Dividends and Food

Dividends are enormously valuable to overall stockholder returns. Some studies suggest that the overall long-term U.S. market return - as measured by the S&P 500 - comes from both share price appreciation and a dividend yields at a 50/50 split over the long run. Of course, this only counts when you find companies not only capable of maintaining the dividend, but with the potential to increase the dividend payout over time.

The value in dividends to investors is first and foremost regularity. Investors looking at dividend stocks want to know that they can be counted on for many years. Secondly, the hope is that as a company's operations prosper over time, so will the dividend payout. Regularity of a dividend requires a similar regularity in cash flows. Thus businesses with stable sources of revenues occurring from the sale of essential or recurring product sales makes for a perfect dividend candidate. I can't think of a more perfect union than food stocks that pay dividends.

Source: Investopedia

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