Dividends can be an investor's best friend. Not only do they represent a tangible return on your investment, but they also contribute a stream of passive income that can flow directly into your bank account. If you are an income investor, you should be looking for companies that have sturdy business models that generate copious amounts of free cash flow. Ideally, investors will not be expecting these businesses to expand rapidly, so they can pay out most of their earnings as dividends rather than reinvesting heavily in growth efforts.

But that's not the only aspect of a business you should weigh. Another pertinent consideration is its dividend track record. When management has proven willing and able to continue rewarding stockholders with larger and larger payouts over time, that can give you confidence about their chances of keeping that up. Businesses that have increased their dividends annually without fail for an impressive 50 years or more earn membership in the exclusive club known as the Dividend Kings.

Here are three dividend stocks that meet all of those criteria that you should double up on right now.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com