What are we looking for?
U.S.-listed dividend payers that combine business quality with predictable, growing dividends.
In a market increasingly driven by momentum and speculation, disciplined dividend payers often fade into the background. Yet, companies that consistently increase their dividends, allocate capital prudently, and sustain attractive yields reflect a deeper kind of strength: one built on profitability, stability and long-term value creation.
By focusing on these qualities, we highlight businesses that may be overlooked in today’s bull market but continue to reward investors through steady income and resilient performance over time.
The screen
We screened stocks in the S&P 500 stock universe focusing on the following criteria:
- Return on invested capital (ROIC) greater than 10 per cent – this is our business health metric;
- Five-year and 10-year dividend growth standard deviation below 5 per cent – indicating consistent and steadily dividends;
- Dividend yield above 1.5 per cent;
- 10-year dividend growth above 3 per cent
We retained the top 15 per cent of companies based on dividend yield, 10-year and five-year dividend growth standard deviation, and 10-year dividend growth.
(Dividend growth standard deviation measures the variability of quarter-over-quarter dividend increases, expressed as a percentage.)
For informational purposes, we also added five-year dividend growth, price-to-earnings ratio and one-year price return.
More about Inovestor
For 25 years as a pioneering Canadian fintech, we’ve consistently pushed the boundaries to empower investment advisers with advanced, easy-to-use investment strategies. Discover more about our journey and offerings on our website.
What we found
| TICKER | NAME | ROIC (%) | DIV. YLD (%) | 5Y DIV. GRTH. (%) | 5Y DIV. SD (%) | 10Y DIV. GRTH. (%) | 10Y DIV. SD (%) | P/E | 1Y PRICE RTN (%) |
| CL-N | Colgate-Palmolive Co | 28.0 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 1.1 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 21.4 | -21.8 |
| KMB-Q | Kimberly-Clark Corp | 24.2 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 3.6 | 1.4 | 17.3 | -13.2 |
| PM-N | Philip Morris Intl Inc. | 32.1 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 21.7 | 18.7 |
| JNJ-N | Johnson & Johnson | 18.2 | 2.7 | 5.4 | 1.5 | 5.8 | 1.7 | 18.3 | 16.3 |
| PFE-N | Pfizer Inc | 13.0 | 6.9 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 4.0 | 2.3 | 7.3 | -13.5 |
| PEP-Q | PepsiCo Inc | 15.3 | 3.8 | 7.3 | 2.2 | 7.7 | 2.8 | 19.3 | -12.0 |
| MRK-N | Merck & Co Inc | 23.3 | 3.7 | 5.5 | 1.6 | 7.2 | 3.1 | 11.5 | -17.4 |
| MO-N | Altria Group Inc | 39.2 | 6.6 | 4.3 | 1.2 | 6.4 | 4.0 | 12.1 | 29.5 |
| BMY-N | Bristol-Myers Squibb | 25.4 | 5.7 | 6.0 | 2.3 | 6.4 | 4.0 | 6.5 | -17.2 |
| SWKS-Q | Skyworks Solutions Inc | 15.2 | 3.8 | 8.1 | 3.2 | 13.0 | 4.3 | 12.9 | -22.1 |
| CLX-N | Clorox Company | 27.2 | 4.3 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 15.0 | -27.1 |
| IPG-N | Interpublic Group of Co | 16.8 | 4.9 | 5.8 | 2.3 | 9.4 | 4.5 | 9.4 | -9.5 |
Colgate-Palmolive Co. CL-N , a global manufacturer of consumer products, offers the highest dividend stability with a 10-year dividend growth deviation of only 1.3 per cent. Despite its relatively low dividend growth of 3.2 per cent over 10 years, the stock trades at a trailing P/E of 21 – a premium typical of high-quality consumer staples. Its quality is reflected by its high return on capital of 28 per cent, the third-highest of our list. Shares have fallen about 21 per cent over the past year, creating a more attractive valuation entry for long-term investors.
Kimberly-Clark Corp. KMB-Q the parent company of Huggies, Kleenex and Scott, is a resilient force in the consumer staples sector. It boasts an attractive 4.2-per-cent dividend yield and exceptional ROIC of 24 per cent, reflecting strong profitability. The company has a stable history of dividend growth, averaging 2.7 per cent over the past five years and 3.6 per cent over the last decade, both with remarkably low volatility. However, similar to Colgate-Palmolive, its shares have dropped 13 per cent as investors likely shifted capital from boring defensive holdings into more exciting, aggressive stocks.
