A company that can raise its payout for decades has usually done more than just survive; it has found a way to stay relevant and reward shareholders through different market cycles. And if you think of how many world-changing events have come and gone over the two and a half decades, you’d realize that paying dividends consistently is already an impressive feat.
That is why Dividend Aristocrats remain a favorite group for income-focused investors. These are S&P 500 companies that have increased their dividends for at least 25 consecutive years.
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However, there’s quite a few of them, so I usually have to come up with a few ways to find the best ones- worth buying today.
My favorite so far? Outsource all the work to the experts. And by experts, I mean Wall Street’s best and brightest financial analysts.
So, today, let’s look at the highest-rated Dividend Aristocrats to see if they look good in your long-term portfolios.
How I came up with the following stocks
Using Barchart’s Stock Screener, I selected the following filters to get my list:
Current Analyst Rating: 4.5 – 5. Stocks that are “Strong Buy” are the best of the best according to Wall Street.
Dividend Investing Idea: Dividend Aristocrats.
I ran the screen and got 6 results. I will cover the three highest-rated companies.
Let’s start with the first Dividend Aristocrat:
Cardinal Health (CAH)
Cardinal Health is a healthcare services company that helps keep the medical supply chain moving. It distributes pharmaceuticals and medical products to different health institutions, ensuring that supplies reach the facilities and patients that need them. Its logistics role also extends to care-at-home through its Velocare solution, which helps scale hospital-at-home programs.
Cardinal Health increased its dividends for more than 25 consecutive years, and today pays a forward annual dividend of $2.04, translating to a yield of approximately 1%.
A consensus among 16 analysts rates it a “Strong Buy”, with a score of 4.75 out of 5, making it the highest-rated stock on this list. Also, the mean to high target prices suggest there’s between 22% and 37% potential upside in CAH stock over the next year.
Walmart Inc (WMT)
The second Dividend Aristocrat worth looking at is Walmart, a company I recently covered, so I’ll keep the introduction brief. Walmart is the world’s largest retailer with millions of customers thanks to its stores and online platforms. It is also growing its retail media business through Sam’s Club’s Member Access Platform, which helps brands reach members across different shopping channels.
