3 Top Dividend Stocks to Buy in May
Despite the volatility in the broader stock market, the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is still offering investors a tiny dividend yield of just 1.3%. You can do much better than that with companies like NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), and Enbridge (NYSE: ENB), which offer yields as high as 5.8%. Here's a quick look at each of these top dividend stocks as May gets underway.NextEra Energy's dividend yield is around 3.3% today, which is more than twice what you'd get from the S&P 500 index. The dividend has been increased annually for three decades. But the real story here is that the annualized rate of dividend growth over the past decade was a huge 10%. Management is projecting that same level of dividend growth to continue for the foreseeable future.What's really interesting is that NextEra Energy is a utility, a sector known for slow and steady growth over time. NextEra bucks that trend because it is really two companies in one. The foundation is the company's regulated utility operation in Florida, a state that has benefited from in-migration for many years. The growth engine for NextEra, however, is its large and growing clean energy business. With the shift toward cleaner power likely to play out over decades, there's no reason to expect this dividend growth machine to slow down anytime soon.Continue reading
Despite the volatility in the broader stock market, the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is still offering investors a tiny dividend yield of just 1.3%. You can do much better than that with companies like NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), and Enbridge (NYSE: ENB), which offer yields as high as 5.8%. Here's a quick look at each of these top dividend stocks as May gets underway.
NextEra Energy's dividend yield is around 3.3% today, which is more than twice what you'd get from the S&P 500 index. The dividend has been increased annually for three decades. But the real story here is that the annualized rate of dividend growth over the past decade was a huge 10%. Management is projecting that same level of dividend growth to continue for the foreseeable future.
What's really interesting is that NextEra Energy is a utility, a sector known for slow and steady growth over time. NextEra bucks that trend because it is really two companies in one. The foundation is the company's regulated utility operation in Florida, a state that has benefited from in-migration for many years. The growth engine for NextEra, however, is its large and growing clean energy business. With the shift toward cleaner power likely to play out over decades, there's no reason to expect this dividend growth machine to slow down anytime soon.
