There’s a reason we write about income stocks so frequently: Investors love dividends, asserts Richard Moroney, editor of Dow Theory Forecasts, an advisory service that has been continuously published since 1946.
We like stocks that pay dividends. But our analysis process, which focuses on companies with strong fundamentals, solid growth, and reasonable valuations, doesn’t typically lead us to the highest-yielding names. Instead, we end up with attractive growth or value stocks that just happen to pay dividends — not a bad place to be, in our opinion.
While the financial world in general and America in particular have gone electronic in recent years, some investors still enjoy the visceral pleasure of depositing dividend checks — or receiving them electronically. Those of you who rely on stock dividends to fund a portion of your lifestyle might prefer to spread those checks around, avoiding dead periods with few sources of income.
Below, we highlight 20 A-rated stocks that in aggregate yield 2.3% and pay dividends every month. Most stocks pay out quarterly and follow a similar schedule from year to year.
We have separated those stocks into three groups — those that pay dividends January, April, July, and October; those that pay February, May, August, and November; and those that pay March, June, September, and December.
All 20 of the A-rated companies listed below have yields of at least 0.9%, payout ratios of no more than 60%, and three-year dividend growth of at least 7%, if they’ve paid dividends that long. A portfolio containing equal-weighted positions in all 20 stocks would yield 2.3% and pay dividends every month.
Dividends paid January, April, July, and October
ConocoPhillips (COP) —yield 1.5%
HP (HPQ) —yield 2.6%
Lam Research (LRCX) —yield 1.2%
Merck (MRK) —yield 3.1%
NetApp (NTAP) —yield 2.9%
Synovus Financial (SNV) —yield 3.3%
Dividends paid February, May, August, and November
AbbVie (ABBV) —yield 3.8%
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) —yield 2.8%
Capital One Financial (COF) —yield 1.9%
Citizens Financial (CFG) —yield 3.9%
Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) —yield 1.4%
Signature Bank (SBNY) —yield 1.0%
Texas Instruments (TXN) —yield 2.8%
Dividends paid March, June, September, and December
Anthem (ANTM) —yield 1.0%
Applied Materials (AMAT) —yield 0.9%
Devon Energy (DVN) —yield 6.5%
EOG Resources (EOG) —yield 2.1%
Microsoft (MSFT) —yield 0.9%
UnitedHealth (UNH) —yield 1.2%
Westlake (WLK) —yield 0.9%
