The Most Promising Dividends in Title Insurance

Dividend payers deserve a berth in any long-term stock portfolio. But seemingly attractive dividend yields are not always as fetching as they may appear. Let's see which companies in the surety and title insurance industry offer the most promising dividends.

Yields and growth rates and payout ratios, oh my!
Before we get to those companies, though, you should understand just why you'd want to own dividend payers. These stocks can contribute a huge chunk of growth to your portfolio in good times, and bolster it during market downturns.

As my colleague Matt Koppenheffer has noted: "Between 2000 and 2009, the average dividend-adjusted return on stocks with market caps above $5 billion and a trailing yield of 2.5% or better was a whopping 114%. Compare that to a 19% drop for the S&P 500."

When hunting for promising dividend payers, unsophisticated investors will often just look for the highest yields they can find. While these stocks will indeed pay out the most, the yield figures apply only for the current year. Extremely steep dividend yields can be precarious, and even solid ones are vulnerable to dividend cuts.

When evaluating a company's attractiveness in terms of its dividend, it's important to examine at least three factors:

1. The current yield
2. The dividend growth
3. The payout ratio

If a company has a middling dividend yield, but a history of increasing its payment substantially from year to year, it deserves extra consideration. A $3 dividend can become $7.80 in 10 years, if it grows at 10% annually. (It will top $20 after 20 years.) Thus, a 3% yield today may be more attractive than a 4% one, if the 3% company is rapidly increasing that dividend.

Next, consider the company's payout ratio, which reflects what percentage of income the company is spending on its dividend. In general, the lower the number, the better. A low payout ratio means there's plenty of room for generous dividend increases. It also means that much of the company's income remains in its hands, giving it a lot of flexibility. That money can fund the business's expansion, pay off debt, buy back shares, or even buy other companies. A steep payout ratio reflects little flexibility for the company, less room for dividend growth, and a stronger chance that if the company falls on hard times, it will have to reduce its dividend.

Peering into surety and title insurance
Below, I've compiled some of the major dividend-paying players in this industry (and a few smaller outfits), ranked according to their dividend yields:

Data: Motley Fool CAPS
NM=Not meaningful due to negative earnings. 
*Not including special dividends.

If you focus on dividend yield alone, you might end up with Old Republic and OneBeacon, but they're not necessarily your best bets. OneBeacon has made numerous special dividends that make it hard to predict what future payouts will look like, while Old Republic has reported a net loss, not a net profit, recently.

You may notice, too, that some notable players in the industry, such as PMI Group (NYSE: PMI) and MGIC Investment (NYSE: MTG), aren't on the list. That's because those smaller players got hurt badly by the housing crash, as their mortgage insurance products created big losses for the companies.

Just right
As I see it, among the companies above, Fidelity National Financial offers the best combination of dividend traits, sporting some solid income now and a good chance of strong, stable dividend growth in the future. It's not the most exciting combination I've ever seen, though -- remember that you may find even more attractive dividends elsewhere, such as in packaged consumer goods or oil refining.

Of course, as with all stocks, you'll want to look into more than just a company's dividend situation before making a purchase decision.

Do your portfolio a favor. Don't ignore the growth you can gain from powerful dividend payers.

To get more ideas for great dividend-paying stocks, read about "13 High-Yielding Stocks to Buy Today."