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Coronation! [RLI]

I was about 35 years old when I finally caved in and got myself some glasses. I hate wearing glasses, but not because of how they look. It’s the constant pushing them back up my nose. It’s the irritation above the ears from the constant use. Before I needed bifocals, I certainly had the option of buying contact lenses, but I chose not to. They cost more than glasses – and I already disliked having to spend any money at all on the matter.

In the 1960s, the cost of replacing a pair of contact lenses was about $200. Many of the younger cohort inclined to wear contact lenses found this replacement cost to be prohibitive. But of course, the cost wasn’t about to stop them from choosing contact lenses over glasses and so, contact lens insurance was born. One of the first contact lens insurers was founded by Gerald D. Stephens in 1965 and it became one of the largest of its kind in the United States.

Over time, the demand for the insurance diminished with the emergence of more affordable, disposable soft lenses. In order to remain competitive, Stephens began offering other types of insurance, including commercial property and liability insurance. The company eventually got out of the contract lens insurance line altogether and thrives in the property and casualty industry today. In fact, on 2025-02-13, they announced a dividend increase making this the 50th straight year of doing so. We have ourselves another Dividend King in the Royal Dividends Empire.

All hail RLI Corp!

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Coronation! [RLI]Read More »

No Purchase This Week [33]

This week is the final of three ‘off’ weeks intended to restore the $250+ per week pace of investment which became necessary with the acquisition of another share of FMCB. Read on to find out which position would have been most worthy of new money.

This week, four of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: FMCB, GRC, PPG, and SJW.

TickerAccount Value
FMCB4,084.00
GRC2,935.50
PPG3,214.40
SJW3,323.25

The lowest amount belongs to GRC. There is nothing precluding further investment in that position, other than it being an ‘off’ week.

No Purchase This Week [32]

This week is the second of three ‘off’ weeks intended to restore the $250+ per week pace of investment which became necessary with the acquisition of another share of FMCB. Read on to find out which position would have been most worthy of new money.

This week, four of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: FMCB, GRC, PPG, and SJW.

TickerAccount Value
FMCB4,052.00
GRC2,858.25
PPG3,297.00
SJW3,298.68

The lowest amount belongs to GRC. There is nothing precluding further investment in that position, other than it being an ‘off’ week.

No Purchase This Week [31]

This week is the first of three ‘off’ weeks intended to restore the $250+ per week pace of investment which became necessary with the acquisition of another share of FMCB. Read on to find out which position would have been most worthy of new money.

This week, four of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: FMCB, PPG, and SJW.

TickerAccount Value
FMCB4,041.99
PPG3,215.52
SJW3,201.66

The lowest amount belongs to SJW. There is nothing precluding further investment in that position, other than it being an ‘off’ week.

Dividend Stock of the Week [PII][8]

2025-01-25

This week four of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: FMCB, PII, PPG, and SJW.

TickerAccount Value
FMCB3,120.00
PII2,260.86
PPG3,437.84
SJW2,902.41

The lowest amount belongs to PII which last traded at $53.83. I will acquire 5 shares of PII on Monday. Please see the post on 2025-01-04 for a high-level look at PII’s performance over the last 16 years. Below, is the purchase history and average cost calculation.

Dividend Stock of the Week [PII][7]

This week, three of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: PII, PPG, and SJW.

TickerAccount Value
PII1,831.17
PPG3,366.72
SJW3,025.89

The lowest amount belongs to PII which last traded at $55.49. In addition to the usual $250+ weekly amount, there is another $250.54 of income available for reinvestment. Therefore, I will acquire 9 shares of PII on Tuesday (the market is closed on Monday). Please see the post on 2025-01-04 for a high-level look at PII’s performance over the last 16 years. Below, is the purchase history and average cost calculation.

Selling a Covered Call [VZ][2][Rev]

I cancelled my existing order:

Selling to Open: 1 April 17, 2025 $45.00 Call Option [Symbol: VZ250417C45]

Limit Order Price: Credit of $0.40 per share

And replaced it with:

Selling to Open: 1 April 17, 2025 $42.00 Call Option [Symbol: VZ250417C42]

Limit Order Price: Credit of $0.40 per share

It executed immediately. It brings in $39.49 in option premium with an 84% chance it will expire worthless. The hope is that over the next 92 days, VZ will climb back above $40.

Selling a Covered Call [LEG][2][Rev]

I cancelled my existing order:

Selling to Open: 3 March 21, 2025 $12.50 Call Options [Symbol: LEG250321C12.5]

Limit Order Price:  Credit of $0.40 per share

And replaced it with:

Selling to Open: 3 October 17, 2025 $15.00 Call Options [Symbol: LEG251017C15]

Limit Order Price:  Credit of $0.41 per share

It executed immediately. It brings in $121.46 in option premium with an 87% chance they will expire worthless. The hope is that over the next 277 days, LEG begins to close the gap between where it is trading at $10 and the $15 strike.

Dividend Stock of the Week [PII][6]

This week, three of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: PII, PPG, and SJW.

TickerAccount Value
PII1,300.56
PPG3,169.04
SJW2,864.61

The lowest amount belongs to PII which last traded at $54.19. In addition to the usual $250+ weekly amount, there is another $256.18 of income available for reinvestment. Therefore, I will acquire 9 shares of PII on Monday. Please see the post on 2025-01-04 for a high-level look at PII’s performance over the last 16 years. Below, is the purchase history and average cost calculation.

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Dividend Stock of the Week [PII][6]Read More »

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