Cisco (CSCO): A High Yield Stock With a Fast-Growing Dividend and Low Expectations
Cisco (CSCO) is a rather unusual dividend stock because it offers a relatively high yield near 4% but has grown its payout at a fast clip, including a 12% boost earlier this year. In fact, the company’s quarterly dividend payment has increased from 6 cents per share in 2011 to 29 cents most recently, nearly quintupling over the course of six years. With Cisco's stock trading off on the company's latest earnings report and sporting at a relatively low forward P/E ratio of 14.3, let's take a closer look to see if this company is appealing for conservative investors living off dividends or if it could be a value trap. If you are interested in Cisco because of [...]
Air Products & Chemicals (APD): A Dividend Aristocrat With Improving Payout Growth Prospects
Air Products & Chemicals (APD), is one of the few (51 S&P 500 companies) to make it into the dividend aristocrat club, meaning that it's been raising its dividend for at least 25 consecutive years. In fact, since 1983 Air Products has been growing its dividend at an annual rate of 9.6%, which has not only resulted in exponentially growing income for shareholders, but also decades of market-beating total returns (10.5% annual total return vs 8.7% for the S&P 500 over the last 22 years). However, the key to such consistent success is being able to evolve with changing market and industrial conditions, which in recent years have been rather challenging for APD and resulted in much slower payout growth [...]
Sherwin-Williams (SHW): A Dividend Aristocrat With Nearly 40 Consecutive Years of Higher Payouts
Sherwin-Williams (SHW) is one of 51 dividend aristocrats and has annually increased dividends each year since 1979 while outperforming the market by more than 9% per year over the last decade. While watching paint dry has been anything but boring with coatings producer Sherwin-Williams, past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Let's take a closer look at Sherwin-Williams to learn more about its long-term competitive advantages, assess the potential of its large acquisition of Valspar, and see if the stock's valuation could be attractive today for dividend growth investors. Business Overview Sherwin-Williams has been in business since 1866 and is the largest producer of paints and coatings in the U.S. and third-largest worldwide. The company primarily serves the [...]
Dover (DOV): 62 Straight Years of Dividend Growth and Double-Digit Total Return Potential
Dividend Kings, companies with 50+ straight years of dividend growth, are the epitome of dependable long-term income growth investments. Dover (DOV), an industrial blue chip, is even more impressive having grown its payout 9% annually over the past 30 years, and the company is about to announce its 62nd consecutive annual dividend increase. Let's take a closer look at why Dover has proven to be such a consistent dividend grower, what investors can expect going forward, and if now could be a reasonable time to add this dividend king to a diversified income portfolio. Investors seeking greater current income than the 2.3% yield Dover offers can review some of the best high dividend stocks here instead. Business Overview Founded [...]
McCormick (MKC): A Dividend Aristocrat With Double-Digit Total Return Potential
Dividend aristocrats, S&P 500 companies that have proven to have stable and resilient enough business models to raise dividends for 25+ consecutive years, can be a great place to go looking for new income growth ideas. Let's take a look at McCormick (MKC), a dividend aristocrat whose wide moat business has allowed it to raise its dividend by 11% annually for the last 31 years. Even more impressively, the company has paid an uninterrupted quarterly dividend for the past 91 years, proving its dedication to rewarding dividend investors. Specifically, let's find out what makes McCormick such a stable blue chip, and more importantly if it's likely to be able to continue its impressive growth record in the coming years. [...]
Leggett & Platt (LEG): A Future Dividend King With Accelerating Payout Growth
With 46 straight years of dividend increases to its name, Leggett & Platt (LEG) is a dividend aristocrat and very close to becoming a dividend king, an even more exclusive club with members boasting 50+ consecutive years of payout increases. What makes Leggett & Platt an even more interesting investment candidate is that over the past 30 years it has rewarded dividend investors with an impressive 10.8% annual payout growth rate. Even more intriguing? While many dividend aristocrats and kings are widely followed blue chips, Leggett & Platt is a relatively small and under-followed name. So let's take a look to see if Leggett is a potentially good long-term income growth investment, as well as whether now could be a reasonable time to buy [...]
Nucor (NUE): A Dividend Aristocrat That Could Benefit From the Trump Administration
Nucor (NUE) has increased its dividend for 44 consecutive years – every year since it first began paying dividends in 1973. For a company operating in the cyclical steel market, this level of consistency is very impressive. Nucor possesses a number of competitive advantages that have helped it navigate the many ups and downs the of the steel market, and the company could also be a large beneficiary of the Trump administration's plans to limit steel imports. Let's take a closer look at this dividend aristocrat to see if it could be a high quality and timely investment idea for long-term dividend growth investors to consider. Business Overview Nucor manufactures steel products in the U.S. and [...]
American States Water (AWR): The Longest Dividend Growth Streak in America
Companies that have consistently increased their dividends over the course of several decades are often some of the most resilient businesses in the market. Dividend kings are especially popular with income investors because they have boosted their payouts for at least 50 consecutive years. American States Water (AWR) is a small cap and under-followed dividend king with 63 straight years of dividend increases under its belt, the longest payout growth streak in the U.S. Let's take a closer look at American States Water to better understand its competitive advantages, assess how quickly its dividend could grow in the future, and evaluate if today's valuation makes sense for investors, especially those seeking safe high yield stocks. Business Overview Founded in [...]
Clorox (CLX): An Industry Leader With 40 Straight Years of Dividend Growth
Dividend aristocrats, S&P 500 companies with 25+ years of consecutive dividend growth, can make a great starting point in the search high-quality income investments. Among the dividend aristocrats, consumer products conglomerates are one of the most popular choices, thanks to their recession resistant business models and low volatility. Warren Buffett owns a number of consumer products companies in his dividend portfolio here, too. With 40 straight years of dividend growth, including 9.6% annual payout growth over the past 30 years, and a number of iconic brands, let's take a look to see if Clorox (CLX) still represents one of the best long-term investment options. Business Overview Founded in 1913 in Oakland, California, Clorox is today [...]
S&P Global (SPGI): A Fast-Growing Dividend Aristocrat With a Wide Moat
With 30 consecutive years of dividend increases under its belt, S&P Global (SPGI) is a member of the dividend aristocrats. S&P Global is one of the most unique companies in this group for a number of reasons, making it an interesting stock to keep an eye on for long-term dividend growth investors. The company's business model requires very little capital, generates excellent free cash flow, and enjoys a handful of significant competitive advantages. While SPGI's yield is much lower than the payouts offered by some of the best high dividend stocks here, S&P's double-digit growth potential and large moat can still make this company an interesting consideration for a long-term dividend growth portfolio. Business Overview Founded in [...]