If you are looking to build a stock portfolio for your retirement, you are probably looking to invest in companies with decent and growing dividends and shareholder-friendly management. In addition, it's obviously a good idea to invest in rock-solid industries that are unlikely to disappear in 20 years' time. In that line of thought, railroad Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) and Dividend Aristocrats Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL) and Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) are good candidates to add to your nest egg.
Railroads are the lifeblood of the industrial economy. As long as there's a need to move goods from place to place, there will be a need for railroads, so Union Pacific is likely to be around for many decades to come. Moreover, the fact that the railroads own their own infrastructure means they act as effective oligopolies within their geographic regions. For example, Union Pacific and BNSF dominate the West Coast, while CSX and Norfolk Southern are the leading players on the East Coast.
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Source Fool.com