Money may not buy happiness, but it sure can make many of life's challenges easier to deal with. There's also something very comforting about having cash deposited into your investment account on a regular basis.
If you'd like to earn more passive income from your investments, the following companies specialize in delivering generous cash dividends to their share owners.
Enbridge
Conflict in the Middle East and Europe makes clear the need for reliable and affordable energy sources. Enbridge (ENB -1.21%) is supplying its customers with dependable stores of natural gas, oil, and renewable energy -- and passing its profits on to its investors.
Roughly 30% of the crude oil produced in North America and 20% of the natural gas used in the U.S. flows through Enbridge's infrastructure. The energy giant's pipelines, storage facilities, and utility businesses produce predictable revenue across market cycles. That enables Enbridge to pay a dependable -- and sizable -- cash distribution to its shareholders, which yields more than 8% today.
Better still, Enbridge's investors can expect their dividend payments to grow steadily. Liquified natural gas (LNG) and renewable energy projects should help to drive the company's profits higher in the coming years. Enbridge is investing across a range of lower-carbon energy technologies, including wind, solar, hydrogen, and renewable natural gas. This forward-thinking approach should enable Enbridge to extend its 28-year streak of annual dividend increases well into the future.
This combination of steady cash generation, attractive growth prospects, and bountiful dividends should allow Enbridge to deliver wealth-building returns to its share owners in the years ahead.
AGNC Investment Corp.
Like Enbridge, AGNC Investment Corp. (AGNC 0.97%) is well-positioned to deliver passive income to its investors in the coming years. The real estate investment trust (REIT) serves an important and lucrative role in the U.S. housing market, which makes it possible for it to offer you a massive 16% dividend yield.
As a mortgage REIT, AGNC invests in mortgage-backed securities (MBS). These are investments that provide a claim on the cash flow generated by pools of mortgages. By making it easier for banks and other originators to sell the loans they issue, buyers of MBS help make homeownership accessible for more people.
Notably, AGNC invests primarily in 30-year fixed-rate mortgages that are guaranteed by U.S. government agencies. The low-risk profile of these MBS allows AGNC to leverage its investments. This is how the REIT can afford to pay out such a large dividend, even though the average yield on its assets has typically been less than 4%. By borrowing money at rates that are lower than the yields of the mortgages it buys, AGNC can amplify its -- and its shareholders' -- returns.
Better still, because mortgages are paid monthly, AGNC elects to pay monthly dividends rather than quarterly distributions. Investors who rely on their dividend income to cover living expenses will no doubt appreciate the regularity of these cash payments.
Those who buy AGNC's stock today also stand to enjoy significant share price appreciation when interest rates normalize. The Federal Reserve appears to be nearing the end of rate hikes designed to tame inflation, and it could move to cut rates to stimulate the economy as early as next year. The profitability and value of AGNC's investment portfolio should increase in such a scenario, and investors would likely bid up its shares in turn.
