The Top 25 High-Yield Dividend Aristocrats
Dividend-paying companies are an oasis in the desert of underperforming stocks. They offer solid payouts today and the promise of capital gains tomorrow. According to a study by Ibbotson, reinvested dividends made up about 40% of total stock returns from 1926 to 2006. In fact, dividend investing is so appealing that super investor Warren Buffett has made it a significant component of his portfolio.
When searching for great dividend stocks, it makes a lot of sense to start with companies that have been playing the dividend game the longest. Standard & Poor's has culled the dividend winners from the also-rans in a list it calls the "Dividend Aristocrats." But Standard & Poor's has also created another similar index that it calls the High Yield Dividend Aristocrats.
According to Standard & Poor's, "The S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats index is designed to measure the performance of the 60 highest dividend yielding S&P Composite 1500 constituents which have followed a managed dividends policy of consistently increasing dividends every year for at least 25 years."
Let's examine the top 25 high-yield dividend aristocrats ranked by yield. For context, I've also included their five-year annualized dividend growth rate.
Company | Yield | 5-Year Dividend Growth Rate |
|---|---|---|
CenturyLink (NYS: CTL) | 8.3% | 63.9% |
Pitney Bowes (NYS: PBI) | 7.6% | 3.1% |
Mercury General (NYS: MCY) | 6.3% | 5.6% |
National Retail Properties (NYS: NNN) | 6.2% | 3.2% |
Cincinnati Financial (NAS: CINF) | 6.0% | 4.6% |
HCP (NYS: HCP) | 5.5% | (5.7%) |
Leggett & Platt (NYS: LEG) | 5.4% | 10.7% |
Vectren (NYS: VVC) | 5.3% | 2.6% |
Universal Corp (NYS: UVV) | 5.0% | 2.2% |
Black Hills Corp (NYS: BKH) | 4.9% | 2.2% |
Consolidated Edison (NYS: ED) | 4.4% | 0.9% |
Atmos Energy (NYS: ATO) | 4.2% | 1.5% |
Kimberly Clark (NYS: KMB) | 4.2% | 7.7% |
RPM International (NYS: RPM) | 4.2% | 5.8% |
WGL Holdings (NYSE: WGL ) | 4.0% | 2.7% |
Diebold (NYS: DBD) | 4.0% | 5.5% |
Piedmont Natural Gas (NYS: PNY) | 3.9% | 4.0% |
Northwest Natural Gas (NYS: NWN) | 3.9% | 4.8% |
Sonoco Products (NYS: SON) | 3.9% | 4.0% |
Abbott Laboratories (NYS: ABT) | 3.8% | 10.0% |
UGI Corp (NYS: UGI) | 3.6% | 8.2% |
Johnson & Johnson (NYS: JNJ) | 3.5% | 9.9% |
Westamerica Bancorp. (NAS: WABC) | 3.5% | 2.7% |
Genuine Parts (NYS: GPC) | 3.5% | 5.8% |
Clorox (NYS: CLX) | 3.4% | 14.4% |
Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's.
These aren't formal recommendations -- just ideas for your own further research. Still, they could give you a great start toward find companies capable of paying rising dividends for a quarter-century or more.
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At the time thisarticle was published Jim Royal, Ph.D.,owns shares of Johnson & Johnson.The Motley Fool owns shares of Clorox, Johnson & Johnson, and Abbott.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Johnson & Johnson, Piedmont Natural Gas, Clorox, Kimberly Clark, Abbott, and UGI, as well as creating a diagonal call position in Johnson & Johnson. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
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