Wednesday, July 29, 2015

8 Select High-Yield S&P 500 Dividend Stocks

The S&P 500 Index is owned and maintained by Standard & Poor's, a division of McGraw-Hill. The index was first published in 1957 and is the second most recognized index in the U.S. behind only the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Stocks included in the S&P 500 are large publicly companies that trade on either the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ.

Most of the stocks are U.S. based companies. However, there are a few companies with headquarters incorporated outside of the U.S. For many investors, the S&P 500 represents the U.S. stock market and this index is used as a benchmark for many portfolios.

Not all stocks in the index pay dividends, but many of the best known dividend growth stocks are part of the index. The dividend Aristocrats is a subset of the S&P 500 and is limited to stocks that have increased their dividend for 25 or more years.

This week week, I screened my dividend growth stocks database for stocks that are members of the S&P 500, have a yield of 4% or more and have increased their dividend for 10 or more consecutive years. The results are presented below:

People's United Financial Inc. (PBCT) provides a full range of banking and financial service products to individuals, corporations and municipal customers in the U.S. Northeast. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1993 and has increased its dividend payments for 18 consecutive years. Yield: 4.1%

Consolidated Edison, Inc. (ED) is an electric and gas utility holding company serves parts of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1885 and has increased its dividend payments for 42 consecutive years. Yield: 4.3%

Duke Energy Corp. (DUK) merged with Progress Energy in mid-2012, and is the largest electric power holding company in the U.S., serving more than 7 million customers in six states. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1926 and has increased its dividend payments for 11 consecutive years. Yield: 4.6%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) is the largest U.S. wireless carrier, Verizon also offers wireline and broadband services primarily in the northeastern U.S. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1984 and has increased its dividend payments for 11 consecutive years. Yield: 4.8%

Southern Company (SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company and is one of the largest producers of electricity in the U.S. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1948 and has increased its dividend payments for 14 consecutive years. Yield: 5.1%

AT&T Inc. (T) provides telephone and broadband service and holds full ownership of AT&T Mobility (formerly Cingular Wireless). The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1984 and has increased its dividend payments for 32 consecutive years. Yield: 5.5%

ConocoPhillips Co. (COP) is of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) companies in the world, COP spun off its downstream assets in May 2012. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1934 and has increased its dividend payments for 15 consecutive years. Yield: 5.7%

Health Care Property Investors, Inc. (HCP) is a California based equity-oriented real estate investment trust that has direct or joint venture investments in health care-related facilities across the U.S. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1985 and has increased its dividend payments for 30 consecutive years. Yield: 5.9%

As with past screens, the data presented above is in its raw form. Some of the the companies would be disqualified for poor dividend fundamentals. However some of the others may be worth additional due diligence.

My database, D4L-Data, is an Open Office spreadsheet containing more than 20 columns of information on the 250+ companies that I track. The data is sortable and has built-in buttons and macros to make it easy to use. Companies included in the list are those that have had a history of dividend growth. The D4L-Data spreadsheet is a part of D4L-Premium Services and is updated each Saturday for subscribers.

Full Disclosure: Long PBCT, ED, T, COP, HCP in my Dividend Growth Stocks Portfolio and long DUK, VZ, SO in my High-Yield Portfolio. See a list of all my dividend growth holdings here.

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(Photo: Steve Woods)


Tags: PBCT, ED, DUK, VZ, SO, T, COP, HCP,