3 of the Most Dependable Dividend Stocks on the Planet

When looking for stocks that pay good dividends, investors should look for companies that both have a sustainable dividend (meaning they have the cash and earnings power to cover it each year) and can grow their dividend consistently. A good way to find stocks like this is to search for dividend kings, or companies that have paid out and raised their dividends every year for at least five decades. As you might suspect, this is no easy task. There are only 43 dividend kings as of this year. Without further ado, here are three of the most dependable dividend stocks on the planet.

The property and casualty insurer Cincinnati Financial (CINF) became a dividend king more than a decade ago and has paid out and raised its dividend for an incredible 61 years. The company also sports a decent annual dividend yield of 2.27%. With nearly $32 billion in assets, the Kansas City-based Commerce Bancshares (CBSH) has paid out and raised its dividend for 54 straight years. Commerce doesn't have the highest annual dividend yield at just 1.15%, but with only about a 26% payout ratio there's room for growth. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (FMCB) is a small roughly $5.4 billion asset bank based in California. Right off the bat, this stock trades over the counter, meaning it naturally has less liquidity, so it can be more volatile. However, Farmers & Merchants has paid and raised its dividend for 57 straight years. Its annual dividend yield is also not terribly impressive at 1.6% but with just a 17% dividend payout ratio and plenty of excess capital, the company can certainly continue to keep growing the dividend.

Source: Motley Fool

Related Articles:

- A Disciplined Approach To Dividend Growth Stocks

- New Golden Investment: Clough Global Equity Fund (GLQ)
- Turbo Charge Your Portfolio With Reinvested Dividends
- 3 Low Beta, Higher Yielding Dividend Stocks For The Next Downturn

- New Golden Investment: AbbVie Inc. (ABBV)