Most “Safe” Dividend Stocks Don’t Grow Like This… But These 3 Did

The company also pays a forward annual dividend of $2.04, translating to a yield of around ~2.9%. With that, a consensus among 24 Wall Street analysts rate the stock a “Strong Buy” with a near-perfect 4.75 score out of five. Not only that, the stock has a high target price of $85, suggesting there’s approximately 20% upside over the next year.

The second Dividend King on my list is Walmart Inc., one of the world’s largest retailers, famously known for “everyday low prices”. Similar to Coca-Cola, Walmart has a diverse product portfolio ranging from groceries, electronics, to apparel and other home goods. Founded in 1962, Walmart now has over 10,000 hypermarkets worldwide, including its second newly opened Milk Processing Facility that improves the company’s supply chain.

The company’s recent financials reported that sales grew almost 5% year-over-year to $177 billion, and its net income rose over 56% to $7 billion. Certainly, this is not a fluke, as Walmart’s earnings have grown 53.05% over the last five years.

Walmart pays a forward annual dividend of $0.94, translating to a yield of approximately 0.82%. Further, a consensus among 37 analysts rates the stock a “Strong Buy”, making it one of the highest-rated stocks with the strongest analyst conviction. Aside from that, there’s also some upside at today’s prices: as much as 14% should the stock hit its high target price of $130.

The last Dividend King on my list is S&P Global Inc., a company that provides comprehensive financial data for traders and investors worldwide. Founded in 1917, S&P Global has integrated its market intelligence through well-known businesses such as S&P Ratings and the S&P Dow Jones Indices. Aside from that, S&P Global is expanding through its agreement with AWS, which lets customers use S&P Global’s trusted financial and energy data directly within its AI tools.

In its recent quarterly financials, the company reported sales were up ~9% year-over-year to $3.9 billion, and its net income also grew over 21% to $1.2 billion. Even though its number may look modest compared to the previous companies, S&P Global’s earnings have grown 64.74% over the past five years, the highest among the list.

The company pays a forward annual dividend of $3.84, yielding around 0.8%. At the same time, a consensus among 25 analysts rates the stock a “Strong Buy”, a rating that has been consistent over the past three months. Furthermore, with a high target of $675, there could be as much as 35% upside in the stock over the next 12 months.

So, there you have it, the three of the highest-rated Dividend Kings that have each grown their earnings the most over the last five years. While these companies do not have the most attractive yield, those who own them over the next decade will likely find them to become cash machines in the future. Indeed, these stocks have weathered volatility and market crashes for over five decades, highlighting their worth for those seeking long-term, stable, passive additions to portfolios.

On the date of publication, Rick Orford did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com