3 Dividend Stocks That Are Safer Investments Than AT&T
AT&T (NYSE: T) gave income investors an unwelcome surprise last week when the company announced it was ditching WarnerMedia and would be "re-sizing" its dividend after the spinoff. It's an important reminder for investors of just how quickly and without warning dividend policies can change. With a smaller business moving forward and different growth prospects, AT&T investors will undoubtedly lose a good chunk of the recurring income they were previously accustomed to.
One way to minimize the risk of a company slashing its payouts is by investing in businesses that are generating ample free cash flow to support their dividend payments and that aren't struggling to stay out of the red (AT&T incurred net losses of $2.2 billion over the past four quarters). And although their yields may not be nearly as high as AT&T's, three much safer income stocks to invest in are Becton, Dickinson (NYSE: BDX), Target (NYSE: TGT), and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).
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Source Fool.com
