The only thing better than finding stocks that go up is finding investments that also pay out healthy dividends along the way. Broadcom (AVGO 2.43%), Kraft Heinz (KHC -0.09%), China Life Insurance (LFC), Kellogg (K 0.21%), and Hanesbrands (HBI 6.04%) are all stocks I like that happen to be yielding better than 3% right now.
Growth and income? You can have both. Let's go over these five stocks that I think belong on your watch list.
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Broadcom: 3% yield
Let's start with an unheralded tech star. Broadcom might not be a household name like most tech stocks commanding an enterprise value of $225 billion, but that's because it's working hard behind the scenes providing semiconductor solutions and infrastructure software. If you're a believer in the growth potential of data centers, Wi-Fi connectivity, and broadband, then Broadcom could be a great way to cash in while also collecting a yield of 3%.
Broadcom didn't skip a beat during the pandemic. Free cash flow rose 25% in fiscal 2020, picking up the pace with a 36% surge in its latest quarter. Momentum is also starting to pick up on its top and bottom lines. Revenue growth has accelerated for four consecutive quarters, and it has landed ahead of analyst earnings estimates in each of the past three reports. Broadcom has hiked its dividend every year since initiating a payout policy in 2010, and there's no reason for the increases to end anytime soon.
Kraft Heinz: 3.7% yield
Even if you don't like cheese or ketchup, there's a good chance that you have plenty of Kraft Heinz products in your home. Beyond its two namesake brands, Kraft Heinz is also the company behind Oscar Mayer luncheon meats, Philadelphia cream cheese, Planters peanuts, Maxwell House coffee, Capri Sun juice pouches, and so much more. The corporate combination of Kraft with Heinz in 2015 has been a disappointment for investors, but the near-term outlook is far more promising.
Revenue rose at a 5% clip last year, and even if that doesn't seem like a lot, it's Kraft Heinz's headiest top-line growth in four years. Over the past year it has trounced Wall Street quarterly profit estimates by at least 8% to as high as 23%. These same analysts who have underestimated Kraft Heinz on the bottom line also see revenue dipping slightly this year. I see things differently, because an expanding economy should give consumers the confidence to keep stocking up on brand names over slightly cheaper store brands.
China Life Insurance: 4.7% yield
China's largest insurance provider has more than 300 million insurance policies and annuity contracts in place, making it one of the world's top players. The roughly $93 billion in gross written premiums that it delivered last year was an 8% increase. The pandemic and other challenges caused profitability to stage a slight retreat, but analysts see China Life Insurance growing on both ends of its income statement in 2021 and beyond.
Investing in China isn't for everybody, but China Life Insurance doesn't carry a lot of the trade and censorship risks that accompany many of the country's best-known growth stocks. It's selling insurance policies that are based on actuary tables rather than any political whims that might derail more dynamic businesses. Along the way, China Life Insurance pays an annual dividend that varies wildly from year to year. The stock is now priced at a 4.7% yield based on last year's payout. Trading for just six times trailing earnings, it's a high-yielding bargain in a country that should continue to embrace life insurance policies as its middle class expands.
Kellogg: 3.5% yield
Milky dividends from a cereal company? They're grrreat, but you don't have to take it from Tony the Tiger. The company behind Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies, and its signature Corn Flakes is about more than just breakfast cereals. Kellogg also stocks your local supermarket shelves with Eggo waffles, Pop-Tarts pastries, and Pringles potato chips.
Kellogg has been paying uninterrupted quarterly dividends since 1925, and it just increased its payout this quarter. Growth isn't going to be very high here, but Kellogg's single-digit growth in each of the last three years is a good indication that it was able to weather the pandemic that rattled so many other companies. Kellogg has landed ahead of Wall Street's profit targets in three of the past four quarters, and bottom-line targets for 2021 and 2022 have been inching higher in recent weeks. Kellogg is a reliable brand with a healthy dividend.
Hanesbrands: 3.1% yield
We've learned to embrace comfortable clothing during the COVID-19 crisis, and even now that we're out again in social settings, it's not going to take away from the appeal of a Hanes T-shirt. Undergarments will also become more necessary in the new normal, and Hanesbrands stands to benefit in the process.
The 25% pop that Hanesbrands posted in last month's quarterly report isn't going to be the norm. Revenue rose (and earnings soared more than fivefold) off depressed results during the initial pandemic quarter last year. The 2% in revenue growth and 7% in earnings growth is more in line with how Hanesbrands has held up historically, but look for that forecast to prove conservative as folks continue to embrace brand-name innerwear and activewear.
