While I've invested a decent portion of my portfolio into growth stocks, a significant part of my holdings consists of dividend-paying stocks. That's because I like generating passive income (which I currently reinvest into growth stocks), and dividend payers have historically outperformed non-payers by a wide margin. Because of those two factors, I'm always adding money to my portfolio so I can buy more dividend-paying stocks.
The three currently at the top of my buy list are Kinder Morgan (KMI -0.32%), Enbridge Energy Partners (EEP), and Weyerhaeuser (WY 0.76%). While I already own all three, I plan to add to my position in each one over the next month. Here's why.
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Hoping shares hold back a little while longer
In addition to collecting income by holding dividend stocks for the long haul, I also like writing options to generate some extra cash in exchange for being willing to either buy or sell a stock at a certain price. In one of those trades, I wrote puts on natural gas pipeline giant Kinder Morgan to potentially buy it at a lower price or at least get paid to try. Those options expire this month, and given where shares are right now, I could potentially buy another helping of Kinder Morgan this month.
I'd love it if the stock remains below my option price so that I can pick up more shares. That's because, at my potential $17 purchase price, I'd pay less than 8.5 times cash flow, which is dirt cheap for such a quality company (most peers fetch around 12 times cash flow). On top of that, Kinder Morgan is just about to raise its dividend 60%, which means I could collect an attractive 4.7% yield on this purchase. That said, if shares rally past my option price and I don't get them this month, I'll likely write more and try again.
Just waiting for a refill
I've already made it known that Enbridge Energy Partners is the top income stock I plan to buy this month. However, like Kinder Morgan, what I find most attractive about Enbridge Energy Partners isn't the current yield but its deeply discounted valuation. At the moment, units of the oil pipeline MLP sell for just eight times cash flow. For comparison's sake, most other MLPs trade at more than 10 times cash flow.
That said, I also love Enbridge Energy Partners' current yield of more than 10%, not only for the size but its safety. After completing several transformational transactions last year, the company now has "one of the lowest business risk profiles in the sector," according to President Mark Maki. I would love to add another helping of the company's low-risk income stream to my portfolio, which is something I plan on doing shortly after the next scheduled cash deposit into my brokerage account later this month.
Eyeing the upside
The third dividend stock I'd buy right now is Weyerhaeuser. The forestry company generates steady income from selling lumber, wood products, and non-core land holdings, which it uses to support a 3.6%-yielding dividend. It's a payout the company has increased six times since 2011, including by 3.2% at the end of last year.
While that's an attractive income stream, what appeals most to me about Weyerhaeuser is its upside as the U.S. housing market continues improving. According to several forecasts, single-family housing starts should increase 10% this year, driven by rising employment and wages. That outlook bodes well for wood product demand since single-family homes use three times more wood than new multifamily structures. Add in several other tailwinds, and Weyerhaeuser has the potential to build upon the 31% earnings growth it delivered last year, which could pave the way for additional dividend increases as well as continued share buybacks in the coming years. I hope to capture a larger share of that upside potential by adding to my Weyerhaeuser position in the very near future.
Sticking with what I know best
While I already own all three of these dividend payers, I'd gladly boost my position in each one right now. In fact, if everything goes according to plan, I will do just that over the next month. That's because I believe all three dividends are just as attractive, if not more so, then when I initially added them to my portfolio.
