For the beginning of the year, I did some research on a lot of stocks and wrote the Best Dividend Stocks for 2012 eBook (you can download it for free here). This eBook includes 29 stocks (20 US and 9 Canadian) that have been showing very solid dividend metrics.
When I did my research, I was using the following filters:
Dividend Yield over 3% (because low dividend yield stocks are not of interest in the current market)
Dividend Payout Ratio under 75% (because we want sustainable dividend payouts!)
5 Years Dividend Growth positive (because we want companies that raise their dividend even considering 2008)
I used 2 filters: one on the US stock market and another one on the Canadian stock market. Today, I’m presenting the Best US dividend stocks and I’ll do the same thing with the Canadian market on Wednesday.
I was surprised to see that 182 stocks fit in my search criteria! And if I become pickier and drop the dividend payout ratio under 60% while increasing the 5 years dividend growth to 5%, I still get 91 stocks!
So if you are not convinced that there are opportunities in this market for 2012 with this data, I don’t know what you need to become a believer ;-). In order to be complete, my filters should have included other metrics such as P/E ratio, sales & earning growth over 5 years, etc. However, my goal was to filter through the market and find the strongest dividend stocks according to their dividend metrics. Obviously, more research on any of these companies is required before claiming it is the stock pick of the year. However, if you are looking for somewhere to start your stock hunting for 2012, I think this list is definitely a must.
Here are the Best US Dividend Stocks according to the criteria:
Ticker Name Industry Price Dividend Yield Payout Ratio Dividend Growth 5 Years
LMT Lockheed Martin Corp Aerospace/Defense 78.52 5.1 36.64 21.06
RTN Raytheon Co Aerospace/Defense 46.7 3.68 30.6 12.11
NOC Northrop Grumman Corp Aerospace/Defense 56.62 3.53 26.74 11.17
MPR Met-Pro Corp Air Pollution Control Eq 8.83 3.22 60.09 7.06
WHR Whirlpool Corp Appliances 48.01 4.17 21.17 2.33
MSFT Microsoft Corp Applications Software 25.695 3.11 23.33 12.94
ALV Autoliv Inc Auto/Trk Prts&Equip-Orig 51.42 3.5 15.8 4.93
PEP PepsiCo Inc/NC Beverages-Non-alcoholic 65.98 3.12 47.92 11.79
ARLP Alliance Resource Partners LP Coal 74.347 5.14 36.65 13.57
AHGP Alliance Holdings GP LP Coal 51.19 4.77 65.24 46.44
RPM RPM International Inc Coatings/Paint 23.61 3.64 57.43 5.23
MBCN Middlefield Banc Corp Commer Banks-Central US 17.25 6.03 65.04 3.57
LCNB LCNB Corp Commer Banks-Central US 13 4.94 46.86 1.3
CHBH Croghan Bancshares Inc Commer Banks-Central US 27.8 4.6 53.7 1.47
CSBB CSB Bancorp Inc/OH Commer Banks-Central US 16.35 4.4 56.32 2.38
IOFB Iowa First Bancshares Corp Commer Banks-Central US 26 4.37 36.67 1.66
FMAO Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc/Archbold OH Commer Banks-Central US 17.5 4.33 49.33 5.74
CFR Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc Commer Banks-Central US 51.28 3.59 51.75 6.75
CBKM Consumers Bancorp Inc Commer Banks-Central US 12.9 3.41 37.23 10.59
SBSI Southside Bancshares Inc Commer Banks-Central US 21.82 3.3 33.48 19.62
PSBQ PSB Holdings Inc/WI Commer Banks-Central US 23.75 3.12 23.41 2.99
GSBC Great Southern Bancorp Inc Commer Banks-Central US 23.73 3.03 46.24 4.42
FKYS First Keystone Corp Commer Banks-Eastern US 19.75 5.06 56.48 2.71
JFBC Jeffersonville Bancorp Commer Banks-Eastern US 10.28 5.06 70.37 1.61
SAL Salisbury Bancorp Inc Commer Banks-Eastern US 23.28 4.81 59.1 1.69
PWOD Penns Woods Bancorp Inc Commer Banks-Eastern US 39.2 4.69 64.56 1.24
NWFL Norwood Financial Corp Commer Banks-Eastern US 25.91 4.62 42.66 7.18
CNAF Commercial National Financial Corp/PA Commer Banks-Eastern US 22.74 4.57 45.76 3.71
QNBC QNB Corp Commer Banks-Eastern US 22.15 4.56 41.32 3.55
PFNS Penseco Financial Services Corp Commer Banks-Eastern US 37 4.54 46.95 2.29
CHMG Chemung Financial Corp Commer Banks-Eastern US 22.95 4.36 34.86 0.82
AROW Arrow Financial Corp Commer Banks-Eastern US 23.13 4.32 50.23 3.23
DIMC Dimeco Inc Commer Banks-Eastern US 34.10001 4.22 44.58 6.72
CCNE CNB Financial Corp/PA Commer Banks-Eastern US 15.73 4.2 61.27 2.98
CBU Community Bank System Inc Commer Banks-Eastern US 26.81 3.88 49.21 5.09
ALNC Alliance Financial Corp/NY Commer Banks-Eastern US 32.05 3.87 46.78 2.28
MTB M&T Bank Corp Commer Banks-Eastern US 74.71 3.75 48.21 4.47
WASH Washington Trust Bancorp Inc Commer Banks-Eastern US 23.5199 3.74 56.65 3.01
BHB Bar Harbor Bankshares Commer Banks-Eastern US 30.29 3.7 39.51 3.89
TMP Tompkins Financial Corp Commer Banks-Eastern US 39.21 3.67 42.51 6.1
NBTB NBT Bancorp Inc Commer Banks-Eastern US 21.8 3.67 48.04 1.03
CCFN CCFNB Bancorp Inc Commer Banks-Eastern US 34.05 3.64 41.72 9.71
SOMH Somerset Hills Bancorp Commer Banks-Eastern US 7.81 3.59 44.54 21.88
FLIC First of Long Island Corp/The Commer Banks-Eastern US 26.28 3.5 36.57 14.61
CNND Canandaigua National Corp Commer Banks-Eastern US 90 3.19 29 10.34
FISI Financial Institutions Inc Commer Banks-Eastern US 16.49 3.15 24.68 6.69
CZFS Citizens Financial Services Inc Commer Banks-Eastern US 34.5 3.13 27.49 7.24
BMTC Bryn Mawr Bank Corp Commer Banks-Eastern US 19.21 3.12 64.49 5.46
CAC Camden National Corp Commer Banks-Eastern US 32.6 3.07 30.97 11.26
FWV First West Virginia Bancorp Commer Banks-Southern US 14.5 5.21 51.64 1.58
CIZN Citizens Holding Co Commer Banks-Southern US 17.39 5.06 57.39 4.98
AMNB American National Bankshares Inc Commer Banks-Southern US 19.25 4.78 68.08 1.12
RNST Renasant Corp Commer Banks-Southern US 14.7501 4.61 49.59 1.65
CTBI Community Trust Bancorp Inc Commer Banks-Southern US 29.13 4.26 55.81 3.22
AUBN Auburn National Bancorporation Inc Commer Banks-Southern US 19.3 4.15 53.16 4.56
CHCO City Holding Co Commer Banks-Southern US 33.7 4.15 54.47 4.53
EFSI Eagle Financial Services Inc Commer Banks-Southern US 17.75 4.06 61.97 3.71
BOMK Bank of McKenney/Va Commer Banks-Southern US 6.67 4.05 34.98 4.18
PNBI Pioneer Bankshares Inc Commer Banks-Southern US #N/A N/A 3.97 32.17 2.96
TRMK Trustmark Corp Commer Banks-Southern US 23.2 3.97 58.93 1.6
NKSH National Bankshares Inc Commer Banks-Southern US 27.21 3.82 40.52 6.5
SYBT SY Bancorp Inc Commer Banks-Southern US 20.65 3.49 41.16 4.66
HBHC Hancock Holding Co Commer Banks-Southern US 31.04 3.09 68.42 1.41
BOH Bank of Hawaii Corp Commer Banks-Western US 43.1 4.18 47.2 3.44
CVBF CVB Financial Corp Commer Banks-Western US 9.55 3.56 57.56 1.8
WABC Westamerica Bancorporation Commer Banks-Western US 42.65 3.47 44.51 2.21
FMCB Farmers & Merchants Bancorp/Lodi CA Commer Banks-Western US 360 3.39 41.93 6.56
NRIM Northrim BanCorp Inc Commer Banks-Western US 17.2 3.02 31.41 2.97
STX Seagate Technology PLC Computers-Memory Devices 15.62 4.61 31.77 24.57
KMB Kimberly-Clark Corp Consumer Products-Misc 72.71 3.85 58.87 7.39
AM American Greetings Corp Consumer Products-Misc 16.39 3.66 25.69 7.06
SON Sonoco Products Co Containers-Paper/Plastic 32.6703 3.55 56.17 3.9
BMS Bemis Co Inc Containers-Paper/Plastic 29.355 3.27 50.66 4.78
SEE Sealed Air Corp Containers-Paper/Plastic 16.7 3.11 31.61 11.63
AVP Avon Products Inc Cosmetics&Toiletries 16.98 5.43 63.71 5.62
PG Procter & Gamble Co/The Cosmetics&Toiletries 65.8699 3.19 47.77 11.19
HHS Harte-Hanks Inc Direct Marketing 9.44 3.39 35.71 5.92
GPC Genuine Parts Co Distribution/Wholesale 59.06 3.05 54.45 5.92
ETN Eaton Corp Diversified Manufact Op 42.98 3.16 39.07 12.94
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc Diversified Manufact Op 46.46 3.1 42.54 14.38
MOLX Molex Inc Electric Products-Misc 22.855 3.5 41.13 24.57
EMR Emerson Electric Co Electric Products-Misc 47.0154 3.4 42.34 9.06
EXC Exelon Corp Electric-Integrated 42.75 4.91 54.31 5.59
PPL PPL Corp Electric-Integrated 28.9275 4.84 63.35 4.94
AEP American Electric Power Co Inc Electric-Integrated 40.44 4.65 68.04 4.28
TE TECO Energy Inc Electric-Integrated 18.71 4.6 73.1 2.26
ETR Entergy Corp Electric-Integrated 72.44 4.58 48.31 8.98
WR Westar Energy Inc Electric-Integrated 27.96 4.58 68.73 5.06
SCG SCANA Corp Electric-Integrated 43.97 4.41 63.56 2.92
PNW Pinnacle West Capital Corp Electric-Integrated 47.7 4.4 67.88 0.73
PEG Public Service Enterprise Group Inc Electric-Integrated 31.369 4.37 44.51 3.74
DTE DTE Energy Co Electric-Integrated 53.929 4.36 58.25 6.79
POR Portland General Electric Co Electric-Integrated 24.87 4.26 62.33 9.24
LNT Alliant Energy Corp Electric-Integrated 43.16 3.94 60.35 8.13
ED Consolidated Edison Inc Electric-Integrated 61.389 3.91 68.15 0.85
D Dominion Resources Inc/VA Electric-Integrated 52.58 3.75 36.37 7.38
NST NSTAR Electric-Integrated 45.4 3.75 71.87 7.04
NEE NextEra Energy Inc Electric-Integrated 59.24 3.71 41.93 7.96
WEC Wisconsin Energy Corp Electric-Integrated 34.27 3.5 41.15 17.72
CNL Cleco Corp Electric-Integrated 37.18 3.36 23.23 4.52
MGEE MGE Energy Inc Electric-Integrated 46.43 3.3 59.55 1.79
EIX Edison International Electric-Integrated 40.365 3.22 32.91 3.46
MDU MDU Resources Group Inc Electric-Integrated 21.018 3.19 49.14 4.59
NU Northeast Utilities Electric-Integrated 34.785 3.16 46.84 8.7
GRMN Garmin Ltd Electronic Compo-Misc 39.32 4.07 51.12 26.19
INTC Intel Corp Electronic Compo-Semicon 23.565 3.56 30.56 14.36
AYR Aircastle Ltd Finance-Leasing Compan 12.39 4.84 48.33 11.38
FLO Flowers Foods Inc Food-Baking 18.96 3.16 51.72 22.54
RMCF Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc Food-Confectionery 8.68 4.6 61.89 4.94
HNZ HJ Heinz Co Food-Misc/Diversified 53.89 3.56 58.23 6.96
CPB Campbell Soup Co Food-Misc/Diversified 33.31 3.48 47.2 9.41
K Kellogg Co Food-Misc/Diversified 49.89 3.45 46.83 7.99
GIS General Mills Inc Food-Misc/Diversified 39.74 3.07 40.56 11.14
SYY Sysco Corp Food-Wholesale/Distrib 28.87 3.74 52.47 8.87
CNP CenterPoint Energy Inc Gas-Distribution 19.48 4.06 72.35 5.66
SRE Sempra Energy Gas-Distribution 53.77 3.57 55.22 9.86
STR Questar Corp Gas-Distribution 19.52 3.33 49.63 5.92
WDR Waddell & Reed Financial Inc Invest Mgmnt/Advis Serv 24.77 4.04 42.08 5.92
JNS Janus Capital Group Inc Invest Mgmnt/Advis Serv 5.795 3.45 4.63 30.26
EV Eaton Vance Corp Invest Mgmnt/Advis Serv 23.01 3.3 39.18 11.69
BLK BlackRock Inc Invest Mgmnt/Advis Serv 171.81 3.2 37.62 26.77
AFL Aflac Inc Life/Health Insurance 40.92 3.23 22.82 17.47
SPAN Span-America Medical Systems Inc Medical Products 14.15 3.11 31.54 15.41
LLY Eli Lilly & Co Medical-Drugs 41.37 4.74 42.75 4.14
BMY Bristol-Myers Squibb Co Medical-Drugs 35.05 3.88 71.24 3.34
JNJ Johnson & Johnson Medical-Drugs 64.633 3.53 43.54 9.11
AP Ampco-Pittsburgh Corp Metal Processors&Fabrica 20.04 3.59 47.8 12.47
ANAT American National Insurance Co Multi-line Insurance 72.49 4.25 56.85 0.46
MDP Meredith Corp Multimedia 32.08 4.77 33.61 12.39
WM Waste Management Inc Non-hazardous Waste Disp 31.77 4.47 63.38 9.1
RSG Republic Services Inc Non-hazardous Waste Disp 26.74 3.29 58.99 16.22
COP ConocoPhillips Oil Comp-Integrated 70.18 3.76 27.95 12.89
CVX Chevron Corp Oil Comp-Integrated 104.95 3.09 29.83 8.98
MWV MeadWestvaco Corp Paper&Related Products 29.1 3.44 61.83 1.68
WPZ Williams Partners LP Pipelines 59.51 5.02 52.21 12.56
SXL Sunoco Logistics Partners LP Pipelines 36.96 4.47 41.37 9.81
PRE PartnerRe Ltd Reinsurance 62.26 3.85 19.27 7.99
AXS Axis Capital Holdings Ltd Reinsurance 31.39 3.06 14.84 8.92
MGRC McGrath Rentcorp Rental Auto/Equipment 28.5 3.23 59.4 8.1
BWS Brown Shoe Co Inc Retail-Apparel/Shoe 8.67 3.23 32.91 5.59
RSH RadioShack Corp Retail-Consumer Electron 9.2 5.46 12.86 14.87
BOBE Bob Evans Farms Inc/DE Retail-Restaurants 32.82 3.05 43.67 11.6
NIDB Northeast Indiana Bancorp Inc S&L/Thrifts-Central US 12.2 5.84 41.85 1.95
PULB Pulaski Financial Corp S&L/Thrifts-Central US 6.71 5.66 62.97 2.86
ASBN ASB Financial Corp S&L/Thrifts-Central US 13.02 5.33 46.97 1.76
PBNI Peoples Bancorp/Auburn IN S&L/Thrifts-Central US 16.21 4.91 67.7 0
FFDF FFD Financial Corp S&L/Thrifts-Central US 14.23 4.78 50.89 6.34
FCAP First Capital Inc S&L/Thrifts-Central US 18.55 4.1 53.71 3.21
HARL Harleysville Savings Financial Corp S&L/Thrifts-Eastern US 14.35 5.3 52.38 3.18
HCBK Hudson City Bancorp Inc S&L/Thrifts-Eastern US 6.06 5.27 55.05 5.39
ESBK Elmira Savings Bank FSB/The S&L/Thrifts-Eastern US 16.4 4.88 45.24 4.59
NHTB New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares Inc S&L/Thrifts-Eastern US 11.2 4.64 40.3 0.39
GOVB Gouverneur Bancorp Inc S&L/Thrifts-Eastern US 7.35 4.63 33.55 2.53
FFIC Flushing Financial Corp S&L/Thrifts-Eastern US 12.71 4.08 40.65 3.4
GCBC Greene County Bancorp Inc S&L/Thrifts-Eastern US 17.477 4.01 31.13 8.76
PFS Provident Financial Services Inc S&L/Thrifts-Eastern US 13.15 3.65 50.26 3.8
LSBK Lake Shore Bancorp Inc S&L/Thrifts-Eastern US 9.35 2.99 17.42 56.32
SVBC Sistersville Bancorp Inc S&L/Thrifts-Southern US 13 5.08 22.46 3.78
UNTN United Tennessee Bankshares Inc S&L/Thrifts-Southern US 11 4.45 23.13 2.18
TSH Teche Holding Co S&L/Thrifts-Southern US 34.65 4.16 41.08 4.78
ALMG Alamogordo Financial Corp S&L/Thrifts-Western US 15.8 7.59 54.12 4.12
MLGF Malaga Financial Corp S&L/Thrifts-Western US 12.11 4 21.12 6.83
MXIM Maxim Integrated Products Inc Semicon Compo-Intg Circu 25.54 3.45 50.98 8.88
LLTC Linear Technology Corp Semicon Compo-Intg Circu 29.38 3.27 37.4 9.86
AMAT Applied Materials Inc Semiconductor Equipment 10.25 3.12 21.91 11.49
FRD Friedman Industries Inc Steel-Producers 10.57 4.92 70.03 8.45
STLD Steel Dynamics Inc Steel-Producers 12.67 3.16 46.26 13.4
JCS Communications Systems Inc Telecommunication Equip 13.458 4.46 50.92 10.76
HRS Harris Corp Telecommunication Equip 35.0093 3.2 21.6 22.77
T AT&T Inc Telephone-Integrated 29.17 6.04 52.32 5.28
HTCO HickoryTech Corp Telephone-Integrated 10.99 5.13 57.38 2.57
SBGI Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc Television 10.895 4.41 44.97 2.46
HAS Hasbro Inc Toys 32.64 3.68 35.19 20.64
MAT Mattel Inc Toys 27.7104 3.32 42.53 7.2
MSEX Middlesex Water Co Water 18.505 4 74.42 1.42
CWT California Water Service Group Water 18.18 3.38 65.73 1.35
AWR American States Water Co Water 34.886 3.21 62.16 3.87
YORW York Water Co Water 17.29 3.09 72.86 3.18
WTR Aqua America Inc Water 21.76 3.03 65.26 7.26
Among this list, I’m covering the following stocks in my eBook:
Avon Products Inc – AVP
AT&T – T
Black Rock Inc – BLK
Chevron Corp – CVX
Conoco Phillips – COP
Flowers Food Inc – FLO
Garmin Ltd – GRMN
General Mills Inc – GIS
Hasbro Inc – HAS
Harris Corp – HRS
Intel Corp – INTC
Johnson & Johnson – JNJ
Lockheed Martin Corp – LMT
Microsoft Corp – MSFT
PepsiCo Inc – PEP
Procter & Gamble – PG
RadioShack Corp – RSH
Seagate Technology PLC – STX
Sunoco Logistics Partners LP – SXL
Wisconsin Energy Corp – WEC
Waste Management Inc – WM
To be honest, I was the first one surprised to see RadioShack on the list! And this is why I’ve decided to look at it a little bit deeper ;-). To be honest, I didn’t review all the stocks I wanted in this eBook and this is why I wanted to share this list with you. I’m curious to see which of these companies you would like me to analyze in the upcoming months.
Let me know what you think!