Dividend stocks are the stocks of companies that pay a regular to their shareholders. The payment of regular dividends back to the stockholders is an indication of the long-term stability and well-established nature of a company.
Thus, investors looking for regular short-term income prefer to invest in the best dividend stocks. It helps them attain steady long-term capital gains and build long-term wealth, in addition to the short-term dividend income.
Additionally, dividend stocks also serve as solid investments in variable economic scenarios. Even at times of economic downturns, recession, and monetary unsteadiness, dividend stocks have proven to provide stable and secure returns on investments.
Ticker | Company Name | Last Price | 1-Year Return | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABBV | AbbVie, Inc. | $211.15 | 16.53% | 373.1B |
| ABT | Abbott Laboratories | $126.32 | 6.29% | 219.1B |
| ADM | Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. | $47.38 | -18.61% | 22.7B |
| ADP | Automatic Data Processing, Inc. | $292.16 | 20.11% | 118.8B |
| AFL | Aflac, Inc. | $106.82 | 27.82% | 59.3B |
| AOS | A. O. Smith Corp. | $66.39 | -23.35% | 7.9B |
| APD | Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. | $291.99 | 19.11% | 64.9B |
| BDX | Becton, Dickinson & Co. | $224.90 | -5.17% | 65.2B |
| BEN | Franklin Resources, Inc. | $19.45 | -28.07% | 10.2B |
| BF.B | Brown-Forman Corp. | $34.99 | -34.37% | 16.6B |
| CAH | Cardinal Health, Inc. | $127.56 | 16.04% | 30.9B |
| CAT | Caterpillar, Inc. | $339.02 | -0.85% | 163.7B |
| CB | Chubb Ltd. | $292.11 | 13.38% | 117.0B |
| CINF | Cincinnati Financial Corp. | $144.80 | 20.86% | 22.6B |
| CL | Colgate-Palmolive Co. | $89.71 | 1.54% | 73.3B |
| CLX | The Clorox Co. | $147.16 | -2.97% | 18.2B |
| CTAS | Cintas Corp. | $192.37 | 22.19% | 77.6B |
| CVX | Chevron Corp. | $156.65 | 0.61% | 281.5B |
| DOV | Dover Corp. | $179.81 | 2.71% | 24.7B |
| ECL | Ecolab, Inc. | $249.10 | 10.79% | 70.5B |
| ED | Consolidated Edison, Inc. | $105.78 | 19.30% | 37.4B |
| EMR | Emerson Electric Co. | $111.48 | 0.97% | 63.6B |
| FRT | Federal Realty Investment Trust | $95.50 | -3.87% | 8.1B |
| GD | General Dynamics Corp. | $261.90 | -4.90% | 72.1B |
| GPC | Genuine Parts Co. | $121.71 | -19.86% | 16.9B |
| GWW | W.W. Grainger, Inc. | $962.31 | -2.96% | 46.9B |
| HRL | Hormel Foods Corp. | $29.55 | -12.37% | 16.2B |
| ITW | Illinois Tool Works, Inc. | $253.41 | -4.34% | 74.9B |
| JNJ | Johnson & Johnson | $162.67 | 2.17% | 391.6B |
| KMB | Kimberly-Clark Corp. | $139.28 | 11.59% | 46.2B |
| KO | The Coca-Cola Co. | $68.94 | 13.95% | 296.9B |
| LEG | Leggett & Platt, Inc. | $8.08 | -56.47% | 1.1B |
| LIN | Linde Plc | $454.90 | -4.02% | 216.6B |
| LOW | Lowe's Cos., Inc. | $224.07 | -8.40% | 126.5B |
| MCD | McDonald's Corp. | $300.31 | 6.59% | 215.2B |
| MDT | Medtronic Plc | $93.01 | 10.21% | 119.3B |
| MKC | McCormick & Co., Inc. | $80.27 | 18.08% | 21.5B |
| MMM | 3M Co. | $149.92 | 73.88% | 80.8B |
| NUE | Nucor Corp. | $131.29 | -27.90% | 30.8B |
| PBCT | People's United Financial, Inc. | #N/A | #N/A | #N/A |
| PEP | PepsiCo, Inc. | $148.38 | -9.95% | 203.6B |
| PG | Procter & Gamble Co. | $167.20 | 3.53% | 392.1B |
| PNR | Pentair Plc | $85.60 | 6.19% | 14.1B |
| PPG | PPG Industries, Inc. | $113.08 | -18.62% | 26.2B |
| ROP | Roper Technologies, Inc. | $568.53 | 3.92% | 61.0B |
| SHW | The Sherwin-Williams Co. | $341.56 | 1.98% | 86.1B |
| SPGI | S&P Global, Inc. | $482.28 | 13.89% | 162.5B |
| SWK | Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. | $80.84 | -9.77% | 12.5B |
| SYY | Sysco Corp. | $73.01 | -8.77% | 35.7B |
| T | AT&T, Inc. | $26.33 | 54.79% | 188.9B |
| TGT | Target Corp. | $104.40 | -36.46% | 47.8B |
| TROW | T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. | $92.83 | -19.22% | 20.6B |
| VFC | VF Corp. | $16.56 | 13.42% | 6.5B |
| WBA | Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. | $11.24 | -45.49% | 9.7B |
| WMT | Walmart, Inc. | $85.15 | 39.54% | 684.1B |
| XOM | Exxon Mobil Corp. | $111.67 | 0.18% | 490.7B |
Factors to Consider Before Investing in Dividend Stocks
Investors must consider two significant factors before investing in dividend stocks. The first is the dividend yield. The dividend yield is calculated by dividing the annual dividend of the company with its stock price. Now, the critical factor to consider here is that bigger is not always better.
The dividend stocks with dividend yields higher than 10% are considered extremely risky. Such high dividend yields indicate that the dividend payout is unsustainable and requires research into the fundamentals of the company before investing.
Similarly, investors must analyze the dividend payout ratio of the company in depth. A very high payout ratio indicates that the company is paying most of its profits as dividends and is not investing them back into the company’s growth. This, again, is unsustainable and may lead to financial trouble for the company in the long run.
Which Dividend Stocks Should I Buy?
We have compiled a list of the best dividend stocks to make it easier for you to make your choice. Investors must consider their time horizon and overall investment goals before investing in dividend stocks.
Dividend stocks are excellent means of investment for investors looking for regular income on their investment, on top of attractive long-term growth of capital. Investors should prefer stocks with an average dividend yield and payout ratio as opposed to the ones with very high returns.
Overall, dividend stocks with low volatility and value dividend serve as the optimum investments both for short-term and long-term benefits and helps investors survive through periods of economic uncertainty.
