If you're looking for a resilient company paying a robust and reliable dividend, one great idea is 3M (MMM 0.46%). The diversified company operates in four segments, with a vast array of products spanning dozens of industries.
Better yet, many of the company's products are consumable ones that its customers need to buy regularly. This is a dependable business with strong cash flow. And thanks to the stock's cheap valuation and management's strong prioritization of its dividend, 3M is an exceptional idea for dividend investors.
Here's a closer look at why 3M is such a good dividend stock today.
A pullback in the stock represents a buying opportunity
A recent pullback in 3M's stock has made shares downright cheap. The stock trades at just 10x its trailing-12-month earnings and only 13 times its free cash flow.
Analysts don't expect much growth from the company over the next five years. The consensus forecast calls for earnings per share to grow at a rate of only about 1.6% annually during this period. But a cheap valuation seems to have already discounted the stock accordingly.
While investors might conclude that shares are fairly valued because analysts have such an underwhelming view of earnings growth, the stock arguably deserves to trade at a premium because of the predictable and risk-averse nature of its business. Not only is 3M well-known for the categories of products it makes, including adhesives, medical products, electrical parts, protective and decorative films, office supplies, cleaning supplies, and much more, but it's a market leader in many categories.
Further, the company is diversified to the point that it has more than 60,000 products spread across dozens of brands. A profitable business with a diversified and robust product portfolio like this arguably deserves to trade at a much higher price-to-earnings ratio than 10, if only because the uncertainty level about the company's future is lower than it is for many other businesses.
If the market begins to appreciate the predictable nature of 3M's business, the stock could appreciate substantially, due to valuation multiple expansion alone.
3M's dividend is exceptional
To say 3M has a good dividend would be an understatement. The company's dividend yield currently sits at a whopping 6%. This towers over the average dividend yield of 1.6% for stocks in the S&P 500.
More importantly, this strong dividend is sustainable. 3M currently pays out only 61% of its earnings in dividends, so the company could sustain its current dividend payout, even if earnings took a substantial hit.
Importantly, however, 3M doesn't just pay investors a regular quarterly dividend -- it also increases it every year. Highlighting its exceptional history, 3M has paid dividends to shareholders without interruption for more than 100 years and has increased its dividend every year for 64 years straight.
3M's recent dividend increases have been very small. The quarterly dividend only increased by $0.01 in 2023, for instance. But given the company's strong business and low payout ratio, small-but-steady growth in the dividend should persist for years to come.
