Investors usually look for two things when they invest. First, they want the company to earn money. Second, they want the earnings to be distributed to them. A stock which has positive net income and pays dividends, is not difficult to find. However, 10 years of profitability and increased dividends are a rarity in any markets. For stocks with long terms track records like this, a decent business outlook and reasonable valuations will be sufficient reasons to take a position.

I screened for stocks using the following criteria: 1. Ten years of positive net income, 2. Ten years of increasing dividends, 3. Dividend yield greater than 3% and 4. Net cash financial position with gross debt-to-equity ratios less than 30%. The following stocks passed the test: Arrow Financial Corporation (AROW), Paychex, Inc. (PAYX), Washington Trust Bancorp (WASH), NTT DOCOMO Inc. (DCM), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Met-Pro Corp.(MPR).

Source: Guru Focus

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