In this interest rate environment, dividends are still looking great. After all, the S&P 500 currently yields about 2%, and that is a heck of a lot better than you can get through most savings accounts. On top of this, dividends do two important things:
- First, a generous dividend payment often lowers a stock’s volatility. I’d much rather own a stock that’s stable rather than one that scatters all over the place.
- They also tell me how much money a company really has. If the company is willing to part with cash in the form of a dividend payment, then I know they really earned it.
But you still have to do your homework and screen dividend stocks for fundamental health. Stock selection remains critical with dividend stocks, because if you choose them correctly, you can make a fortune both as your invested capital appreciates over the years—and as the quarterly dividend grows.
And now is the perfect time to do so because we’re coming up on a bunch of ex-dividend dates over the next few weeks. Note: These ratings are based on the Dividend Grader system, which follows different criteria than the Portfolio Grader system. For more information on the Dividend Grader formula, click here.
| Dividend Stocks to Buy | Ticker | Company Name | Dividend Yield | Ex-Dividend | Payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | Apple Inc. | 1.3% | 8/10/2018 | $0.73 |
| ADM | Archer-Daniels-Midland Company | 2.6% | 8/15/2018 | $0.32 |
| ADP | Automatic Data Processing, Inc. | 1.9% | 9/13/2018 | $0.68 |
| ADS | Alliance Data Systems Corp. | 1.0% | 8/13/2018 | $0.57 |
| AFL | Aflac Incorporated | 2.1% | 8/21/2018 | $0.26 |
| ALL | Allstate Corp. | 1.7% | 8/30/2018 | $0.45 |
| AMAT | Applied Materials, Inc. | 1.0% | 8/22/2018 | $0.18 |
| AME | AMETEK, Inc. | 0.6% | 9/13/2018 | $0.14 |
| AMGN | Amgen Inc. | 2.5% | 8/16/2018 | $1.27 |
| ANTM | Anthem, Inc. | 1.1% | 9/07/2018 | $0.75 |
| APD | Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. | 2.6% | 9/28/2018 | $2.59 |
| APH | Amphenol Corp. | 0.9% | 9/14/2018 | $0.23 |
| AVY | Avery Dennison Corp. | 1.7% | 9/04/2018 | $0.51 |
| BAC | Bank of America Corp | 1.5% | 9/06/2018 | $0.15 |
| CBS | CBS Corp. | 1.4% | 9/07/2018 | $0.18 |
| CCL | Carnival Corp. | 3.1% | 8/23/2018 | $0.50 |
| CDW | CDW Corp. | 0.9% | 8/23/2018 | $0.21 |
| CHD | Church & Dwight Co., Inc. | 1.4% | 8/14/2018 | $0.22 |
| CMA | Comerica Incorporated | 1.3% | 9/13/2018 | $0.55 |
| CMI | Cummins Inc. | 3.1% | 8/21/2018 | $1.11 |
| CNA | CNA Financial Corp. | 2.6% | 8/10/2018 | $0.35 |
| D | Dominion Energy Inc | 4.4% | 9/06/2018 | $0.84 |
| DFS | Discover Financial Services | 1.9% | 8/22/2018 | $0.40 |
| ECL | Ecolab Inc. | 1.1% | 9/17/2018 | $0.39 |
| EMN | Eastman Chemical Company | 2.2% | 9/13/2018 | $0.55 |
| FIS | Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. | 1.2% | 9/13/2018 | $0.30 |
| GLW | Corning Inc | 2.0% | 8/30/2018 | $0.18 |
| HBAN | Huntington Bancshares Incorporated | 2.6% | 9/14/2018 | $0.14 |
| HIG | Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. | 1.9% | 8/31/2018 | $0.28 |
| HON | Honeywell International Inc. | 1.9% | 8/16/2018 | $0.74 |
| HPE | Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. | 2.1% | 9/11/2018 | $0.12 |
| HSY | Hershey Company | 2.7% | 8/23/2018 | $0.72 |
| ICE | Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. | 1.2% | 9/12/2018 | $0.24 |
| IEP | Icahn Enterprises L.P. | 8.3% | 8/10/2018 | $1.75 |
| IFF | International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. | 2.1% | 9/21/2018 | $0.69 |
| IP | International Paper Company | 3.6% | 8/14/2018 | $0.48 |
| IR | Ingersoll-Rand Plc | 1.9% | 9/06/2018 | $0.53 |
| ITW | Illinois Tool Works Inc. | 2.2% | 9/27/2018 | $0.93 |
| K | Kellogg Company | 3.0% | 8/31/2018 | $0.56 |
| KEY | KeyCorp | 2.0% | 8/27/2018 | $0.16 |
| KLAC | KLA-Tencor Corp. | 2.1% | 8/14/2018 | $0.72 |
| KR | Kroger Co. | 1.7% | 8/14/2018 | $0.13 |
| LMT | Lockheed Martin Corp. | 2.4% | 8/31/2018 | $2.00 |
| LUV | Southwest Airlines Co. | 0.9% | 8/21/2018 | $0.16 |
| MDLZ | Mondelez International, Inc. | 2.0% | 9/27/2018 | $0.25 |
| MGM | MGM Resorts International | 1.6% | 9/07/2018 | $0.12 |
| MPC | Marathon Petroleum Corp. | 2.2% | 8/15/2018 | $0.46 |
| MXIM | Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. | 2.5% | 8/29/2018 | $0.46 |
| NDAQ | Nasdaq, Inc. | 1.7% | 9/13/2018 | $0.44 |
| NEE | NextEra Energy, Inc. | 2.5% | 8/29/2018 | $1.11 |
| NEM | Newmont Mining Corp. | 1.2% | 9/12/2018 | $0.14 |
| ODFL | Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. | 0.3% | 9/05/2018 | $0.13 |
| OMC | Omnicom Group Inc | 3.5% | 9/20/2018 | $0.62 |
| PCAR | PACCAR Inc | 1.6% | 8/13/2018 | $0.28 |
| PEP | PepsiCo, Inc. | 2.9% | 9/06/2018 | $0.89 |
| PFG | Principal Financial Group, Inc. | 3.6% | 9/05/2018 | $0.53 |
| PSX | Phillips 66 | 2.4% | 8/20/2018 | $0.79 |
| RF | Regions Financial Corp. | 1.9% | 9/06/2018 | $0.14 |
| RMD | ResMed Inc. | 1.3% | 8/15/2018 | $0.37 |
| ROK | Rockwell Automation, Inc. | 1.9% | 8/10/2018 | $0.90 |
| SJM | J.M. Smucker Company | 2.7% | 8/16/2018 | $0.78 |
| SPGI | S&P Global, Inc. | 0.9% | 8/27/2018 | $0.48 |
| STX | Seagate Technology PLC | 4.7% | 9/18/2018 | $0.63 |
| TGT | Target Corp. | 3.0% | 8/14/2018 | $0.65 |
| TJX | TJX Companies Inc | 1.4% | 8/15/2018 | $0.39 |
| TSN | Tyson Foods, Inc. | 2.0% | 8/30/2018 | $0.30 |
| UNP | Union Pacific Corp. | 1.8% | 8/30/2018 | $0.74 |
| V | Visa Inc. | 0.6% | 8/16/2018 | $0.22 |
| VFC | V.F. Corp. | 2.0% | 9/07/2018 | $0.46 |
| VMC | Vulcan Materials Company | 0.9% | 8/21/2018 | $0.28 |
| WEC | WEC Energy Group Inc | 3.2% | 8/13/2018 | $0.55 |
| ZION | Zions BanCorp. | 1.4% | 8/15/2018 | $0.28 |
| Dividend Stocks to Hold | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ticker | Company Name | Dividend Yield | Ex-Dividend | Payment |
| AJG | Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. | 2.2% | 9/06/2018 | $0.41 |
| BLK | BlackRock, Inc. | 2.2% | 9/06/2018 | $3.13 |
| BLL | Ball Corp. | 1.0% | 8/31/2018 | $0.10 |
| CTSH | Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. | 0.9% | 8/21/2018 | $0.20 |
| DPZ | Domino’s Pizza, Inc. | 0.7% | 9/13/2018 | $0.53 |
| DTE | DTE Energy Company | 3.2% | 9/14/2018 | $0.88 |
| EXC | Exelon Corp. | 3.2% | 8/14/2018 | $0.35 |
| GILD | Gilead Sciences, Inc. | 2.8% | 9/13/2018 | $0.57 |
| GS | Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | 1.3% | 8/29/2018 | $0.81 |
| GWW | W.W. Grainger, Inc. | 1.5% | 8/10/2018 | $1.36 |
| HFC | HollyFrontier Corp. | 2.0% | 8/22/2018 | $0.34 |
| KHC | Kraft Heinz Company | 3.9% | 8/16/2018 | $0.66 |
| KMB | Kimberly-Clark Corp. | 3.4% | 9/06/2018 | $1.00 |
| LLL | L3 Technologies Inc | 1.5% | 8/16/2018 | $0.78 |
| LVS | Las Vegas Sands Corp. | 4.3% | 9/18/2018 | $0.75 |
| MSCI | MSCI Inc. | 0.9% | 8/16/2018 | $0.48 |
| MSFT | Microsoft Corp. | 1.5% | 8/15/2018 | $0.44 |
| NTRS | Northern Trust Corp. | 1.5% | 9/13/2018 | $0.55 |
| PEG | Public Service Enterprise Group Inc | 3.4% | 9/06/2018 | $0.45 |
| RSG | Republic Services, Inc. | 1.9% | 9/28/2018 | $0.36 |
| SHW | Sherwin-Williams Company | 0.8% | 8/16/2018 | $0.85 |
| SO | Southern Company | 4.8% | 8/17/2018 | $0.60 |
| SPG | Simon Property Group, Inc. | 4.2% | 8/16/2018 | $1.99 |
| STT | State Street Corp. | 1.9% | 9/28/2018 | $0.47 |
| SWK | Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. | 1.7% | 9/06/2018 | $0.64 |
| SYK | Stryker Corp. | 1.1% | 9/27/2018 | $0.46 |
| SYMC | Symantec Corp. | 1.6% | 8/17/2018 | $0.08 |
| TAP | Molson Coors Brewing Company | 2.4% | 8/30/2018 | $0.41 |
| TRV | Travelers Companies, Inc. | 2.3% | 9/07/2018 | $0.77 |
| UTX | United Technologies Corp. | 2.1% | 8/16/2018 | $0.75 |
| WYNN | Wynn Resorts, Limited | 1.5% | 8/15/2018 | $0.78 |
| Dividend Stocks to Sell | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ticker | Company Name | Dividend Yield | Ex-Dividend | Payment |
| AGN | Allergan plc | 1.5% | 8/16/2018 | $0.72 |
| AGR | Avangrid, Inc. | 3.4% | 9/06/2018 | $0.44 |
| AIG | American International Group, Inc. | 2.4% | 9/14/2018 | $0.32 |
| BDX | Becton, Dickinson and Company | 1.2% | 9/06/2018 | $0.76 |
| CCI | Crown Castle International Corp | 3.6% | 9/13/2018 | $1.05 |
| CF | CF Industries Holdings, Inc. | 2.5% | 8/14/2018 | $0.30 |
| COL | Rockwell Collins, Inc. | 1.0% | 8/17/2018 | $0.35 |
| CVX | Chevron Corp. | 3.6% | 8/16/2018 | $1.11 |
| DUK | Duke Energy Corp. | 4.4% | 8/16/2018 | $0.93 |
| DVN | Devon Energy Corp. | 0.6% | 9/13/2018 | $0.08 |
| DWDP | DowDuPont Inc. | 2.4% | 8/30/2018 | $0.40 |
| ED | Consolidated Edison, Inc. | 3.6% | 8/14/2018 | $0.72 |
| FMC | FMC Corp. | 0.8% | 9/27/2018 | $0.18 |
| FTV | Fortive Corp. | 0.3% | 8/30/2018 | $0.07 |
| GM | General Motors Company | 4.0% | 9/06/2018 | $0.38 |
| GPN | Global Payments Inc. | 0.0% | 9/13/2018 | $0.01 |
| HAL | Halliburton Company | 1.7% | 9/04/2018 | $0.18 |
| HPQ | HP Inc. | 2.4% | 9/11/2018 | $0.14 |
| JNJ | Johnson & Johnson | 2.6% | 8/27/2018 | $0.87 |
| KO | Coca-Cola Company | 3.3% | 9/13/2018 | $0.39 |
| LLY | Eli Lilly and Company | 2.2% | 8/14/2018 | $0.56 |
| MCD | McDonald’s Corp. | 2.5% | 8/31/2018 | $0.99 |
| MCK | McKesson Corp. | 1.1% | 8/31/2018 | $0.34 |
| MCO | Moody’s Corp. | 1.0% | 8/17/2018 | $0.44 |
| MRK | Merck & Co., Inc. | 2.9% | 9/14/2018 | $0.48 |
| MRO | Marathon Oil Corp. | 1.0% | 8/14/2018 | $0.05 |
| OXY | Occidental Petroleum Corp. | 3.7% | 9/07/2018 | $0.77 |
| PSA | Public Storage | 3.7% | 9/11/2018 | $2.00 |
| QCOM | QUALCOMM Incorporated | 3.6% | 9/04/2018 | $0.62 |
| SEP | Spectra Energy Partners, LP | 7.8% | 8/14/2018 | $0.77 |
| SLB | Schlumberger NV | 3.0% | 9/04/2018 | $0.50 |
| TMO | Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. | 0.3% | 9/14/2018 | $0.17 |
| WDC | Western Digital Corp. | 2.9% | 9/27/2018 | $0.50 |
| XL | XL Group Ltd | 1.6% | 9/13/2018 | $0.23 |
| XOM | Exxon Mobil Corp. | 3.9% | 8/10/2018 | $0.82 |
As you can see, there are plenty of promising dividend stocks to buy, but there are also many pitfalls here. As always, you should continue running your holdings through both Portfolio Grader and Dividend Grader to make sure that you’re only holding top-rated stocks.
Sincerely,
Louis Navellier