If you are looking for income as your primary purpose for investing in dividend stocks, this list of candidates is for you! Those needing current income, such as retirees, would find this list helpful.
The 27 stocks below have been selected for their high(er) yield, reliability of performance, and the safety of the dividend. You won’t find many stocks with ridiculously high and unsustainable dividends that get all of the attention. You will find, instead, stable companies with a track record of delivering continuously increasing dividends at a yield that’s higher than the S&P 500 current yield.
Sometimes (most of the time?) an appealingly high yield is an indicator of trouble. We feel that the top range of sustainable yield is 4.5%; above it’s likely to come down, either through a dividend cut, or less often, the price climbing (which reduces yield). Please use this list as a starting point for further research, and proceed with caution.
TOP DIVIDEND INCOME STOCKS BY SECTOR
Our screen found a total of 27 stocks matched our criteria, out of this month’s universe of 745 dividend stocks with five years or more of increasing dividends.
BASIC MATERIALS
Sector Averages | Yield: 3.8 | Reliability: 3.2 | Income Rating: 3.6
» (STLD) Steel Dynamics Inc ~ Steel [ 3.8 | 2 | 4.1 | Q 2 ]
» (SWM) Schweitzer-Mauduit International Inc ~ Forest Products [ 5.66 | 4 | 3.3 | X 3 ]
» (CE) Celanese Corp ~ Chemicals [ 2.87 | 3.5 | 3.4 | Q 3 + ]
» (EMN) Eastman Chemical Co ~ Chemicals [ 3.7 | 2 | 3.8 | X 2 ]
» (ODC) Oil-Dri Corp of America ~ Chemicals [ 2.97 | 4.5 | 3.6 | Q 2 ]
COMMUNICATION SERVICES
» (OMC) Omnicom Group Inc ~ Media – Diversified [ 4.83 | 4 | 3 | X 2 ]
CONSUMER CYCLICAL
Sector Averages | Yield: 3.2 | Reliability: 3 | Income Rating: 3.5
» (PKG) Packaging Corp of America ~ Packaging & Containers [ 3.2 | 2.5 | 3.3 | Q 1 ]
» (MGA) Magna International Inc ~ Vehicles & Parts [ 3.34 | 3 | 3.9 | Q 2 + ]
» (DKS) Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc ~ Retail – Cyclical [ 2.95 | 3.5 | 3.3 | X 4 ]
CONSUMER DEFENSIVE
» (INGR) Ingredion Inc ~ Consumer Packaged Goods [ 3.11 | 2 | 3.3 | X 1 ]
ENERGY
» (MPC) Marathon Petroleum Corp ~ Oil & Gas [ 6.13 | 2.5 | 4.4 | Q 3 ]
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Sector Averages | Yield: 3.4 | Reliability: 3.4 | Income Rating: 3.9
» (EIG) Employers Holdings Inc ~ Insurance [ 3.16 | 2 | 3.3 | X 1 + ]
» (AFG) American Financial Group Inc ~ Insurance [ 2.95 | 2 | 4.2 | X 1 ]
» (RGA) Reinsurance Group of America Inc ~ Insurance [ 3.98 | 4.5 | 4.6 | Q 2 ]
» (TRV) The Travelers Companies Inc ~ Insurance [ 2.91 | 4 | 3.9 | X 1 ]
» (FAF) First American Financial Corp ~ Insurance [ 3.6 | 4.5 | 3.8 | Q 2 ]
» (EV) Eaton Vance Corp ~ Asset Management [ 3.96 | 3.5 | 3.7 | Q 3 + ]
» (AFL) Aflac Inc ~ Insurance [ 3.15 | 3 | 3.9 | X 1 + ]
HEALTHCARE
Sector Averages | Yield: 4.2 | Reliability: 3.8 | Income Rating: 3.6
» (WBA) Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc ~ Healthcare Providers & Services [ 4.56 | 4 | 3.4 | X 3 ]
» (CAH) Cardinal Health Inc ~ Medical Distribution [ 3.91 | 3.5 | 3.7 | X 2 ]
INDUSTRIALS
Sector Averages | Yield: 3.4 | Reliability: 3.6 | Income Rating: 3.7
» (CMI) Cummins Inc ~ Industrial Products [ 3.02 | 4 | 3.3 | X 2 ]
» (GATX) GATX Corp ~ Business Services [ 3.13 | 3.5 | 3.9 | Q 3 + ]
» (RTX) Raytheon Technologies Corp ~ Aerospace & Defense [ 4.49 | 3 | 4 | X 3 + ]
» (MGRC) McGrath RentCorp ~ Business Services [ 3.01 | 4 | 3.6 | Q 2 + ]
TECHNOLOGY
» (IBM) International Business Machines Corp ~ Software [ 5.48 | 2 | 3 | X 3 ]
UTILITIES
Sector Averages | Yield: 4.6 | Reliability: 4.3 | Income Rating: 3.7
» (BIP) Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP ~ Utilities – Regulated [ 5.05 | 4 | 3.9 | Q 3 + ]
» (UGI) UGI Corp ~ Utilities – Regulated [ 4.23 | 4.5 | 3.4 | Q 2 ]
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Please Note: This information is not an offer to buy stocks, but just a list that has been narrowed down as starting point for your further research. We always recommend further due diligence before making your decision to invest or not.
‘+’ indicates upward direction of DivSys™ score for stocks with positive 10 year dividend growth rates, basically giving us enough years of performance to mathematically determine if they are doing better or doing worse over time.
‘Q’ indicates a stock in the top 30% of all stocks in the DivSys Universe.
‘X’ indicates a stock not in the top 30% of all stocks in the DivSys Universe.
A number at the end indicates the Class of the stock, 1 for first class, etc.
‘♥’ indicates an all-time, reliable favorite well-suited for most portfolios.