With stocks slumping over the past year
and the market gyrating wildly so far in 2016, it looks like a good time
to settle down with solid, dividend-paying stocks. If share prices
resume their slide, dividends can provide some income to cushion the
losses. And small but regular dividend payments can add up to big gains
over time.
Historically, dividends have generated
about 40% of the market’s total returns (the rest has come from price
gains). Moreover, dividend payers tend to lose less than nonpayers
during downturns and vault ahead of the broader market over long
stretches.
We chose five firms that are steadily
boosting earnings and dividends along the way, measures that should help
lift their stock prices, along with two high-yield stocks that seem
worth the extra risk...
Source: Kiplinger