TencentSecurities, March 3 (Xinhua)-- in the US stock market, there is a unique class of stocks known as "dividend kings" that provide investors with an amazing record of annual dividend growth.
In dividend stocks, the so-called "elite" refers to companies in the S & P 500 that have raised dividends once a year for 25 years in a row, while "dividend king" refers to companies that have raised dividends every year for at least 50 years in a row.
After the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, the appeal of the "dividend king" to investors should be obvious. Affected by the uncertainty related to the epidemic, many dividend stocks have cut or even suspended dividends, including large banks.Wells Fargo & Co(stock code: WFC) and the giant automakerFord(stock symbol: F) andGeneral Motors Co(stock code: GM), etc. By contrast, the past dividend records of the following eight stocks are more reliable.
Market capitalization: $424.3 billion
Dividend yield: 2.6%
Number of years in which dividends have been raised continuously: 58
As the ancestor of low-risk-return stocks, Johnson & Johnson (stock code: JNJ) is favored by dividend stock investors. The company is huge, with a market capitalization of well over $400 billion, making it one of the top 20 stocks in the United States, with annual revenues of more than $90 billion. Johnson & Johnson's dividend yield is 2.6 per cent, significantly better than the current average of about 1.6 per cent for S & P 500 companies. Moreover, the company has a history of raising dividends for nearly 60 years, which makes it one of the "dividend kings".
In addition, Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine has just been urgently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has become the focus of the spotlight, which makes its stock more attractive. That is why Johnson & Johnson's share price has recently reached an all-time high.
Market capitalization: $212.5 billion
Dividend yield: 3.4%
Number of years in which dividends have been raised continuously: 59
"God of stocks" Warren Buffett (Warren Buffet) began to buy Coca-Cola Company's (stock code: KA) shares as early as 1988, shortly after the Black Monday crash. Now, Buffett'sBerkshireHathaway Inc. (Berkshire Hathaway) owns a $22 billion stake in Coca-Cola Company, in part because Buffett is keen on dividend shares, which are few comparable to Coca-Cola Company.
Coca-Cola Company has been paying dividends to shareholders for more than a century. For the past 59 years, the company has raised its dividend at least once a year. The most recent increase was announced in February, when the company raised its dividend slightly by 2.4% to 41 cents a share.
Coca-Cola Company not only has a strong beverage brand, but is also evolving to adapt to changing consumer tastes, including the acquisition of the popular Costa Coffee brand in 2019, the launch of Coca-Cola Company-branded energy drinks in 2020, and the recent announcement that its US bottling business will use 100% recyclable materials to attract environmentally conscious shoppers.
3、3M
Market capitalization: $102.2 billion
Dividend yield: 3.4%
Number of years in which dividends have been raised continuously: 63
Chemical giant 3M Company (stock code: MMM) is sitting on a wide range of products, including adhesives, bed sheets, filters and laboratory supplies, just a few of its many products.
While its brand N95 mask received a lot of attention in the early stages of the outbreak, it is important for income investors to focus on the breadth of their business, not a high-profile product. The reality is that due to 3M Company's market capitalization of US $100 billion and its deep relationship with many industries, the overall strength of the company far exceeds the simple sum of the various parts. this diversified source of income helps to support the company's sustainable dividend increase.
But 3M Company's share price fell by about 20 per cent in 2018 because of earnings problems, causing its dividend to grow slowly, raising the dividend by less than 1 per cent to $1.48 in 2021. But in the long run, 3M Company has proved to be able to reliably provide dividends to investors and is a very stable industrial stock, which is well suited to be included in the portfolio of most income investors.
Market capitalization: $51.5 billion
Dividend yield: 2.4%
Number of years in which dividends have been raised continuously: 64
Like other dividend kings, EMR Electric (stock code: Emerson) attracts investors in part because it is a multi-disciplinary company that designs technical and engineering products for a variety of uses, including oil and gas company instruments, programmable thermostats, furnace ignition systems, valves and sensors used in the food and beverage industries.
Particularly noteworthy is its life sciences department, which has received a lot of attention recently because it is part of a "drug cold chain" that helps keep sensitive drugs such as COVID-19 vaccines at the right temperatures and keep them effective.
The company has deep roots and its history dates back to 1890, when it was one of the first manufacturers of electric motors. The company has been paying dividends since 1947 and has raised dividends every year for 64 years in a row.
Market capitalization: $306.2 billion
Dividend yield: 2.6%
Number of years in which dividends have been raised continuously: 64
Personal care giant Procter & Gamble Co (stock code: PG), a large company with a market capitalization of $300 billion, has long been considered a stock that should be held forever.
Although powerful brands such as Gillette razors, Pampers diapers, Charmin toilet paper and tide detergents are largely unaffected by the novel coronavirus pandemic, it is worth noting that Procter & Gamble Co is not without a short-term headwind. The pandemic has led some people to reduce their beauty products as people have to be quarantined at home as a result of the epidemic, resulting in a decline in demand for beauty. However, this reason is not enough to prompt investors to flee the time-tested "dividend king". Procter & Gamble Co has paid cash dividends for 130 years in a row and has raised them in each of the past 64 years.
Market capitalization: $17.7 billion
Dividend yield: 1.6%
Number of years in which dividends have been raised continuously: 65
Duford (stock code: DOV) is the kind of "boring" industrial company that many investors ignore, but it has actually outperformed the S & P 500 by several percentage points over the past five years. The industrial group was founded in 1955 to produce products ranging from hydraulic pumps to refrigeration equipment to oil and gasoline-related businesses. Profit and revenue growth in these segments was modest, but the business was reliable and allowed the company to raise dividends for 65 years in a row.
Last year, Dufu raised its annual dividend by only half a cent, or about 1 per cent, in part because the novel coronavirus epidemic disrupted the company's business. However, the company's share price recently exceeded its high in early 2020, suggesting that its business is stabilising-and perhaps more growth in 2021.
7、Sisco
Market capitalization: $41 billion
Dividend yield: 2.3%
Number of years in which dividends have been raised continuously: 51
Sisco (Stock Code: SYY) is a well-known catering service company that provides services to schools, hospitals and restaurants. Needless to say, the novel coronavirus pandemic has had a big negative impact on Sisco, but its share price has roughly doubled from the low it hit last year and returned to pre-pandemic levels. In fact, most of the negatives have been priced in, with its share price up about 9% since early February, when the company reported an 82% year-on-year drop in second-quarter profit.
A series of acquisitions in recent years, coupled with the size of the company itself, have ensured that Sisco will regain dominance when public catering returns to normal. But there is an important red flag when it comes to dividends: Sisco has not raised its quarterly dividend since it announced an increase of 15.4 per cent to 45 cents a share in November 2019. If Mr Sisco does not raise his dividend sometime in 2021, it will be difficult to maintain his status as dividend king.
8. Hormel
Market capitalization: $25 billion
Dividend yield: 2.1%
Number of years in which dividends have been raised continuously: 55
Packaged food giant Hormel (stock code: HRL) has popular consumer brands that range from branded chili and pepperoni to Dinty Moore stew, House of Zang sauce, Skippy peanut butter and many other similar products. In fact, according to Hormel, the company has more than 40 brands that rank first or second in their product categories.
The reliability of sales translates into huge reliability of dividends, allowing the company to raise its dividend for 55 years in a row, most recently by 5% in November. Hormel has been paying dividends in some form for nearly a century, dating back to 1928 when the company first went public.
Recently, Hormel announced a $3.4 billion acquisition of nut giant Planters, and it is certain that Hormel's products will continue to occupy the cabinets of American consumers and a place in the portfolio of dividend investors for many years to come. (nebula)