Inflation Is Heating Up! You NEED To Protect Yourself!
Dividend investors come in all shapes and sizes.
Some of you might need income now, in retirement.
Dividend yield is really important to ensure you’re getting enough cash.
Running out of money isn’t an option!
Others might like dividends because it’s a stable way to invest.
Dividend companies are more reliable than a small biotech firm.
There are plenty of other reasons you might like dividends… I don’t have time to list them all!
But one overlooked part of dividend investing is really important: your dividends need to grow.
Why is dividend growth important?
Without growth, our dividend payments end up getting smaller every year because of inflation.
Imagine you’ve been living off dividends the last 10 years.
Inflation has increased prices by more than 30% over the last decade!
Your groceries, gas, utility costs, traveling, dining out, prescriptions—everything is more expensive.
And people expect it to get worse before it gets better.
Americans think inflation is going to hit 7% over the next 12 months. Yikes!
How are our dividends supposed to keep up with high inflation?
Simple: we need to make sure we have enough dividend growth in our portfolios.
The dividend yield on the following companies isn’t exciting.
But they’re consistently growing their dividends year after year to keep our payments going up and protect us from inflation.
First up is the largest investment bank in the world, Morgan Stanley (ticker: MS).
Morgan Stanley has a mediocre 2.8% dividend yield, so don’t expect massive checks in the short-term.
But long-term? Morgan Stanley has got you covered.
Morgan Stanley has averaged a 21% increase in its dividends over the last 10 years.
And with a payout ratio just shy of 40%, there’s plenty of room for its dividends to continue to grow.
The duck commercials are pretty annoying, but Aflac (ticker: AFL) can be forgiven for its amazing dividend growth.
Aflac has grown its dividend for 44 straight years!
Aflac’s dividend growth isn’t as aggressive as Morgan Stanley’s.
But averaging 11% dividend growth over the last 10 years is more than enough to keep Aflac’s payments higher than inflation.
And last year, Aflac increased its dividend by 16%.
The insurer’s current dividend yield of 2.2% is below the industry average.
But we’re here for growth, and Aflac is a great pick to make sure your payments keep up with the price of eggs!
The last company isn’t as well-known as Morgan Stanley and Aflac, but Fastenal (ticker: FAST) is a star for dividend growth.
Fastenal makes tools, nuts, bolts, etc.—essentially, whatever you might find in a hardware store.
The business isn’t super exciting, but its dividend growth will get your blood pumping.
Fastenal has increased its dividend for 26 consecutive years and is averaging 12% annual growth each year over the last decade.
Like Morgan Stanley and Aflac, Fastenal’s dividend yield is a low 2.2%.
But if you need to add some dividend growth to your portfolio, then Fastenal is a great option.
Morgan Stanley, Aflac, and Fastenal are some of my favorites for dividend growth, but there are plenty of others.
What other companies with high dividend growth do you guys love?
I want to know your list of favorites!
Michael Jennings, Editor
Dividend Stocks Research
Category: Dividend Stocks To Buy?
