The 2 Safest High-Yield Dividend Stocks in Energy

Investing in a high-yield stock isn't worth it if the dividend winds up getting cut. The fat yield, in that case, was little more than an illusion. The energy industry has been plagued by this phenomenon in recent years, as exemplified by Kinder Morgan's 75% 2016 dividend cut or ENI's nearly 30% cut in 2015. But there are no magic tricks taking place at 6.4%-yielding Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) or 3.8%-yielding ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM). They are two of the safest high-yield dividends stocks in the energy space backed by long, and still intact, annual dividend growth streaks.    

Enterprise, an oil and natural gas midstream limited partnership, sports the higher yield of this pair. That's not surprising since the partnership structure is specifically designed to pass income through to unitholders. But it's worth noting that the 6.4% yield is backed by 20 consecutive years' worth of distribution increases, with an average annual increase of about 5%. So it has both an impressive yield and an impressive record of slow and steady distribution growth.  

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Source: Fool.com