One person's market dip is another's buying opportunity. Many once-popular stocks have been battered by market turmoil lately, their prices driven lower in a storm of investor fears and insecurities.
The good news is, this activity has cut the stock prices of many companies that are posting solid fundamentals, growing their businesses, and paying a reliable and sustainable dividend. That applies to these three famous names, with their share prices declining at rates at least comparable to the S&P 500's dip over the past year.
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Altria
Check out the latest Altria earnings call transcript.
Given the strong and persistent anti-smoking sentiment in the U.S. and some other corners of the world, it's remarkable that tobacco giant Altria (MO 0.11%) keeps managing to turn a profit.
Traditional tobacco products might not be as cool as they once were, but Altria is still performing well. It's buying into hot trends that regulators haven't yet quashed, such as e-cigarettes, in the form of its recent deal for 35% of Juul Labs. It's also getting involved in the marijuana market, with its purchase of 45% of Cronos Group (CRON +2.38%).
Both buys were rather pricey. The Juul deal was worth almost $13 billion, while Altria paid roughly $1.8 billion for Cronos Group. But the tobacco giant is a famously consistent cash generator. Free cash flow stood at almost $2.7 billion at the end of last September, providing more than enough to fund the dividend.
That payout, by the way, represents the highest yield since nearly the beginning of this decade. It's just under 7.2%. In dollar terms, Altria's quarterly dividend is $0.80 per share.
Constellation Brands
Check out the latest Constellation Brands earnings call transcript.
Alcoholic-drink producer Constellation Brands (STZ +0.14%) has a lot in common with Altria. The company not only sells products identified with leisure activities, but it also recently leapt into the marijuana industry. It pays a rapidly growing dividend, too.
The company is in a right-time, right-place situation with its beers Corona Familiar, Modelo Especial, and the recently launched Corona Premier. Constellation says these were the top three market share gainers of all beers in the U.S. in the company's Q3.
This beverage segment is the company's top revenue earner. As such, its performance helps compensate for the recently stagnant growth of the wine and spirits end of the business. And although Constellation lowered its guidance for full-year 2019 profitability, to investors' chagrin, it's still anticipating per-share net profit growth of at least 12.9%.
On top of that, like Altria and Cronos Group, it's well poised to take advantage of snowballing pot legalization, thanks to its acquisition last year of 38% of marijuana producer Canopy Growth.
Constellation pays a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share. That's a yield of only 1.8%, but the company has a habit of raising the payout substantially every year. It's more than doubled since being initiated in 2015, from $0.31 per share to the present level.
Tanger Factory Outlets
Check out the latest Tanger Factory Outlet Centers earnings call transcript.
The only Dividend Aristocrat among our chosen trio is real estate investment trust (REIT) Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (SKT 0.48%). As the name implies, Tanger specializes in outlet malls. And malls are hardly the investor flavor of the month right now, given widespread fears of the retail apocalypse.
But the company's specialty is the discount segment, which is somewhat resistant to industry trends. In the most recently reported quarter, overall occupancy at the 44 Tanger properties spread throughout North America was a sky-high 96%. That was no anomaly, as the company has been more or less at that level for many years.
Although revenue and funds from operations (FFO, the most critical profitability metric for REITs) have both been essentially flat lately, the company has a strong balance sheet for a REIT. Debt is more than manageable, which is saying something for a company with 44 major properties to maintain.
For the entirety of fiscal 2018, Tanger is anticipating per-share FFO growth of 14% to 16%. That seems achievable, given the continued robustness of the North American economy and the company's durable business model.
Tanger's latest declared quarterly dividend is $0.35 per share. That yields 6.3% at the current share price.
