Dividend Aristocrat Aflac Inc. (AFL) recently increased its dividend by almost 18%. This is a massive increase, especially since the company has compounded its dividend at a rate of 6.6% over the last decade.

Shares of the company have increased 15.4% since I last looked at the company, but Aflac's stock continues to trade with a single-digit price-earnings multiple.

Let's dig deeper into the company to see why Aflac remains a buy following the most recent dividend increase.

Quarterly highlights

Aflac reported third-quarter earnings results on Oct. 27. Net earnings grew 217% to $2.46 billion. This

According to the GuruFocus All-in-One Screener, a Premium feature, the following companies have high business predictability ratings and wide margins of safety as of Sept. 22.

Biogen

Biogen Inc. (BIIB) has a business predictability rank of five out of five stars and, according to the discounted cash flow calculator, a 72.39% margin of safety at an average price of $268.30 per share.

The company, which operates in the drug manufacturers industry, has a market cap of $42.48 billion and an enterprise value of $45.97 billion. Over the past five years, its revenue and earnings per share have increased

Whenever the market has a temper tantrum and decides to sell everything, it often throws out good stocks along with the bad. This can lead to a situation where the dividend yield is considerably higher than usual. This is what investors refer to as an accidently high yielder.

One excellent example of this is Aflac Inc. (AFL). Shares of Aflac sold off along with the rest of the market in March as the Covid-19 pandemic spooked the market and resulted in dramatic selloffs in nearly every industry. Shares of Aflac have recovered somewhat from the lows, but the stock sits

The Smead Value Fund (Trades, Portfolio) manages a $949 million portfolio composed of 28 stocks. It sold shares of the following stocks during the second quarter of 2020.

Occidental Petroleum

The fund exited its position in Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY). The trade had an impact of -5.42% on the portfolio.

The independent oil and gas exploration company has a market cap of $15.57 billion and an enterprise value of $63.05 billion.

GuruFocus gives the company a profitability and growth rating of 6 out of 10. The return on equity of

The following insurance companies have grown their earnings per share over a five-year period. According to the GuruFocus discounted cash flow calculator as of July 8, all of them also trade with a margin of safety.

Arch Capital

Arch Capital Group Ltd.'s (ACGL) earnings per share have grown 11.20% per annum over the past five years.

According to the DCF calculator, the stock is undervalued with a 20.67% margin of safety at $27.51 per share. The price-earnings ratio is 8.82. The share price has been as high as $48.32 and as low as

The portfolio that my wife and I are building has been publicly tracked since 2015 on a different platform. As this is the first posting of our portfolio’s performance on GuruFocus, I would like to give some background information about us and our investment goals and strategies.

Investment goals and strategies

We have nicknamed our portfolio “The March to Freedom” because we believe that investing is a long game and that there are no short-term solutions to creating a portfolio that can be used to pay for retirement.

Our portfolio consists of our Roth Individual Retirement Accounts and a workplace

Lemonade Inc.’s (LMND) stock gained 139% after its initial public offering on Thursday, July 2. The stock opened from the primary market at a price of $29 and ended the day at $69.41. Investors are interested in the stock for several reasons. The company uses an innovative artificial intelligence system to process claims at speeds of potentially three seconds. The company is also part of a new wave of emerging technology in the insurance industry, offering customers a much faster, fully online experience.

Benefit Corporation Status

Lemonade is one of few companies now holding

Due to the timing of contributions to our IRAs, my wife and I were able to make three new stock purchases over the last two weeks. We invest nearly all of our retirement capital in dividend growth stocks, as we plan to live off dividend income when we are able to retire in 20 years or so.

When selecting investments, we look at dividend growth stocks stocks trading below the 10-year average valuation, which gives a margin of safety. Here are the purchases we made and our reasons for doing so.

Pfizer

We purchased shares of Pfizer Inc. (PFE) on

The Smead Value Fund (Trades, Portfolio) sold shares of the following stocks during the first quarter of 2020.

Aflac

The firm trimmed the Aflac Inc. (AFL) position by 57.71%. The portfolio was impacted by -2.27%.

The company offers health and life insurance. It has a market cap of $25.77 billion and an enterprise value of $28.38 billion.

GuruFocus gives the company a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10. The return on equity of 10.57% and return on assets of 1.95% are outperforming 58% of companies in the

John Hussman (Trades, Portfolio)’s Hussman Strategic Advisors sold shares of the following stocks during the first quarter of 2020.

Hannon Armstrong

The firm sold out of Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital (HASI). The portfolio was impacted by -0.92%.

The company, which provides financing of debt and equity to the energy markets, has a market cap of $1.87 billion and an enterprise value of $3.26 billion.

GuruFocus gives the company a profitability and growth rating of 6 out of 10. The return on equity of 9.4% and return on assets of 3.7%

According to the GuruFocus All-in-One Screener, a Premium feature, the following companies have grown their book value per share over the past decade through April 13.

Book value per share is calculated as total equity minus preferred stock, divided by shares outstanding. Theoretically, it is what shareholders will receive if a company is liquidated. Total equity is a balance sheet item and is equal to total assets minus total liabilities.

Since the book value per share may not reflect the company’s true value, some investors check the tangible book value to confirm their investment ideas.

Arch Capital Group

The

Due in large part to the spread of the coronavirus, markets have suffered steep declines over the past two weeks. The declines in the index have been breathtaking. For example, it took the S&P 500 just six trading days to enter into correction territory, the fastest time in its history.

There has been almost no place for investors to hide during this time, which is why the 10-Year Treasury note had seen a significant decline in yield as investors flooded into what might appear as the only safe haven currently in the market. The 10-year note yielded 1.30% as recently

Known for duck mascot, U.S. insurance company Aflac Inc. (AFL) garners 70% of its revenue from its Japanese business, where it is the oldest and biggest cancer insurance provider. In the U.S., most of its business comes from providing supplemental insurance products (i.e., disability insurance) offered through employers via payroll deductions.

Aflac is a steady performer, having paid increasing dividends for 38 years, and is a so-called "dividend aristocrat."

This works out to a yield of 2.7% and a payout ratio of 25%.

This coronavirus downturn has presented a rare opportunity to acquire this dividend

The Smead Value Fund (Trades, Portfolio) recently disclosed its portfolio updates for the fourth quarter of 2019. During the quarter, the fund sold out of its position in AmerisourceBergen Corp. (ABC), reduced its holdings of Aflac Inc. (AFL) and NVR Inc. (NVR) and added to its holdings in several companies, most notably Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) and Macerich Co. (MAC).

The fund’s investing strategy is based on large-cap stocks that meet an economic need, have a strong competitive advantage, have a long history of profitability and strong operating metrics, generate high levels of free chase flow, are

According to the GuruFocus All-In-One Screener, the following companies have grown their book value per share over the past decade.

Book value per share is calculated as total equity minus preferred stock, divided by shares outstanding. Theoretically, it is what shareholders will receive if a company is liquidated. Total equity is a balance sheet item and equal to total assets minus total liabilities. Since the book value per share may not reflect the company’s true value, some investors check the tangible book value to confirm their investment ideas.

CSX Corp

The book value per share of CSX Corp. (