Is there any greater financial goal in life than to retire with financial peace of mind? Because a set financial future gives you the time to pursue your true passions, I would argue that the answer is no.
However, building the income portfolio necessary to sustain your lifestyle is easier said than done. The journey to financial independence takes years to possibly decades of diligent saving and investing.
In pursuit of that financial comfort, here are two stocks you can add to your portfolio that will likely be growing their dividends in the decades that lie ahead.
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Coca-Cola: A Dividend King to quench your thirst for yield
The first dividend stock to purchase that should be able to pay you for life is the $235 billion (by market capitalization) beverage giant that owns brands such as Dasani, Sprite, and Powerade known as Coca-Cola (KO 0.18%). Coca-Cola currently pays a 3.1% dividend yield, which is more than double the S&P 500's meager 1.3% yield.
Investors can secure this market-beating yield at a realistic valuation. Coca-Cola's forward price-to-earnings ratio of 22.6 is only slightly above the S&P 500's forward P/E ratio of 21.3, which I would argue is justified by Coca-Cola's strong track record.
What is Coca-Cola's track record? The stock has raised its dividend payout to shareholders for 59 consecutive years. This comfortably places Coca-Cola among stocks that have raised their dividends for at least 50 years in a row, referred to as Dividend Kings.
As enviable of a legacy that Coca-Cola boasts, you may be asking yourself whether this reputation is built to continue into the future. After all, Dividend Kings do sometimes fall off the list.
Fortunately, Coca-Cola looks positioned to stay on this list for many more years for a couple of reasons.
First, while Coca-Cola's volume share of 13% in developed countries is relatively mature, the company's 5% volume share in developing countries where 80% of the global population resides leaves plenty of future growth potential. Largely untapped emerging markets and Coca-Cola's powerful branding explain why analysts are expecting nearly 10% annual adjusted (non-GAAP) earnings per share (EPS) growth from the stock over the next five years.
Second, the stock's dividend payout ratio appears to be safe given that it will be approximately 73% this year. And if Coca-Cola comes close to analysts' growth estimates in the years ahead, the stock will be able to grow its dividend in the mid-single-digits each year while reducing its payout ratio further.
WEC Energy Group: A utility to power your income higher
The other dividend stock to buy that will (likely) pay you for the rest of your life is the Midwest-based regulated electric and gas utility known as WEC Energy Group (WEC 0.23%). As of the third quarter of this year, the company provided electric and natural gas service to 4.6 million customers located throughout Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota.
WEC Energy Group generated the vast majority (98.8%) of its sales through the first three quarters of this year from regulated utility services. Year to date, roughly 58% of the company's regulated revenue was derived from electric activities, while the remaining portion of sales came from its natural gas businesses.
WEC Energy Group plans to allocate $17.7 billion of capital to upgrading and expanding its infrastructure between next year and 2026. This will result in higher revenue and lower operating and maintenance (O&M) expenses due to more cost-effective technology, which should help the company to meet the upper half of its long-term 6-7% annual earnings growth target.
As a result of WEC Energy Group's healthy outlook for the future, the stock recently announced a nice 7.4% increase in its annual dividend rate to $2.91 for next year. Compared to the midpoint EPS guidance of $4.31 for the year, this is smack-dab in the middle of the stock's 65% to 70% payout ratio target at 67.5%. Next year will be the 19th consecutive year that WEC Energy Group has paid higher dividends to its shareholders.
Income investors can also lock up WEC Energy Group's sound 3.1% yield at an attractive valuation. That's because shares of the stock are priced at a forward P/E ratio of 21.5, which is in line with the S&P 500's forward P/E ratio. For a stock of WEC Energy Group's quality, a valuation in line with the broader markets is a buy in my opinion.
