Introduction
Recent weakness in the stock market is creating value for those with the foresight and courage to invest when opportunities present themselves. This is important, because subsequent to the Great Recession many of the premier dividend growth stocks such as those on the Standard & Poor’s Dividend Aristocrats list have become overvalued.
Many attribute this to the current low interest rate environment suggesting that investors hungry for yield have flocked to premier dividend growth stocks which inflated their valuations. To a great extent, I believe this is true. More importantly, I continue to believe that most Dividend Aristocrats are currently overvalued. Nevertheless, this article will look at 11 Dividend Aristocrats that are currently available at attractive valuations.
However, even though all 11 of these research candidates are fairly valued, they are not all the same. The one thing they have in common is that they have all increased their dividend for at least 25 consecutive years. Nevertheless, some of them offer high yield and low growth potential, while some of them offer lower yield and higher growth potential. Additionally, high or attractive total return potential on a few of them is primarily more a function of current low valuation than growth.
The bottom line is that I believe there are attractive investment opportunities within this group that can meet most every dividend investor’s goal. If your objective is high current yield, there are a couple of choices for that. In contrast, if you are more interested in a high total return there are a couple of choices for that.
In the analyze-out-loud video associated with this article I will briefly go through each research candidate through the lens of F.A.S.T. Graphs™. As I go through each candidate I will provide a few brief comments on what I see as the attractiveness on each. My primary objective is to provide research ideas that make long-term investment sense regardless of your objective.
As a bonus, I will include 2 Dividend Aristocrats that I consider high-yield but riskier turnaround candidates.
One final comment: I recognize that I have not been producing many ideas lately. With all the volatility occurring in the market, I have not been comfortable presenting stocks to research. However, I have been conducting numerous preliminary screens looking for ideas that I felt were sound. Frankly, I am still not comfortable suggesting buying any stocks yet. On the other hand, I am more comfortable than I was a few weeks ago. Finally, always remember that these recommendations are preliminary research candidates and not specific buy recommendations. Therefore, as always, I recommend you conduct your own research and due diligence. And of course, I am hopeful that FAST Graphs and FUN Graphs allow you to research stocks deeper & faster.