Utility stocks may not always make most exciting investments, but during a questionable market, this industry can be a great choice for investors seeking a more defensive approach. When the market goes south, investors flock to the safest industries. That is, the industries that are less impacted by a weak economy. The stocks of most utility companies pay higher dividends than most other stocks. As with the consumer staples and healthcare sectors, utility stocks also provide diversification against an investor’s holdings in other more cyclical sectors (i.e. energy, materials). During slow economic periods or a recession, electricity and water are in constant need, thus providing a steady stream of earnings for utility companies. The sector, as measured by the Utilities Select Sector SPDR® (XLU) is up 10.74% for the year. This is primarily due to positive earnings and weaker than expected economic growth. Another critical element that has made utilities a strong performer in 2016 has been that nearly every U.S. utility company is not impacted by the rising dollar.
By considering these utility stocks as part of a diversified portfolio, investors are potentially able to shield themselves from the brunt of a future market decline and collect a steady dividend income. Below are our five highest ranking utility stocks for dividend investors. Ourranking system examines five key criteria in selecting the best candidates in each sector including dividend yield, dividend growth, financial strength, beta, and relative valuation (P/E, P/S, P/B, or P/FFO). Our Top 100 Dividend Stocks list includes several utility stocks with high dividends. These are the favored five: Dominion Resources, Inc. (D), Southern Company (SO), CMS Energy Corporation (CMS), Consolidated Edison, Inc. (ED) and Duke Energy Corp (DUK).
Source: ValueWalk
Related Articles:
- 8 Select High-Yield S&P 500 Dividend Stocks
- Your Greatest Wealth Building Asset
- Where To Find Great Dividend Stocks
- How To Manage Your Dividend Portfolio In A Downturn
- 5 Tech Stocks With A History of Growing Their Dividends
________________________________________________________________
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts Last 30 Days
-
Each of these high-yield dividend stocks has a dividend yield exceeding 6.5%. That’s is a very high dividend yield few stocks have. In addit...
-
Because their financials must support a monthly dividend payment, the companies in this space are stable by nature — their operations are st...
-
While there are a number of factors responsible for pushing the stock market lower, the spread of COVID-19 looks to be the match that lit th...
-
Dividend payments are, by nature, a conservative strategy for companies to use, and as a rule of thumb the more conservative companies are l...
-
As veteran traders will attest, though, nothing lasts forever. It might not be a bad idea to start adding exposure to the market's lagga...
-
So if the economy does putter out, what should you do with your money? You could do worse than bet on recession-proof dividend stocks. That ...
-
In a soaring market, a few percentages of dividends may not seem like much. Over the past few months, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the ...
-
So what should investors do amid the panic? They could do worse than own top dividend stocks. The recent stock market crash has turned some ...
-
For most investors, this is not a time to panic. Rather than take a flight to safety, now is a time to take a flight to quality. And when in...
-
You shouldn’t be running from the market. Bags of coins don’t make a comfortable pillow. They don’t emit dividends. They will not expand lik...
Happy to own three of the utilities mentioned. D, SO and ED have been with me since I started on a dividend growth investing path back in 2007. Thanks for sharing.