125 per share. This represents a $0.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 6th. UniFirst’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.52%.

In related news, Director Michael Iandoli sold 594 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.24, for a total transaction of $111,220.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,732 shares in the company, valued at $1,073,259.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cecelia Levenstein sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.34, for a total transaction of $465,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 121,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,604,532.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,161 shares of company stock valued at $2,594,236. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 Asia Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in UniFirst during the first quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the first quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the first quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of UniFirst by 24.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,519 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Finally, Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB acquired a new position in shares of UniFirst in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $293,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.78% of the company’s stock.

UniFirst Company Profile

UniFirst Corporation provides workplace uniforms and protective work wear clothing in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It operates through US Rental and Cleaning, Canadian Rental and Cleaning, Manufacturing, Specialty Garments Rental and Cleaning, and First Aid segments. The company designs, manufactures, personalizes, rents, cleans, delivers, and sells a range of uniforms and protective clothing, including shirts, pants, jackets, coveralls, lab coats, smocks, and aprons; and specialized protective wear, such as flame resistant and high visibility garments.

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What Is Netflix, Inc.'s Competitive Advantage?

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) investors have been on a thrill ride for years. Even after a 10% correction when the streaming-video veteran fell short of its subscriber guidance last week, the stock still has doubled over the last 52 weeks.

The stock is trading at 218 times trailing earnings and 13 times sales right now, putting Netflix firmly in the category of premium-priced market darlings. The gains and the extreme valuation ratios are based on rampant business growth. The company more than quintupled its second-quarter earnings compared to the year-ago period, and revenues are rising at a 40% annual pace.

So how is Netflix making all of this work in an entertainment market full of hopeful challengers and fading has-beens? Let's have a look at three key components of the company's recipe for success.

Image source: Getty Images.

You have to spend money to make money

Some critics worry about Netflix's cash-burning habit. Free cash flows clocked in at negative $1.78 billion over the last year, forcing the company to take on $3.5 billion of new debt. The main driver of these huge cash costs is found in Netflix's growing content-production efforts.

Netflix is investing a larger and larger portion of its total content budget into original shows and movies, moving away from the earlier strategy of licensing content under ownership by other studios. The idea is to build a content portfolio of lasting value, which comes with large upfront cash costs but should keep subscribers coming for many years ahead.

There will be an inflection point a few years down the road when this strategy starts to pay figurative dividends, driving enough member growth and loyalty to outweigh the new content costs. Tax-saving accounting tricks, like depreciation and amortization, don't figure into this entirely cash-driven tactic.

This is not a new idea, just a slightly unusual application of a well-known growth strategy. Startups collect venture capital and big debts in their early years to build a platform for rapid growth, followed by profits later on. Netflix is a bit old for the start-up tag, but this is the same basic idea. It's just happening at a greater scale, since Netflix is attempting to boost itself from a platform that has already achieved $13.9 billion in annual sales.

Content is king

The company isn't throwing together some cut-rate videos and hoping for the best. Those billions of annual content-production dollars are bringing in top-shelf writers, directors, and actors with free reins to do their best work. The result is an award-winning content portfolio, including a leading haul of 112 nominations for the 2018 Emmy Awards.

For the first time in 18 years, the studio with the most nominations wasn't named HBO. It was Netflix.

Netflix is seen as a high-quality entertainment platform today, similar to how HBO built its top-shelf reputation in the golden age of premium cable networks. Consumers know exactly where to find favorites like 13 Reasons Why, Stranger Things, and The Crown. These are Netflix's answer to HBO classics such as The Sopranos and Game of Thrones. New subscribers on the hunt for Netflix's best eyeball magnets are likely to find more exclusive content that keeps them coming back for more.

Hence, the big production budgets. Netflix wants its original shows to pay big dividends over time and that takes quality -- expensive quality.

Image source: Netflix.

Simplicity for the win

None of the cash and content positioning matters if nobody wants to use the Netflix platform. This is perhaps the most subtle and underrated aspect of what makes Netflix special -- perfecting the user experience is priority No. 1.

Whether you're accessing Netflix from a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or big-screen TV, you'll find a strikingly simple interface. Poster thumbnails will help you navigate through a sorted and categorized catalog where the presentation is driven by your viewing habits. If you like action thrillers starring The Rock, you'll see more shows of a similar style in your Netflix panels. Prefer Norwegian zombie comedies or reality TV cook-offs? Netflix will drive you toward more stuff in those categories instead.

And at the heart of that effort stands simplicity. Hulu blends advertising into its content streams, hoping to collect additional revenue that way. By the same token, Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Prime Video can be frustrating as the e-tailer often tries to steer the viewer toward buying Blu-rays or downloads for content that isn't included in the Prime subscription service. You won't find Netflix doing any of that.

The company removed online ads from its website many years ago because the additional revenue pennies weren't worth the resulting viewer distraction. The red DVD mailers used to carry third-party advertising on the inside flap, but even that disappeared over the years.

I kind of miss the "advanced search" function that Netflix previously provided, but most subscribers never used it -- so it's long gone now. And that's the way it goes. Anything that doesn't help subscribers focus on the actual content won't stick around for long.

That's a winning strategy. The competition might want to try it out eventually, but they're not ready to abandon their add-on revenue streams quite yet. Until they do, Netflix stands alone as a paragon of dead-simple entertainment.

Glencore (GLEN) Given a GBX 500 Price Target by Goldman Sachs Group Analysts

Glencore (LON:GLEN) has been assigned a GBX 500 ($6.62) price target by investment analysts at Goldman Sachs Group in a note issued to investors on Wednesday. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the natural resources company’s stock. Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 58.35% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a GBX 550 ($7.28) target price on shares of Glencore in a research note on Wednesday, May 2nd. Barclays cut their target price on Glencore from GBX 450 ($5.96) to GBX 400 ($5.29) and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Glencore in a research note on Monday, May 7th. HSBC upped their price objective on Glencore from GBX 381 ($5.04) to GBX 450 ($5.96) and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a GBX 380 ($5.03) price objective on Glencore and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 421.15 ($5.57).

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Glencore opened at GBX 315.75 ($4.18) on Wednesday, according to Marketbeat Ratings. Glencore has a 52 week low of GBX 270 ($3.57) and a 52 week high of GBX 416.91 ($5.52).

Glencore Company Profile

Glencore plc engages in the production, refinement, processing, storage, transport and marketing of metals and minerals, energy products, and agricultural products worldwide. It operates in three segments: Metals and Minerals, Energy Products, and Agricultural Products. The Metals and Minerals segment is involved in smelting, refining, mining, processing, and storing zinc, copper, lead, alumina, aluminum, ferroalloys, nickel, cobalt, and iron ore.

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The ONE Signal That Should Make You Worry About A Major Correction...

As we begin to close the books on the first half of 2018 -- and prepare for second-quarter earnings season -- it's prudent to take stock of where we are.

-The earnings multiple of the Standard & Poor 500 Index is 25.07, more than 10 points higher than its historical median of 14.69. Conservative investors might find this as dizzying as I do -- it is rich valuation. The current bull market began in March 2009, which was 112 months ago. The average bull market lasts 97 months.

-In May, U.S. companies bought back an astonishing $174 billion worth of their own stock. While that might be good for investors, it also reveals a profound law of money: You only get to spend it once! Allocating that pile of cash to buybacks means those dollars aren't being spent on the capital expenditures that fuel organic business growth. After all, one can't build a new widget factory if one has blown her allowance on Widget Co. shares.

But remember Obermueller's Law: No number has any meaning without the context of another number.

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Here, I think it's prudent to point out that U.S. production is hardly running at full tilt: Capacity utilization is 77.9% overall. The index value is 107.3 versus the 2012 baseline of 100.0. So what we see is companies that are doing well but aren't allocating significant sums to building their businesses, which seems to suggest they don't see demand rising on its own, or that they see it falling.

-A couple weeks ago, the U.S. Federal Reserve increased interest rates, raising the target fed funds rate to 2.0% from 1.75%. The Fed signaled it will likely raise rates two more times this year. This increases borrowing costs, which is meant to constrain consumer debt spending. It also tends to take a little cash out of the market, as it pushes the margin rates that traders pay higher, too. This is likely to be felt in the housing market. Loans become more expensive; fewer people sign on the dotted line, and this decreased demand can push down prices, which have been on a tear of late.

-The domestic employment situation is strong: The joblessness rate recently ebbed to 3.8%, a nadir it has reached only twice before in the past 50 years. (It notched up to 4% on Friday, not because of layoffs, but rather on a rise in participation in the workforce. A good sign indeed...)

The Fed forecasts the employment situation will continue to tighten, which puts upward pressure on wages. Some argue that a 5% unemployment rate is "full" employment -- that's the normal slack created by people switching jobs. When the level is this low, it causes pressure on wages. It's just basic supply and demand from ECON 101: As scarcity rises, so do wages. When people across the board have more money, they spend more money -- but on the same things. So while people working is a Good Thing, uncontrolled wages tends to generate inflationary pressure.

-Consumers are feeling very good. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index was at 99.3 as of June, up substantially from its 10-year low of 55.3 in November 2008. What makes consumers feel flush? Rising employment, a rising market (that fuels 401(k) balances), and rising home prices. Gas is cheap; credit is plentiful.

-The world is, well, a mess. Japan posted negative economic growth, two consecutive quarters of which means recession. Chinese growth is slowing, and its benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has given up 14.9% of its value so far this year. The European Union is struggling: Italy is embroiled in a political crisis and its banking system is on the rocks, the ripple of which can spread to other nations as the Maastricht treaty that established the euro puts all euro countries on the hook in the event of a bailout. Germany's growth is anemic. Britain is dealing with Brexit. Russia's political situation and stability are questionable.

What Does All This Mean?

Well, I've already told you. You read it here first. Barron's summed it up nicely (emphasis mine): "Hedge fund titans, prominent investors, and bank CEOs alike proclaim that robust growth and burgeoning inflation will prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to 3.5% within the next year, pushing the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, now 2.9%, closer to 4%."

As that happens, I expect the market to correct. Investors will exit stocks and move to bonds, a classic "flight to quality." Investors would rather accept the lower rate of return from bonds than to risk the potential downside of a correction.

Additionally, I want you to pay close attention to earnings reports this season. Normally I take them in stride -- one quarter does not a successful investment make. But earnings are expected to be strong, and that means Wall Street will be looking for any clue that 1) they aren't, which will mean severe market punishment for an earnings miss, and 2) any comment that suggests a change in the outlook that points to a weakening economy. The recent aggressive trade policies promulgated by the White House are ruffling a lot of international feathers, and that adds another layer of complexity.

My thinking has not changed here. I recommend investors with significant market-facing assets, such as index funds, reallocate those dollars to the safe harbor of fixed income, notably investment grade corporate debt. This will become imperative as the rate on the 10-Year Treasury reaches 3.7% for three consecutive trading days. We're not there yet -- it's about 2.9% -- but we don't want to get caught flat-footed. Best to devise a plan.

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Financial Contrast: Aceto (ACET) & PetIQ (PETQ)

Aceto (NASDAQ: ACET) and PetIQ (NASDAQ:PETQ) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

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This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Aceto and PetIQ, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aceto	2	0	0	0	1.00
PetIQ	0	0	6	0	3.00

Aceto presently has a consensus price target of $2.00, suggesting a potential downside of 45.65%. PetIQ has a consensus price target of $28.40, suggesting a potential upside of 6.57%. Given PetIQ’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe PetIQ is more favorable than Aceto.

Dividends

Aceto pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. PetIQ does not pay a dividend. Aceto pays out 3.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Aceto and PetIQ’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aceto	$638.32 million	0.18	$11.37 million	$1.19	3.09
PetIQ	$266.69 million	2.45	-$3.49 million	$0.39	68.33

Aceto has higher revenue and earnings than PetIQ. Aceto is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than PetIQ, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Aceto and PetIQ’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aceto	-28.23%	7.93%	2.88%
PetIQ	0.17%	11.39%	6.69%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

70.7% of Aceto shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.0% of PetIQ shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.1% of Aceto shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 45.3% of PetIQ shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

PetIQ beats Aceto on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aceto

Aceto Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, sources, markets, sells, and distributes finished dosage form generics, nutraceutical products, pharmaceutical intermediates and active ingredients, agricultural protection products, and specialty chemicals. The company operates in three segments: Human Health, Pharmaceutical Ingredients, and Performance Chemicals. The Human Health segment supplies raw materials used in the production of nutritional and packaged dietary supplements, including vitamins, amino acids, iron compounds, and bio chemicals used in pharmaceutical and nutritional preparations. This segment is also involved in developing and marketing generic pharmaceutical products. It sells its generic prescription and over the counter pharmaceutical products to wholesalers, chain drug stores, distributors, and mass market merchandisers. The Pharmaceutical Ingredients segment offers active pharmaceutical ingredients and pharmaceutical intermediates to various generic drug companies. The Performance Chemicals segment provides specialty chemicals for use in the manufacture of plastics, surface coatings, cosmetics and personal care products, textiles, and fuels and lubricants, as well as for food, flavor, paper, and film industries; dye and pigment intermediates used in the color-producing industries; and organic intermediates used in the production of agrochemicals. Its raw materials are also used in electronic parts for photo tooling, circuit boards, and production of computer chips. This segment also offers agricultural protection products comprising herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides, which control weed growth and the spread of insects and microorganisms; and sprout inhibitors for potatoes. The company serves various companies in the industrial chemical, agricultural, and human health and pharmaceutical industries primarily in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Aceto Corporation was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Port Washington, New York.

About PetIQ

PetIQ, Inc. develops, manufactures, and distributes pet medications, and health and wellness products for dogs and cats in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It offers pet prescription medications, including products for arthritis, thyroid, and diabetes and pain treatments, as well as heartworm preventatives, antibiotics, and other specialty medications; over-the-counter medications and supplies, such as flea and tick control products in various forms comprising spot on treatments, chewables, and collars; and health and wellness products consisting of specialty treats and other pet products, which include dental treats and nutritional supplements. The company provides its products primarily under the VetIQ, PetAction Plus, Advecta, PetLock Plus, and TruProfen brands. It sells its products through distributors as well as through retail stores, including approximately 40,000 retail pharmacy locations. PetIQ, Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Eagle, Idaho.

Sell This 17% Dividend Yield and Buy This High-Yield Income Stock Instead

Having invested in the stock market for 20 years now, I've learned one valuable lesson: The best portfolios are almost always filled with high-quality dividend stocks. Aside from the fact that dividend stocks outperform their nondividend-paying brethren over the long run, the former offer a bevy of advantages to investors.

The give-and-take of high-yield investing

To start with, a company that pays a regular dividend is sending a message to Wall Street and investors that it has a time-tested business model capable of consistently generating profits. It's unlikely that a board of directors would share a percentage of a company's income with investors if that board didn't foresee many more years of healthy profits and/or growth.

Image source: Getty Images.

Secondly, dividends are great for helping to partially offset the inevitable declines associated with stock market corrections and bear markets. Even though stocks spend far more time in a bull market than in correction, downside at some point in the future is inevitable. Dividends can help lessen the magnitude of this downside.

And, perhaps most importantly, a regularly paid dividend can be reinvested back into more shares of dividend-paying stock. This can lead to successively more shares of stock being owned, and larger dividend payments being received, in a repeating pattern. This "trick" is what most money managers lean on to pump up the long-term returns of their clients.

But therein lies the rub with dividend stocks: We want the highest yield possible, but with virtually no risk. Unfortunately, yield and risk tend to go hand in hand. In other words, the higher the yield, the more likely it proves unsustainable.

One of the key reasons this is the case is because yield is a function of price. If, for instance, a publicly traded company's share price is halved, its dividend yield will double, probably making it more attractive to income-seeking investors. But if there's an underlying issue with the company's business model, a growing yield may prove to be nothing more than a trap for income investors.

In short, investing in high-yield dividends -- traditionally defined as those with an annual yield of at least 4% -- requires extra scrutiny on the part of investors.

Image source: Getty Images.

It's time to sell this 17% yield stock

As a case in point, consider BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust (NYSE:BPT), which is currently paying out an extrapolated $5.10 a year, based on the $1.275 per share it divvied out in April. This is good enough for a better than 17% annual yield, albeit it should be noted that the Trust's payout differs each quarter depending on its royalty revenue and cash earnings.�

Generally speaking, a 17% yield is mouthwatering. At this rate of return, reinvesting your dividends should, in theory, lead to a complete repayment of your initial investment in less than five years, assuming the share price remains static. But BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust is one of those aforementioned yield traps that investors should probably consider running away from.

The Trust's business model is very straightforward. It receives a percentage of production from BP's (NYSE:BP) Prudhoe Bay Alaska operations. This percentage is capped to the first 90,000 barrels per day of production. Given that the Trust's costs tend to be predictable -- concessions to BP and administrative expenses represent the bulk of its costs -- BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust's dividend tends to be intricately tied to the price of oil. If West Texas Intermediate (WTI) significantly increases in price, then the Trust's ability to net more in cash earnings allows it to pay a beefier dividend.

Image source: Getty Images.

Though consistently rising WTI prices have helped lift the share price and aggregate payout of the Trust in recent quarters, there are still reasons for investors to be concerned. For example, the Trust is only expected to last through 2028, whereupon the share price will effectively head to $0 (although this termination date has been fluid in recent years). This means investors have to hope they'd receive more in aggregate dividends between now and 2028 in order to walk away having made money. That might seem easy to do with a greater than $5 annual extrapolated payout, but keep in mind that production is starting to fall.

According to BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust's 10-Q filing, average net production during the first quarter was just 84,000 barrels per day (bpd), down from 91,800 bpd in the year-ago quarter. What's more, the Trust has consistently produced less than 90,000 bpd annually since 2015, and anticipates that production will come in below this level on an annual basis "in most future years." This means that WTI would probably need to rise significantly in order to make this Trust a viable intermediate-term investment -- and, frankly, I don't have that type of confidence.�

And, as icing on the cake, weaker crude prices in March 2016 coerced BP to reduce its rig count in Prudhoe Bay by more than half to just two rigs.�This looks to be a high-yield income stock to avoid.

Image source: Getty Images.

This 11% yield looks mighty attractive

On the other hand, there are companies with a double-digit dividend yield that are legitimately attractive and probably sustainable. Instead of looking at BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust, I'd suggest sticking within the commodity arena and considering coal producer Alliance Resource Partners (NASDAQ:ARLP), which is currently yielding 11.5%.

I know what you're probably thinking: "Isn't coal going the way of the dodo bird?" While you are correct that coal has lost substantial ground to cleaner-burning natural gas and has seen renewable energies like solar and wind begin to claw their way up the ranks, it's not exactly a source of energy that's at risk of disappearing anytime soon -- especially with oil and natural gas now well off their 2016 lows. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity was generated with coal in 2017, working out to a 30.1% share. That trailed natural gas (31.7%), but was ahead of nuclear (20%) and all renewables combined (17.1%). In other words, coal remains relevant, even if lacks the flare of renewable energy.�

What makes Alliance Resource Partners so special is the company's focus on the future, as well as its balance sheet.

When I say "focus on the future," I have two specific meanings. First, the company does an excellent job of locking in volume and pricing commitments for the future. As of the end of its most recent quarter, it had 38 million tons of secured volume and price commitments in 2018 to go along with 17.5 million tons, 11.7 million tons, and 4.8 million tons, in 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively. For added context, the company expects coal production volume of 40 million tons to 41 million tons in 2018.�Securing deals well in advance ensures predictable cash flow and minimizes the company's exposure to wholesale fluctuations in the price of thermal and/or metallurgical coal.

Image source: Getty Images.

But I also refer to Alliance Resource Partners' export push when I reference its "focus on the future." In 2018, 7.1 million tons of its 38 million in secured volume is headed overseas -- a new record. Last year, it shipped 6.3 million tons to international markets, most of which was thermal coal.�Developing overseas markets are likely to be reliant on coal for decades after the U.S. pushes toward renewable reliance, meaning Alliance Resource Partners is angling to secure its position as a global export leader.

Finally, the company's balance sheet is in far better shape than its debt-riddled peers. With less than $480 million in net debt, the company's 40% debt-to-equity ratio gives it the financial flexibility to make acquisitions, or adjust its output, as management sees fit.

While coal may not be an ideal industry to look for a solid dividend stock, I believe you'd struggle to find a company with a yield north of 10% that's more promising than Alliance Resource Partners.