With November just getting under way you may be looking at Wall Street in search of some reliable dividend stocks. You should look at Chevron (CVX 1.71%), Coca-Cola (KO 1.29%), and Realty Income (O 0.69%). They all have attractively high yields and the shortest dividend streak on the list is 30 years long. Here's a quick look at each one.
Chevron is built to reward you through the energy cycle
Chevron's 38-year streak of annual dividend increases is extra impressive when you consider that it operates in the energy sector. Oil and natural gas prices are known for being highly volatile, which, in turn, leads to big swings in the sales and earnings of energy companies. That's just as true of Chevron as it is of any other commodity-driven energy business.
NYSE: CVX
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However, Chevron has managed to ride the swings better than most. That's partly because it uses an integrated model, which means it has exposure to the upstream (energy production), the midstream (pipelines), and the downstream (chemicals and refining) segments of the industry. The diversification across the industry helps to soften the peaks and valleys inherent to the business. But, on top of that, Chevron has an incredibly strong balance sheet, with a debt-to-equity ratio of around 0.2. That's low by any standard and allows the company to take on debt during energy downturns so it can continue to support the business and the dividend. When energy prices recover, as they always have historically, leverage is reduced.
Chevron's 4.4% dividend yield is well above that of the market (1.2%) and higher than that of the average energy stock (4%). It is a good choice for conservative investors who would like to add some energy exposure to their dividend portfolios.
Coca-Cola is a fairly priced Dividend King
Coca-Cola isn't a screaming buy today, but it does look like it is fairly priced to a little cheap. That's highlighted by the fact that its price-to-sales, price-to-earnings, and price-to-book-value ratios are all slightly below their five-year averages right now. Don't ignore this fact because reliable Dividend Kings like Coca-Cola don't go on sale very often. And when they do, the discount Wall Street provides usually isn't huge.
What are you getting? Aside from over six decades of annual dividend increases, Coca-Cola also happens to be the most important non-alcoholic beverage company in the world. It can stand toe-to-toe with any competitor in the consumer staples sector with regard to brand strength, distribution strength, marketing strength, and research and development (R&D) strength. It is also large enough to act as an industry consolidator, which can quickly bring new brands and product categories into the portfolio. And all of that comes along with a 3% yield, which is above the industry average of 2.7%.
NYSE: KO
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You have a chance to get a fair price for this industry-leading consumer staples maker as November gets underway and you might want to take it.
Realty Income is a high-yield slowpoke
Realty Income has increased its dividend annually for 30 years. The average annualized dividend increase over that span was around 4.2%. That's not a huge growth figure, but it is higher than the historical growth rate of inflation. That means the buying power of Realty Income's dividend has increased, slowly, over time. The stock could be a good fit for conservative income investors.
The big story here is that Realty Income is a bellwether net lease real estate investment trust (REIT). As the largest player in the niche it serves, it has some key advantages that should help it remain a reliable dividend stock. For example, it has relatively easy access to capital markets to fund its acquisitions, it can execute quickly on deals, and it can handle larger deals than smaller competitors. On top of that, the company has exposure to the U.S. market and to countries across Europe, providing it with multiple levers for growth.
NYSE: O
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To be fair, Realty Income will never be an exciting company, but that's the point. It is a slow and boring dividend stock that happens to come with a very attractive 5.5% dividend yield (the average REIT's yield is a much lower 3.9%). It could be a strong foundation for your dividend portfolio in November.
Dig in, get to know them, and consider buying in November
Chevron, Coca-Cola, and Realty Income are all industry-leading companies. They all have attractive yields as the new month gets underway. If you take the time to look at them, it is highly likely that at least one will end up in your portfolio before November is over.
