Is Diebold a Dividend Beast, Backslider, or Bust?

By Asit Sharma – Nov 7, 2013 at 5:07PM

NYSE: DBD

Diebold Nixdorf

Diebold owns the longest annual dividend increase streak among U.S. equities. Should you buy or avoid this dividend powerhouse?

Opteva 800 series advanced deposit module. Photo courtesy of Diebold.

Diebold (DBD), the transaction and security firm that most of us know for its ATM technology, owns a magnificent, shareholder-friendly streak, having increased its dividend annually for the last 60 years. That's a current record among U.S. equities. The company's dividend also yields an attractive 3.9%.

But the company is also having a difficult 2013, laboring through year-to-date net losses and management turnover, among other problems. These difficulties are reflected in Diebold's stock price, which is essentially flat year to date, versus a return of 27.5% for the S&P 500 index. Does Diebold's lagging performance indicate an entry point for dividend investors? In the video article below, which is part of a dividend series, Motley Fool contributor Asit Sharma breaks down Diebold's performance and identifies whether the company is a dividend beast, backslider, or bust.

Fool contributor Asit Sharma has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.