5 Unstoppable Dividend Growth Stocks to Buy Now
I'm going to let you in on a little-known investing fact: Companies that grow their dividends have delivered the highest total returns over the last several decades. According to data by Hartford Funds and Ned Davis Research, dividend growers and initiators have delivered a 10.7% annualized total return since 1973. That's a better return than the average of stock in the S&P 500 (8.2%), companies with no change in their dividend policy (7.1%), and non-payers (4.8%).
Given those higher returns, investors should consider adding high-quality dividend growth stocks to their portfolios. Five top options are American Tower (NYSE: AMT), Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE: MAA), Realty Income (NYSE: O), and Prologis (NYSE: PLD). They should continue delivering unstoppable dividend growth in the coming years. Add in that their stock prices are all down at least 5% this year -- pushing up their dividend yields -- and they look like great long-term buys right now.
American Tower has been a dividend growth machine. The data and communications infrastructure REIT recently declared its latest payment, which was 6.1% above last quarter's amount and 12.2% higher than its year-ago level. That continued the company's unstoppable dividend growth since becoming a REIT more than a decade ago. With demand for digital infrastructure as strong as ever, driven by 5G upgrades and digital transformation initiatives, American Tower should be able to continue growing its dividend, which now yields 2.8%, for years to come.
Source Fool.com
