Kimberly Clark (KMB +1.88%) isn't a household name, although the consumer staples giant's products are in most households. It's also not that well-known among investors, even though it has a streak of 54 consecutive years of dividend increases, rivaling PepsiCo (PEP +0.83%). PepsiCo has far greater brand recognition because almost everyone knows its namesake beverage, whereas few would associate Huggies, Kleenex, and Cottonelle with Kimberly Clark.
Here's a closer look at this Dividend King (a company with 50 or more years of consecutive annual dividend increases), which deserves more attention from dividend investors.
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A boring dividend stock
Kimberly Clark raised its dividend from $1.26 per share to $1.28 per share this past January, extending its dividend growth streak to 54 years in a row. The consumer staples company has now paid dividends for 92 straight years. PepsiCo, which extended its streak to 54 years in June with a 4% raise, has now paid a dividend each year since 1965.
PepsiCo has spent a fortune on marketing to build a global beverage brand around its iconic name. That brand image has made it easily recognizable in the investor community. Kimberly Clark also spends a lot of money on marketing. That's why its portfolio of household product brands holds No. 1 or No. 2 market share positions in about 70 countries and serves one in every four people globally each day. However, that hasn't translated into a well-known corporate brand.
As a result, many income investors are unfamiliar with the company. That's causing them to overlook a top dividend stock that offers an even more enticing yield than PepsiCo (4.7% vs. 4.1%).
The company's products benefit from durable, growing demand, with demand for its basic household products even more resilient than that for PepsiCo's beverage and snacking products. Meanwhile, it's taking a major step to enhance its global portfolio by acquiring consumer health products brand Kenvue, which could help drive growth (including the dividend) for years to come.
With a PepsiCo-like dividend growth streak and a higher-yielding payout backed by a more resilient portfolio, income-focused investors should know Kimberly Clark.
