Better Buy: Altria vs. Procter & Gamble

Altria (NYSE: MO) and Procter Gamble (NYSE: PG) own consumer brands that are household names. But they operate in very different spaces, and that changes the investment equation in a material way. Altria's huge 8.1% dividend yield may be more enticing than the 2.4% on offer from P, but yield alone doesn't tell the whole story when you are looking at this pair.

Income investors tend to focus first and foremost on dividend yield. That's understandable, as a higher yield means generating more income from your portfolio. On this front, Altria is the hands-down winner, given that its yield is more than twice as high as what you'd get from owning Procter Gamble. And yet P is a Dividend King with over six decades of annual dividend increases behind it. Altria's dividend streak is 14 years long.