The best dividend growth stocks are those that give their investors a raise year in and year out. However, some companies aim even higher by providing their investors with increases every quarter. Two of these dividend dynamos are Magellan Midstream Partners (MMP +0.00%) and MPLX (MPLX +1.39%), which both should have plenty of fuel to continue increasing their payouts each quarter for at least the next few years.
Sixty-one and counting
Refined products-focused MLP Magellan Midstream Partners recently announced its 61st quarterly distribution increase since going public in 2001. While the company's distribution growth engine did stall out during the financial crisis of 2009, it has increased its payout every single quarter outside of that time frame. Overall, the company's payout had expanded by a 12% compound annual growth rate since its IPO nearly two decades ago.
Image source: Getty Images.
Magellan Midstream currently expects to grow its distribution 8% for 2018 and at a 5% to 8% annual pace in 2019 and 2020. Fueling the company's forecast are the more than $2 billion of high-return expansion projects it currently has under construction. On top of that, the company has more than $500 million of projects in development, including the Permian Gulf Coast oil pipeline, which is part of a recently announced joint venture with MLPX and other energy companies.
That's an unusually large slate of expansion projects for Magellan, which has completed $5.4 billion of investments over the past decade. However, the company shouldn't have any issues funding this growth since it has the best credit rating among MLPs and a conservative 1.2 times payout ratio, which provides it with excess cash to finance a significant portion of these projects. On top of that, the company and its partner Plains All American Pipeline (PAA +2.69%) recently agreed to sell a 50% stake in the BridgeTex Pipeline for $1.438 billion. Magellan will receive about $575 million for the share it's selling -- which it can use to fund new expansion projects -- while Plains All American will haul in about $860 million to finance growth and reduce debt. With ample growth coming down the pipeline and the associated funding already lined up, Magellan Midstream should have no problem continuing to grow its 5.6%-yielding payout each quarter for at least the next few years.
Image source: Getty Images.
Twenty-two with room for more
MPLX recently announced its 22nd consecutive quarterly distribution increase since its IPO in 2012. Overall, the diversified MLP has increased its payout at an impressive 17.2% compound annual growth rate from its initial level.
The company currently anticipates that it will boost its payout another 10% for 2018, suggesting that it has at least two more raises in the pipeline. However, MPLX has ample room to continue increasing its payout beyond that time frame given its conservative financial metrics and the growth potential it has lined up.
MPLX started the year with roughly $2 billion of expansion projects under construction, which help support its 2018 distribution growth forecast. However, the company recently added several new projects to its backlog. First, it signed agreements to develop gathering and processing assets in the Permian Basin, which should enter service by August of next year. In addition to that, the company has partnered with MPLX and others on the Permian Gulf Coast oil pipeline, which should start up mid-2020. These projects provide increased visibility that the company can continue expanding its payout each quarter for at least the next few years, especially when factoring in the company's conservative 1.36 times distribution coverage ratio and low leverage ratio.
On top of that, MPLX's parent company, oil refiner Marathon Petroleum (MPC 0.11%), announced that it plans to acquire fellow refiner Andeavor (ANDV +0.00%), which owns not only some midstream assets but MLP Andeavor Logistics (ANDX +0.00%). While Marathon currently plans to operate Andeavor Logistics as a stand-alone entity, it makes sense to eventually merge that company into MPLX. If that happens, it would further enhance MPLX's income stream and growth prospects, increasing the likelihood that the company can continue boosting its 7.1%-yielding payout each quarter.
Great options for income growth investors
Both MPLX and Magellan Midstream are great options for investors seeking a growing income stream. Not only do they have expansion projects underway to provide more fuel to increase their distributions each quarter, but both have top-tier financial profiles within their sector. Those two factors increase the probability that both companies will continue growing their payouts each quarter for at least the next several years, which makes them ideal options for income-focused investors.
