For more than a century, Procter & Gamble Company (PG -0.03%) has been a rock-solid dividend stock. The company has paid a dividend for 125 straight years, and has increased its payout for 59 straight years.
Lately, earnings haven't kept up with the growth of the dividend. Today, Procter & Gamble pays out more in dividends than it earns from operations -- not a position any company wants to be in. For investors looking for a better dividend, I have a few stocks you may not have thought of before.
PG Dividends Paid (TTM) data by YCharts.
Diageo plc
When you order your next cocktail, there's a high probability that you'll be getting a Diageo (DEO -1.48%) product. The company makes brands like Ketel One, Johnny Walker, Crown Royal, and Smirnoff. It has a level of scale in both production and distribution that make it nearly impossible to replace them on store shelves.
The company has become a solid dividend stock, as well. It has a 4% dividend yield today, and has been increasing its payout for over a decade straight.
I think there's more of a competitive threat in diapers and detergent than there is in alcohol. Diageo will be around for years, and it's a dividend stock to consider today.
8point3 Energy Partners
Yieldcos are fairly new to the market, but 8point3 Energy Partners (CAFD) is one of the best for investors right now. It's a product of co-sponsors First Solar and SunPower, two of the largest solar developers in the world, with market-leading technologies and strong balance sheets.
What 8point3 Energy Partners does is buy projects from its sponsors that have 20+ year contracts, and then pays out cash generated from those projects in the form of a dividend. It's like an MLP, except for solar projects with long-term contracts.
What separates 8point3 Energy Partners is that its dual-sponsor structure keeps each sponsor in check from overpaying for projects, and the companies will keep the balance sheet conservative in an effort to reduce rise. With a 5.9% dividend yield that will likely grow 12%-15% over the next few years, this is a dividend stock to be very bullish about.
Las Vegas Sands
Gaming stocks aren't for everyone, but if you're looking for a solid dividend and the potential for stock appreciation, Las Vegas Sands is a gaming company to watch.
Las Vegas Sands owns premier assets in Macau, as well as one of only two casinos in Singapore. Both are hubs of gaming in Asia, a region that's crazy about gambling. The company just reported $4.2 billion in EBITDA -- a proxy for cash flow from a resort -- in the past year, and has started returning that cash in the form of dividends and share buybacks.
In the past year, the company has paid $2.1 billion in dividends, and bought back $205 million of shares. The 2016 dividend of $2.88 per share implies a yield of 6.7%, and with cash flow from operations more than covering that payout, I think this is a dividend worth considering for investors interested in gaming.
Dividends of the future
With Procter & Gamble struggling to grow revenue, and now paying out more in a dividend than it earns each year, it may be time to start looking at better dividend options. Diageo, 8point3 Energy Partners, and Las Vegas Sands offer both high yields and stable businesses, which makes them better options than the former king of dividends Procter & Gamble.
