Category Monthly Dividend

Updated on March 3rd, 2025 by Felix Martinez

The Dividend Aristocrats are among the highest-quality dividend growth stocks an investor can buy. They have increased their dividends for 25+ consecutive years.

Becoming a Dividend Aristocrat is no small feat. Beyond certain market capitalization and trading volume requirements, Dividend Aristocrats must have raised their dividends each year for at least 25 years, and be included in the S&P 500 Index.

This presents a high hurdle that relatively few companies can clear. For example, there are currently 69 Dividend Aristocrats out of the 500 companies that comprise the S&P 500 Index.

We created a complete list of all 69 Dividend Aristocrats, along with important financial metrics like dividend yields and price-to-earnings ratios. You can download an Excel spreadsheet of all 69 Dividend Aristocrats by clicking the link below:

 

Disclaimer: Sure Dividend is not affiliated with S&P Global in any way. S&P Global owns and maintains The Dividend Aristocrats Index. The information in this article and downloadable spreadsheet is based on Sure Dividend’s own review, summary, and analysis of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) and other sources, and is meant to help individual investors better understand this ETF and the index upon which it is based. None of the information in this article or spreadsheet is official data from S&P Global. Consult S&P Global for official information.

An even smaller group of stocks have raised their dividends for 50+ years in a row. These are known as the Dividend Kings.

Genuine Parts (GPC) has increased its dividend for 69 consecutive years, giving it one of the longest dividend growth streaks in the market. You can see all 54 Dividend Kings here.

There is nothing overly exciting about Genuine Parts’ business model. Still, its steady annual dividend increases prove that a “boring” business can be just what income investors need for long-term dividend growth.

Business Overview

Genuine Parts traces its roots back to 1928, when Carlyle Fraser purchased Motor Parts Depot for $40,000 and renamed it Genuine Parts Company. The original Genuine Parts store had annual sales of just $75,000 and only 6 employees.

It has grown into a sprawling conglomerate that sells automotive and industrial parts, electrical materials, and general business products. Its global reach includes North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe and is comprised of more than 3,000 locations.

Source: Investor Presentation 

The industrial parts group sells industrial replacement parts to MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations) and OEM (original equipment manufacturer) customers. Customers are derived from a wide range of segments, including food and beverage, metals and mining, oil and gas, and health care.

Genuine Parts posted fourth quarter and full-year earnings on February 18th, 2025. The company reported steady growth in 2024, with fourth-quarter sales rising 3.3% to $5.8 billion and full-year sales reaching $23.5 billion. Adjusted diluted EPS was $1.61 for Q4 and $8.16 for the year. The company generated $1.3 billion in operating cash flow and returned $705 million to shareholders through dividends and buybacks.

Global automotive sales grew 6.1%, while industrial sales declined 1.2%. GPC continued its restructuring efforts, achieving significant cost savings. It also increased its dividend for the 69th consecutive year, raising the annual payout to $4.12 per share.

For 2025, GPC forecasts 2%–4% revenue growth, adjusted EPS of $7.75–$8.25, and up to $1.0 billion in free cash flow. The company remains focused on efficiency, cost control, and shareholder value.

Growth Prospects

Genuine Parts should benefit from structural trends, as the environment for auto replacement parts is highly positive. Consumers are holding onto their cars longer and increasingly making minor repairs to keep cars on the road longer, rather than buying new cars.

As average costs of vehicle repair increase as the car ages, this directly benefits Genuine Parts.

According to Genuine Parts, vehicles aged six years or older now represent over ~70% of cars on the road. This bodes very well for Genuine Parts.

In addition, the automotive aftermarket products and services market is significant. Genuine Parts has a sizable portion of the $200 billion (and growing) automotive aftermarket business.

Source: Investor Presentation

One way the company has historically captured market share in this space has been through acquisitions. It has made several acquisitions throughout its history.

For example, Genuine Parts acquired Alliance Automotive Group for $2 billion. Alliance is a European vehicle parts, tools, and workshop equipment distributor. More recently, in 2022, Genuine Parts completed its $1.3 billion all-cash purchase of Kaman Distribution Group, a leading power transmission, automation, and fluid power company.

Finally, expense reductions will aid earnings growth. The company noted it is undergoing a corporate restructuring to lower headcount and improve efficiency. These changes should result in better operating margins over time.

We expect 9% annual EPS growth over the next five years for Genuine Parts.

Competitive Advantages & Recession Performance

The biggest challenge facing the retail industry right now, is the threat of e-commerce competition. However, automotive parts retailers like NAPA are not exposed to this risk.

Automotive repairs are often complex, challenging tasks. NAPA is a leading brand, thanks partly to its reputation for quality products and service. Customers value being able to ask questions to qualified staff, which gives Genuine Parts a competitive advantage.

Genuine Parts has a leadership position across its businesses. All four of its operating segments represent the #1 or #2 brand in their respective categories, leading to a strong brand and steady customer demand.

Genuine Parts’ earnings-per-share during the Great Recession are below:

• 2007 earnings-per-share of $2.98
• 2008 earnings-per-share of $2.92 (2.0% decline)
• 2009 earnings-per-share of $2.50 (14% decline)
• 2010 earnings-per-share of $3.00 (20% increase)

Earnings-per-share declined significantly in 2009, which should come as no surprise. Consumers tend to tighten their belts when the economy enters a downturn.

That said, Genuine Parts remained highly profitable throughout the recession, and returned to growth in 2010 and beyond. The company remained highly profitable in 2020, despite the economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

There will always be a certain level of demand for automotive parts, which gives Genuine Parts’ earnings a high floor.

Valuation & Expected Returns

Based on the most recent closing price of ~$124 and expected 2025 earnings-per-share of $7.95, Genuine Parts has a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.6. Our fair value estimate for Genuine Parts is a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.

As a result, Genuine Parts is slightly overvalued at present. Multiple expansion could decrease annual returns by 0.7% per year over the next five years.

Genuine Parts’ future earnings growth and dividends will add to future returns. We expect Genuine Parts to grow its earnings-per-share by 9% annually over the next five years.

The stock also has a 3.3% current dividend yield. Genuine Parts has a highly sustainable dividend. The company has paid a yearly dividend since it went public in 1948.

Adding it all up, Genuine Parts’ total annual returns could consist of the following:

• 9% earnings growth
• 3.3% dividend yield
• 0.7% valuation multiple compression

Genuine Parts is expected to generate total annual returns of 11.6% over the next five years. This is a strong rate of return, making the stock a buy.

Final Thoughts

Genuine Parts does not get much coverage in the financial media. It is far from the high-flying tech startups that typically receive more attention. However, Genuine Parts is a very appealing stock for investors looking for stable profitability and reliable dividend growth.

Due to favorable industry dynamics, the company has a long runway of growth ahead. It should continue to raise its dividend each year, as it has for the past 69 years.

Given its history of dividend growth, Genuine Parts is suitable for investors desiring income and steady dividend increases each year. With an 11.6% expected rate of return, GPC stock is a buy.

If you are interested in finding more high-quality dividend growth stocks suitable for long-term investment, the following Sure Dividend databases will be useful:

The major domestic stock market indices are another solid resource for finding investment ideas. Sure Dividend compiles the following stock market databases and updates them monthly:

Article updated on March 5th, 2025 by Bob Ciura

Spreadsheet data updated daily

High dividend stocks are stocks with a dividend yield well in excess of the market average dividend yield of ~1.3%.

The resources in this report focus on truly high yielding securities, often with dividend yields multiples higher than the market average.

Resource #1: The High Dividend Stocks List Spreadsheet

 

Note: The spreadsheet uses the Wilshire 5000 as the universe of securities from which to select, plus a few additional securities we screen for with 5%+ dividend yields.

The free high dividend stocks list spreadsheet has our full list of ~140 individual securities (stocks, REITs, MLPs, etc.) with 5%+ dividend yields.

The high dividend stocks spreadsheet has important metrics to help you find compelling ultra high yield income investing ideas. These metrics include:

• Market cap
• Payout ratio
• Dividend yield
• Trailing P/E ratio
• Annualized 5-year dividend growth rate

Resource #2: The 7 Best High Yield Stocks Now
This resource analyzes the 7 best high-yield stocks in detail. The criteria we use to rank high dividend securities in this resource are:

• Is in the 870+ income security Sure Analysis Research Database
• Rank based on dividend yield, from highest to lowest
• Dividend Risk Scores of C or better
• Based in the U.S.

Additionally, a maximum of three stocks are allowed for any single sector to ensure diversification.

Resource #3: The High Dividend 50 Series
The High Dividend 50 Series is where we analyze the 50 highest-yielding securities in the Sure Analysis Research Database. The series consists of 50 stand-alone analysis reports on these securities.

Resource #4: More High-Yield Investing Research
– How to calculate your income per month based on dividend yield
– The risks of high-yield investing
– Other high dividend research

The 7 Best High Yield Stocks Now

This resource analyzes the 7 best high yielding securities in the Sure Analysis Research Database as ranked by the following criteria:

• Rank based on dividend yield, from highest to lowest
• Dividend Risk Scores of C or better
• Based in the U.S.

Note: Ranking data is from the current edition of the Sure Analysis spreadsheet.

Additionally, a maximum of three stocks are allowed for any single market sector to ensure diversification.

It’s difficult to define ‘best’. Here, we are using ‘best’ in terms of highest yields with reasonable and better dividend safety.

A tremendous amount of research goes into finding these 7 high yield securities. We analyze more than 850 income securities every quarter in the Sure Analysis Research Database. This is real analysis done by our analyst team, not a quick computer screen.

“So I think it was just looking at different companies and I always thought if you looked at 10 companies, you’d find one that’s interesting, if you’d look at 20, you’d find two, or if you look at 100 you’ll find 10. The person that turns over the most rocks wins the game. I’ve also found this to be true in my personal investing.”
– Investing legend Peter Lynch

Click here to download a PDF report for just one of the 850+ income securities we cover in Sure Analysis to get an idea of the level of work that goes into finding compelling income investments for our audience.

The 7 best high yield securities are listed in order by dividend yield below, from lowest to highest.

High Dividend Stock #7: Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD)

• Dividend Yield: 6.4%
• Dividend Risk Score: B

Enterprise Products Partners was founded in 1968. It is structured as a Master Limited Partnership, or MLP, and operates as an oil and gas storage and transportation company.

Enterprise Products has a large asset base which consists of nearly 50,000 miles of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil, and refined products pipelines.

It also has storage capacity of more than 250 million barrels. These assets collect fees based on volumes of materials transported and stored.

Source: Investor Presentation

Enterprise Products Partners reported strong fourth-quarter 2024 earnings, delivering $1.6 billion in net income, or $0.74 per common unit, representing a 3% increase over the prior year.

Adjusted cash flow from operations rose 4% to $2.3 billion, with the company declaring a quarterly distribution of $0.535 per unit, a 4% year-over-year increase.

Enterprise also continued its capital return strategy, repurchasing 2.1 million common units during the quarter and 7.6 million units for the full year, bringing total buybacks under its program to $1.1 billion.

For the full year, the company posted $9.9 billion in EBITDA, moving 12.9 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on EPD (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High Dividend Stock #6: Polaris Inc. (PII)

• Dividend Yield: 6.6%
• Dividend Risk Score: B

Polaris designs, engineers, and manufactures snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and motorcycles. In addition, related accessories and replacement parts are sold with these vehicles through dealers located throughout the U.S.

The company operates under 30+ brands including Polaris, Ranger, RZR, Sportsman, Indian Motorcycle, Slingshot and Transamerican Auto Parts. The global powersports maker, serving over 100 countries, generated $7.2 billion in sales in 2024.

Source: Investor Presentation

On January 28th, 2025, Polaris announced fourth quarter and full year results. For the quarter, revenue declined 23.6% to $1.75 billion, but this was $70 million higher than excepted. Adjusted earnings-per-share of $0.92 compared very unfavorably to $1.98 in the prior year, but topped estimates by $0.02.

For the year, revenue fell 19.7% to $7.12 billion while adjusted earnings-per-share of $3.25 was down from $9.16 in 2023.

For the quarter, Marine sales declined 4%, On-Road was lower by 21%, and Off-Road, the largest component of the company, decreased 25%.

As with previous quarters, decreases in all three businesses were mostly due to lower volumes. Off-Road was also negatively impacted planned reductions in shipments. Parts, Garments, and Accessories were weaker in the Off-Road and On-Road segments.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on PII (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High Dividend Stock #5: MPLX LP (MPLX)

• Dividend Yield: 7.2%
• Dividend Risk Score: C

MPLX LP is a Master Limited Partnership that was formed by the Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) in 2012. In 2019, MPLX acquired Andeavor Logistics LP.

The business operates in two segments:

• Logistics and Storage, which relates to crude oil and refined petroleum products
• Gathering and Processing, which relates to natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs)

In early February, MPLX reported (2/4/25) financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow (DCF) per share grew 9% and 7%, respectively, primarily thanks to higher tariff rates and increased volumes of liquids and gas.

MPLX maintained a healthy consolidated debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio of 3.1x and a solid distribution coverage ratio of 1.5x.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on MPLX (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High Dividend Stock #4: Altria Group (MO)

• Dividend Yield: 7.2%
• Dividend Risk Score: B

Altria is a tobacco stock that sells cigarettes, chewing tobacco, cigars, e-cigarettes, and more under a variety of brands, including Marlboro, Skoal, and Copenhagen, among others.

With a current dividend yield of nearly 8%, Altria is an ideal retirement investment stock.

This is a period of transition for Altria. The decline in the U.S. smoking rate continues. In response, Altria has invested heavily in new products that appeal to changing consumer preferences, as the smoke-free category continues to grow.

Source: Investor Presentation

The company also has a 35% investment stake in e-cigarette maker JUUL, and a 45% stake in the Canadian cannabis producer Cronos Group (CRON).

Altria Group reported solid financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024. For the fourth quarter, revenue of $5.1 billion beat analyst estimates by $50 million, and increased 1.6% year-over-year. Adjusted EPS of $1.29 beat by a penny.

For the full year, Altria generated adjusted diluted EPS growth of 3.4% and returned over $10.2 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

For 2025, Altria expects adjusted diluted EPS in a range of $5.22 to $5.37. This represents an adjusted diluted EPS growth rate of 2% to 5% for 2025.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Altria (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High Dividend Stock #3: Universal Health Realty Income Trust (UHT)

• Dividend Yield: 7.3%
• Dividend Risk Score: B

Universal Health Realty Income Trust operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT), specializing in the healthcare sector. The trust owns healthcare and human service-related facilities.

Its property portfolio includes acute care hospitals, medical office buildings, rehabilitation hospitals, behavioral healthcare facilities, sub-acute care facilities and childcare centers. Universal Health’s portfolio consists of 69 properties in 20 states.

On October 24, 2024, UHT reported its third quarter results. Funds from Operations (FFO) saw a slight improvement, rising to $11.3 million, or $0.82 per diluted share, from $11.2 million, or $0.81 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2023. This increase in FFO was mainly due to the rise in net income during the period.

The company maintained a strong liquidity position with significant cash reserves and continued strategic investments to enhance its property portfolio.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on UHT (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High Dividend Stock #2: Whirlpool Corp. (WHR)

• Dividend Yield: 7.7%
• Dividend Risk Score: B

Whirlpool Corporation, founded in 1955 and headquartered in Benton Harbor, MI, is a leading home appliance company with top brands Whirlpool, KitchenAid, and Maytag.

Roughly half of the company’s sales are in North America, but Whirlpool does business around the world under twelve principal brand names. The company, which employs about 44,000 people, generated nearly $17 billion in sales in 2024.

On January 29th, 2025, Whirpool reported fourth quarter 2024 results. Sales for the quarter totaled $4.14 billion, down 18.7% from fourth quarter 2023. Ongoing earnings per diluted share was $4.57 for the quarter, 19% higher than the previous year’s $3.85 per share.

Whirlpool issued its 2025 guidance, seeing ongoing earnings-per-share coming in at approximately $10.00 on revenue of $15.8 billion. Additionally, Whirlpool expects cash provided by operating activities to total roughly $1 billion, with $500 to $600 million in free cash flow.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on WHR (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High Dividend Stock #1: Western Union (WU)

• Dividend Yield: 9.2%
• Dividend Risk Score: C

The Western Union Company is the world leader in the business of domestic and international money transfers. The company has a network of approximately 550,000 agents globally and operates in more than 200 countries.

About 90% of agents are outside of the US. Western Union operates two business segments, Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) and Other (bill payments in the US and Argentina).

Western Union reported mixed Q4 2024 results on February 4th, 2025. Revenue increased 1% and diluted GAAP earnings per share increased to $1.14 in the quarter, compared to $0.35 in the prior year on higher revenue and a $0.75 tax benefit on reorganizing the international operations.

Revenue rose, despite challenges in Iraq on higher Banded Digital transactions and Consumer Services volumes.

CMT revenue fell 4% year-over-year even with 3% higher transaction volumes. Branded Digital Money Transfer CMT revenues increased 7% as transactions rose 13%. Digital revenue is now 25% of total CMT revenue and 32% of transactions.

Consumer Services revenue rose 56% on new products and expansion of retail foreign exchange offerings. The firm launched a media network business, expanded retail foreign exchange, and grew retail money orders.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on WU (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

The High Dividend 50 Series

The High Dividend 50 Series is analysis on the 50 highest-yielding Sure Analysis Research Database stocks, excluding royalty trusts, BDCs, REITs, and MLPs.

Click on a company’s name to view the high dividend 50 series article for that company. A link to the specific Sure Analysis Research Database report page for each security is included as well.

More High-Yield Investing Resources

How To Calculate Your Monthly Income Based On Dividend Yield

A common question for income investors is “how much money can I expect to receive per month from my investment?”

To find your monthly income, follow these steps:

1. Find your investment’s dividend yield
   Note: Dividend yield can be calculated as dividends per share divided by share price
2. Multiply it by the current value of your holding
   Note: If you haven’t yet invested, multiply dividend yield by the amount you plan to invest
3. Divide this number by 12 to find monthly income

To find the monthly income from your entire portfolio, repeat the above calculation for each of your holdings and add them together.

You can also use this formula backwards to find the dividend yield you need from your investments to make a certain amount of monthly dividend income.

The example below assumes you want to know what dividend yield you need on a $240,000 investment to generate $1,000/month in dividend income.

1. Multiply $1,000 by 12 to find annual income target of $12,000
2. Divide $12,000 by your investment amount of $240,000 to find your target yield of 5.0%

In practice most dividend stocks pay dividends quarterly, so you would actually receive 3x the monthly amount quarterly instead of receiving a payment every month. However, some stocks do actually pay monthly dividends.

You can see our monthly dividend stocks list here.

The Risks Of High-Yield Investing

Investing in high-yield stocks is a great way to generate income. But it is not without risks.

First, stock prices fluctuate. Investors need to understand their risk tolerance before investing in high dividend stocks. Share price fluctuations means that your investment can (and almost certainly will) decline in value, at least temporarily (and possibly permanently) do to market volatility.

Second, businesses grow and decline. Investing in a stock gives you fractional ownership in the underlying business. Some businesses grow over time. These businesses are likely to pay higher dividends over time.

The Dividend Champions are an excellent example of this; each has paid rising dividends for 25+ consecutive years.

What’s dangerous is when a business declines. Dividends are paid out of a company’s cash flows. If the business sees its cash flows decline, or worse is losing money, it may reduce or eliminate its dividend.

Business decline is a real risk with high yield investing. Business declines often coincide with and or accelerate during recessions.

A company’s payout ratio gives a good gauge of how much ‘room’ a company has to pay its dividend. The payout ratio is calculated as dividends divided by income.

The lower the payout ratio, the better, because dividends have more earnings coverage.

A company with a payout ratio over 100% is paying out more in dividends than it is making in profits, a long-term unsustainable situation.

For example, a company with a payout ratio of 50% is making double in income what it is paying out in dividends, so it has ‘room’ for earnings to decline significantly without reducing its dividend.

Third, management teams can change their dividend policies. Even if a company isn’t declining, the company’s management team may change priorities and reduce or eliminate its dividend.

In practice, this typically occurs if a company has a high level of debt and wants to focus on debt reduction. But it could in theory happen to any dividend paying stock.

The risks of high yield investing can be reduced (but not eliminated) by investing in higher quality businesses in a diversified portfolio of 20 or more stocks.

This reduces both business decline risk (by investing in high quality businesses) and the shock to your portfolio if any one stock does reduce or eliminate its dividend (through diversification).

Other High Dividend Research

The free spreadsheet of 5%+ dividend yield stocks in this article gives you more than 140 high yield income securities to review. You can download it below:

 

Investors should continue to monitor each stock to make sure their fundamentals and growth remain on track, particularly among stocks with extremely high dividend yields.

See the resources below to generate additional compelling investment ideas for dividend growth stocks and/or high-yield investment securities.

Updated on March 5th, 2025 by Bob Ciura

Monthly dividend stocks have instant appeal for many income investors. Stocks that pay their dividends each month offer more frequent payouts than traditional quarterly or semi-annual dividend payers.

For this reason, we created a full list of ~80 monthly dividend stocks.

You can download our full Excel spreadsheet of all monthly dividend stocks (along with metrics that matter like dividend yield and payout ratio) by clicking on the link below:

 

In addition, stocks that have high dividend yields are also attractive for income investors.

With the average S&P 500 yield hovering around 1.3%, investors can generate much more income with high-yield stocks. Screening for monthly dividend stocks that also have high dividend yields makes for an appealing combination.

This article will list the 20 highest-yielding monthly dividend stocks.

Table Of Contents

The following 20 monthly dividend stocks have high dividend yields above 5%. Stocks are listed by their dividend yields, from lowest to highest.

The list excludes oil and gas royalty trust, which have extreme fluctuations in their dividend payouts from one quarter to the next due to the underlying volatility of commodity prices.

The list also only includes U.S.-based companies.

You can instantly jump to an individual section of the article by utilizing the links below:

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #20: LTC Properties (LTC)

LTC Properties is a REIT that invests in senior housing and skilled nursing properties. Its portfolio consists of approximately 50% senior housing and 50% skilled nursing properties.

The REIT owns 194 investments in 26 states, with 31 operating partners.

Source: Investor Presentation

In late February, LTC reported (2/24/25) financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. Funds from operations (FFO) per share dipped -8% over the prior year’s quarter, from $0.72 to $0.66, and missed the analysts’ consensus by $0.01.

The decrease in FFO per share resulted primarily from impairment losses. LTC improved its leverage ratio (Net Debt to EBITDA) from 4.7x to 4.3x thanks to various asset sales.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on LTC (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #19: EPR Properties (EPR)

EPR Properties is a specialty real estate investment trust, or REIT, that invests in properties in specific market segments that require industry knowledge to operate effectively.

It selects properties it believes have strong return potential in Entertainment, Recreation, and Education. The portfolio includes about $7 billion in investments across 340+ locations in 44 states, including over 200 tenants.

Source: Investor Presentation

EPR posted fourth quarter and full-year earnings on February 26th, 2025, and results were better than expected on both the top and bottom lines.

Funds-from-operations came to $1.23, which was a penny ahead of estimates. Revenue was up 3% to $177 million, beating estimates by $16 million.

Adjusted FFO per-share was down from $1.29 in Q3, but higher from $1.16 in the year-ago period. Revenue was also down from Q3, but higher from the year-ago period.

Property operating expenses were $15.2 million, higher from $14.6 million in Q3, and $14.8 million a year ago. Adjusted EBITDAre of $136 million was lower from $143 million in Q3, but higher from $129 million last year.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on EPR (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #19: Apple Hospitality REIT (APLE)

Apple Hospitality REIT is a hotel REIT that owns a portfolio of hotels with tens of thousands of rooms located across dozens of states.

It franchises its properties out to leading brands, including Marriottbranded hotels, Hilton-branded hotels, and Hyatt-branded hotels.

Source: Investor Presentation

Since it first began reporting FFO/share in its annual reports (2011), Apple initially generated very impressive annualized FFO/share growth thanks to its growing scale (due in large part to a merger in 2015), effective and efficient business model, and strong economic tailwinds in the United States during that period.

Typically, during a recessionary period, hotel REITs experience significant losses of income. Therefore, Apple is likely not very recession resistant.

However, its concentration in strong brand names, excellent locations, strong balance sheet, franchising model, and emphasis on value should enable it to outperform its peers in a recession.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on APLE (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #18: Gladstone Capital (GLAD)

Gladstone Capital is a business development company, or BDC, that primarily invests in small and medium businesses. These investments are made via a variety of equity (10% of portfolio) and debt instruments (90% of portfolio), generally with very high yields.

Loan size is typically in the $7 million to $30 million range and has terms up to seven years.

Gladstone posted first quarter earnings on February 12th, 2025, and results were weaker than expected. Earnings-per-share came to 50 cents, well short of the estimate for 65 cents.

Total investment income, which is akin to revenue, was down $1.8 million, or 7.4%, year-over-year. Compared to the September quarter, total investment income fell by $2.1 million.

The net increase in net assets resulting from operations was $27 million, or $1.21 per share. This was lower than the $31.8 million, or $1.46 per share, gain in the September quarter.

Gladstone noted $152 million in new fundings for the quarter, including six new portfolio companies. Exits and prepayments were $165 million, so net new funding was -$13 million. Total debt investments rose by $45 million during the quarter.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on GLAD (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #17: Gladstone Investment Corporation (GAIN)

Gladstone Investment is a business development company (BDC) that focuses on US-based small- and medium-sized companies.

Industries which Gladstone Investment targets include aerospace & defense, oil & gas, machinery, electronics, and media & communications.

Gladstone Investment reported its third quarter (Q3 2024 ended December 31) earnings results on February 13. The company generated total investment income – Gladstone Investment’s revenue equivalent – of $21.4 million during the quarter, which represents a decline of 7% compared to the prior year’s quarter.

This was a weaker performance compared to the previous quarter, when the growth rate was positive.

Gladstone Investment’s adjusted net investment income-per-share totaled $0.23 during the fiscal third quarter. That was up slightly from the previous quarter’s level.

Gladstone Investment‘s net asset value per share totaled $13.30 on a per-share basis at the end of the quarter.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on GAIN (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #16: Gladstone Commercial (GOOD)

Gladstone Commercial Corporation is a real estate investment trust, or REIT, that specializes in single-tenant and anchored multi-tenant net leased industrial and office properties across the U.S.

The trust targets primary and secondary markets that possess favorable economic growth trends, growing populations, strong employment, and robust growth trends.

The trust’s stated goal is to pay shareholders monthly distributions, which it has done for more than 17 consecutive years. Gladstone owns over 100 properties in 24 states that are leased to about 100 unique tenants.

Gladstone posted fourth quarter and full-year earnings on February 18th, 2025, and results were somewhat weak. Funds-from-operations per share came to 35 cents, which met expectations. Revenue was $37.4 million, which missed estimates by $0.66 million. The slight move up in revenue was driven by higher straight-line rents.

Same-store rents were up 5% year-over-year, which was supported by increased straight-line rent rates and recovery revenue. Operating expenses were down to $25 million from $28.1 million a year ago, partially due to reduced impairment charges.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on GOOD (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #15: Modiv Industrial (MDV)

Modiv Industrial acquires, owns, and actively manages single-tenant net-lease industrial, retail, and office properties in the United States, focusing on strategically essential and mission-critical properties with predominantly investment-grade tenants.

As of its most recent filings, the company’s portfolio comprised 43 properties that occupied 4.5 million square feet of aggregate leasable area.

On March 4th, 2025, Modiv reported its Q4 and full-year results for the period ending December 31st, 2024. For the quarter, rental income came in at $11.7 million, down 4.8% year-over-year.

This was mainly due to the elimination of some non-NNN tenant reimbursements related to the August 2023 portfolio disposition of 13 properties.

Management fee income also fell from $99 thousand to $66 thousand. Thus, total income was $11.7 million, down 5.3% from $12.4 million last year.

AFFO was $4.1 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, down from AFFO of $4.5 million, or $0.40 per diluted share last year.

For the year, AFFO per share was $1.34. For FY2025, we expect AFFO per share of $1.38 based on the company’s current leasing profile.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on MDV (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #14: Itau Unibanco (ITUB)

Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The bank has operations across South America and other places like the United States, Portugal, Switzerland, China, Japan, etc.

On November 5th, 2024, Itaú Unibanco reported third-quarter results for 2024. The company reported recurring managerial result for the third quarter of 2024 was approximately $2.1 billion USD, reflecting a 6.0% increase from the previous quarter.

The recurring managerial return on equity stood at 22.7% on a consolidated basis and 23.8% for operations in Brazil. Total assets grew by 2.6%, surpassing $590 billion USD, while the loan portfolio increased by 1.9% globally and 2.1% in Brazil for the quarter, with year-on-year growth rates of 9.9% and 10.0%, respectively.

Key drivers included personal, vehicle, and mortgage loans, which saw quarterly growth rates of 3.1%, 3.0%, and 3.9%, respectively.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on ITUB (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #13: Fortitude Gold (FTCO)

Fortitude Gold is a junior gold producer with operations in Nevada, U.S.A, one of the world’s premier mining friendly jurisdictions. The company targets high-grade gold open pit heap leach operations averaging one gram per tonne of gold or greater.

Its property portfolio currently consists of 100% ownership in six high-grade gold properties. All six properties are within an approximate 30-mile radius of one another within the prolific Walker Lane Mineral Belt.

Source: Investor Presentation

On November 5th, 2024, Fortitude Gold released its Q3 results for the period ending September 30st, 2024. For the quarter, revenues came in at $10.2 million, 52% lower compared to last year.

The decline in revenues was primarily due to a 62% drop in gold sales volume and a 54% decrease in silver sales volume. However, these reductions were partially offset by a 26% increase in gold prices and a 23% rise in silver prices.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on FTCO (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #11: Stellus Capital (SCM)

Stellus Capital Management provides capital solutions to companies with $5 million to $50 million of EBITDA and does so with a variety of instruments, the majority of which are debt.

Stellus provides first lien, second lien, mezzanine, convertible debt, and equity investments to a diverse group of customers, generally at high yields, in the US and Canada.

Source: Investor Presentation

Stellus posted third quarter earnings on November 7th, 2024, and results were quite weak on both the top and bottom lines. Net investment income, which is similar to earnings-per-share, came to 40 cents.

This was four cents light of estimates, or about 9%. Total investment income was $26.5 million, down 2.5% year-over-year, and missing estimates by $1.34 million.

Gross operating expenses were $16.2 million, which was essentially flat year-over-year. Base management fees totaled $3.9 million for this year’s Q3 and the same period a year ago.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Stellus (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #10: Ellington Financial (EFC)

Ellington Financial Inc. acquires and manages mortgage, consumer, corporate, and other related financial assets in the United States.

The company acquires and manages residential mortgage–backed securities (RMBS) backed by prime jumbo, Alt–A, manufactured housing, and subprime residential mortgage loans.

Source: Investor Presentation

Additionally, it manages RMBS, for which the U.S. government guarantees the principal and interest payments. It also provides collateralized loan obligations, mortgage–related and non–mortgage–related derivatives, equity investments in mortgage originators and other strategic investments.

On November 6th, 2024, Ellington Financial reported its Q3 results for the period ending September 30th, 2024. Adjusted (previously referred to as “core”) EPS came in at $0.40, seven cents higher versus Q2-2024.

The rise was driven in part by a sizeable contribution from Ellington’s proprietary reverse mortgage strategy, offset by a higher share count. Ellington’s book value per share fell from $13.92 to $13.66 during the last three months.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Ellington Financial (EFC) (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #9: PennantPark Floating Rate Capital (PFLT)

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. is a business development company that seeks to make secondary direct, debt, equity, and loan investments.

The fund also aims to invest through floating rate loans in private or thinly traded or small market-cap, public middle market companies, equity securities, preferred stock, common stock, warrants or options received in connection with debt investments or through direct investments.

On November 26, 2024, PennantPark Floating Rate Capital reported strong results for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2024, with core net investment income of $0.32 per share. The portfolio grew 20% quarter-over-quarter, reaching $2 billion as the firm deployed $446 million across 10 new and 50 existing companies.

Investments carried an average yield of 11%, reflecting the continued strength of the middle market lending environment. After the quarter, PFLT remained active, investing an additional $330 million at a yield of 10.2%.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on PFLT (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #8: Prospect Capital (PSEC)

Prospect Capital Corporation is a Business Development Company, or BDC, that provides private debt and private equity to middle–market companies in the U.S.

The company focuses on direct lending to owner–operated companies, as well as sponsor–backed transactions. Prospect invests primarily in first and second lien senior loans and mezzanine debt, with occasional equity investments. 

Source: Investor Presentation

Prospect posted first quarter earnings on November 8th, 2024, and results were weak. However, the big news was a 25% dividend cut. Prospect reduced its payout to 54 cents per share annually, sending the stock reeling.

Net investment income was 21 cents per share in Q1, and revenue was $196 million. That was down 17% year-over-year.

The company is in the midst of rotating its strategy to emphasize first lien senior secured lending instead of real estate investments and collateralized loan obligations, or CLOs.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on PSEC (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #7: Horizon Technology (HRZN)

Horizon Technology Finance Corp. is a BDC that provides venture capital to small and medium–sized companies in the technology, life sciences, and healthcare–IT sectors.

The company has generated attractive risk–adjusted returns through directly originated senior secured loans and additional capital appreciation through warrants.

Source: Investor Presentation

On October 29th, 2024, Horizon released its Q3 results for the period ending September 30th, 2024. For the quarter, total investment income fell 15.5% year-over-year to $24.6.7 million, primarily due to lower interest income on investments from the debt investment portfolio.

More specifically, the company’s dollar-weighted annualized yield on average debt investments in Q3 of 2024 and Q3 of 2023 was 15.9% and 17.1%, respectively.

Net investment income per share (IIS) fell to $0.32, down from $0.53 compared to Q3-2023. Net asset value (NAV) per share landed at $9.06, down from $9.12 sequentially.

After paying its monthly distributions, Horizon’s undistributed spillover income as of June 30th, 2024 was $1.27 per share, indicating a considerable cash cushion.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on HRZN (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #6: AGNC Investment Corporation (AGNC)

American Capital Agency Corp is a mortgage real estate investment trust that invests primarily in agency mortgage–backed securities (or MBS) on a leveraged basis.

The firm’s asset portfolio is comprised of residential mortgage pass–through securities, collateralized mortgage obligations (or CMO), and non–agency MBS. Many of these are guaranteed by government–sponsored enterprises.

Source: Investor Presentation

AGNC Investment Corp. reported strong financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024. The company achieved a comprehensive income of $0.63 per common share, driven by a net income of $0.39 and other comprehensive income of $0.24 from marked-to-market investments.

Net spread and dollar roll income contributed $0.43 per share. The tangible net book value increased by $0.42 per share to $8.82, reflecting a 5.0% growth from the previous quarter.

AGNC declared dividends of $0.36 per share, resulting in a 9.3% economic return on tangible common equity, which includes both dividends and the increase in net book value.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on AGNC Investment Corp (AGNC) (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #5: Dynex Capital (DX)

Dynex Capital invests in mortgage–backed securities (MBS) on a leveraged basis in the United States. It invests in agency and non–agency MBS consisting of residential MBS, commercial MBS (CMBS), and CMBS interest–only securities.

Source: Investor Presentation

Dynex Capital released its fourth-quarter 2024 financial results, with book value ending the quarter at $12.70 per share and an economic return of 7.4% for the year.

Leverage increased slightly to 7.9x as the company deployed capital into higher-yielding agency RMBS, particularly 30-year 4.5%, 5%, and 5.5% coupons.

The shift from treasury futures to interest rate swaps was a key strategy, enhancing portfolio returns by 200 to 300 basis points and improving net interest spread.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on DX (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #4: Oxford Square Capital (OXSQ)

Oxford Square Capital Corp. is a BDC specializing in financing early and middle–stage businesses through loans and CLOs.

The company holds an equally split portfolio of First–Lien, Second–Lien, and CLO equity assets spread across multiple industries, with the highest exposure in software and business services.

Source: Investor Presentation

On November 5th, 2024, Oxford Square reported its Q3 results for the period ending September 30th, 2024. For the quarter, the company generated about $10.3 million of total investment income, down from $11.4 million in the previous quarter.

This was due to lower interest income from its debt investments and lower income from its securitization vehicles.

Further, the weighted average yield of the company’s debt investments was 13.7% at current cost, down from 13.9% in the previous quarter.

Still, the weighted average cash distribution yield of the company’s cash income producing CLO equity investments at current rose notably from 13.7% to 14.5%.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on OXSQ (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #3: Ellington Credit Co. (EARN)

Ellington Credit Co. acquires, invests in, and manages residential mortgage and real estate related assets. Ellington focuses primarily on residential mortgage-backed securities, specifically those backed by a U.S. Government agency or U.S. government–sponsored enterprise.

Agency MBS are created and backed by government agencies or enterprises, while non-agency MBS are not guaranteed by the government.

Source: Investor Presentation

On November 12th, 2024, Ellington Residential reported its third quarter results for the period ending September 30th, 2024. The company generated net income of $5.4 million, or $0.21 per share.

Ellington achieved adjusted distributable earnings of $7.2 million in the quarter, leading to adjusted earnings of $0.28 per share, which covered the dividend paid in the period.

Net interest margin was 5.22% overall. At quarter end, Ellington had $25.7 million of cash and cash equivalents, and $96 million of other unencumbered assets.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on EARN (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #2: ARMOUR Residential REIT (ARR)

ARMOUR Residential invests in residential mortgage-backed securities that include U.S. Government-sponsored entities (GSE) such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

It also includes Ginnie Mae, the Government National Mortgage Administration’s issued or guaranteed securities backed by fixed-rate, hybrid adjustable-rate, and adjustable-rate home loans.

Unsecured notes and bonds issued by the GSE and the US Treasury, money market instruments, and non-GSE or government agency-backed securities are examples of other types of investments.

Source: Investor presentation

On October 23, 2024, ARMOUR Residential REIT announced its unaudited third-quarter 2024 financial results, reporting a GAAP net income available to common stockholders of $62.9 million, or $1.21 per common share. The company generated a net interest income of $1.8 million and distributable earnings of $52.0 million, equivalent to $1.00 per common share.

ARMOUR achieved an average interest income of 4.89% on interest-earning assets and an interest cost of 5.51% on average interest-bearing liabilities. The economic net interest spread stood at 2.00%, calculated from an economic interest income of 4.44% minus an economic interest expense of 2.44%.

During the quarter, ARMOUR raised $129.4 million by issuing 6,413,735 shares of common stock through an at-the-market offering program and paid common stock dividends of $0.72 per share for Q3.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on ARMOUR Residential REIT Inc (ARR) (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

High-Yield Monthly Dividend Stock #1: Orchid Island Capital (ORC)

Orchid Island Capital is a mortgage REIT that is externally managed by Bimini Advisors LLC and focuses on investing in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), including pass-through and structured agency RMBSs.

These financial instruments generate cash flow based on residential loans such as mortgages, subprime, and home-equity loans.

Source: Investor Presentation

The company reported a net income of $17.3 million, or $0.24 per common share, significantly improving from a net loss of $80.1 million in the same quarter last year. This net income comprised $0.3 million in net interest income and $4.3 million in total expenses.

Additionally, Orchid recorded net realized and unrealized gains of $21.2 million, or $0.29 per common share, from Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) and derivative instruments, including interest rate swaps.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Orchid Island Capital, Inc. (ORC) (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Final Thoughts

Monthly dividend stocks could be more appealing to income investors than quarterly or semi-annual dividend stocks. This is because monthly dividend stocks make 12 dividend payments per year, instead of the usual 4 or 2.

Furthermore, monthly dividend stocks with high yields above 5% are even more attractive for income investors.

The 20 stocks on this list have not been vetted for dividend safety, meaning each investor should understand the unique risk factors of each company.

That said, these 20 dividend stocks make monthly payments to shareholders, and all have high dividend yields.

Further Reading

If you are interested in finding high-quality dividend growth stocks and/or other high-yield securities and income securities, the following Sure Dividend resources will be useful:

Monthly Dividend Stock Individual Security Research

Other Sure Dividend Resources

Updated on March 3rd, 2025 by Felix Martinez

At Sure Dividend, we believe that the best stocks to buy and hold to generate long-term wealth have several qualities in common. First, they are strong businesses that lead their respective industries, with the ability to generate consistent profits year after year—even during recessions.

Not only that, they also have shareholder-friendly management teams that are dedicated to raising their dividends each year. We advocate investing in the Dividend Aristocrats, a group of 69 companies in the S&P 500 Index, with at least 25 consecutive years of dividend increases.

You can download the full list of all 69 Dividend Aristocrats, along with several important financial metrics such as price-to-earnings ratios and dividend yields, by clicking on the link below:

Disclaimer: Sure Dividend is not affiliated with S&P Global in any way. S&P Global owns and maintains The Dividend Aristocrats Index. The information in this article and downloadable spreadsheet is based on Sure Dividend’s own review, summary, and analysis of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) and other sources, and is meant to help individual investors better understand this ETF and the index upon which it is based. None of the information in this article or spreadsheet is official data from S&P Global. Consult S&P Global for official information.

Each year, we review all the Dividend Aristocrats. Next up is Archer Daniels Midland (ADM).

Archer Daniels Midland has increased its dividend each year for 52 years in a row and has paid uninterrupted quarterly dividends to shareholders for 90 years. The company’s dividend is also relatively safe thanks to sound business fundamentals.

Business Overview

Archer Daniels Midland was founded in 1902 when George A. Archer and John W. Daniels began a linseed-crushing business. In 1923, Archer-Daniels Linseed Company acquired Midland Linseed Products Company, which created Archer Daniels Midland.

Today, it is an agricultural industry giant with annual revenue above $86 billion. The company produces a wide range of products and services designed to meet the growing demand for food due to rising populations.

Archer-Daniels-Midland’s businesses include processing cereal grains, oilseeds, and agricultural storage and transportation. The Ag Services and Oilseeds segment is Archer Daniels Midland’s largest.

Source: Investor Presentation

Archer-Daniels-Midland reported its fourth-quarter Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 results on February 4th, 2025. The company reported full-year earnings per share (EPS) of $3.65 and adjusted EPS of $4.74, both lower than the previous year. Net earnings totaled $1.8 billion, while adjusted net earnings reached $2.3 billion. The company generated $2.8 billion in cash flow from operations. In response to market challenges, ADM announced cost-saving initiatives targeting $500–$750 million and increased its quarterly dividend by 2%.

Fourth-quarter earnings before income taxes were $667 million, down 9% year-over-year. GAAP EPS increased 10% to $1.17, while adjusted EPS declined 16% to $1.14. Full-year earnings before taxes fell 47% to $2.3 billion, and total segment operating profit dropped 28% to $4.2 billion. The Ag Services & Oilseeds segment saw a 40% decline in operating profit due to lower crush margins and biofuel policy uncertainties, while Carbohydrate Solutions remained stable. The Nutrition segment fell 10%, with Human Nutrition down 22%.

ADM expects 2025 adjusted EPS between $4.00 and $4.75, reflecting continued market pressures. The company prioritizes operational improvements, portfolio simplification, and strategic capital allocation to drive long-term growth.

Growth Prospects

ADM faced growth challenges in 2024 due to tough comparisons following a strong prior period. Performance varied across its segments.

The Ag Services & Oilseeds segment saw a 40% drop in operating profit for the full year, driven by lower crush margins and biofuel policy uncertainties.

Carbohydrate Solutions remained stable, showing resilience despite market pressures.

The Nutrition segment declined 10% for the full year, with Human Nutrition down 22%, reflecting weaker demand.

Over time, ADM has reshaped its portfolio with acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic divestitures.

Source: Investor Presentation

For example, the acquisition of Ziegler Group and the establishment of a nutrition flavor research and customer center are expected to improve growth prospects.

This positive outlook leads us to anticipate a feasible growth rate of approximately 3.0% for the next five years.

Competitive Advantages & Recession Performance

Archer Daniels Midland has built significant competitive advantages over the years. It is the largest processor of corn in the world, which leads to economies of scale and efficiencies in production and distribution.

It is an industry giant with ~440 crop procurement locations, ~300 food and feed processing facilities, and 64 innovation centers.

At its innovation centers, the company conducts research and development to respond more effectively to changes in customer demand and improve processing efficiency. Archer Daniels Midland’s unparalleled global transportation network serves as a huge competitive advantage.

The company’s global distribution system provides high margins and barriers to entry, allowing Archer Daniels Midland to remain highly profitable even during industry downturns.

Profits held up, even during the Great Recession. Earnings-per-share during the Great Recession are below:

• 2007 earnings-per-share of $2.38
• 2008 earnings-per-share of $2.84 (19% increase)
• 2009 earnings-per-share of $3.06 (7.7% increase)
• 2010 earnings-per-share of $3.06

Archer Daniels Midland’s earnings-per-share increased in 2008 and 2009, during the Great Recession. Very few companies can boast such a performance in one of the worst economic downturns in U.S. history.

Archer Daniels Midland’s remarkable durability in recessions could be due to the fact that grains still need to be processed and transported, regardless of the economic climate.

There will always be a certain level of demand for Archer Daniels Midland’s products. From a dividend perspective, the payout looks quite safe.

Valuation & Expected Returns

Based on the expected 2025 EPS of $4.21, ADM shares trade for a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.2. Archer–Daniels–Midland has been valued at a price-to-earnings multiple of ~15 over the last decade.

Our fair value P/E is 14, meaning the stock is undervalued.

An increasing valuation multiple could generate 6% annual returns for shareholders over the next five years. Future returns will also be derived from earnings growth and dividends.

We expect Archer Daniels Midland to grow its future earnings by ~3% per year through 2030, and the stock has a current dividend yield of 4.3%.

In this case, total expected returns are 13.3% per year over the next five years, a solid risk-adjusted rate of return for Archer Daniels Midland stock.

Final Thoughts

Archer Daniels Midland is coming off a few years of strong earnings growth. While earnings are expected to decline in 2024, we see the potential for a return to long-term growth.

The company has a long history of navigating challenging periods. It has continued to generate profits and reward shareholders with rising dividends.

The stock appears to be undervalued, and has a 4.3% dividend yield, plus annual dividend increases. As a result, Archer Daniels Midland seems to be a buy for dividend growth investors.

If you are interested in finding more high-quality dividend growth stocks suitable for long-term investment, the following Sure Dividend databases will be useful:

The major domestic stock market indices are another solid resource for finding investment ideas. Sure Dividend compiles the following stock market databases and updates them monthly:

Updated on March 4th, 2025 by Bob Ciura
Spreadsheet data updated daily

The Dividend Kings are the best-of-the-best in dividend longevity.

What is a Dividend King? A stock with 50 or more consecutive years of dividend increases.

The downloadable Dividend Kings Spreadsheet List below contains the following for each stock in the index among other important investing metrics:

• Payout ratio
• Dividend yield
• Price-to-earnings ratio

You can see the full downloadable spreadsheet of all 54 Dividend Kings (along with important financial metrics such as dividend yields, payout ratios, and price-to-earnings ratios) by clicking on the link below:

 

The Dividend Kings list includes recent additions such as Automatic Data Processing (ADP), Consolidated Edison (ED), and Kenvue (KVUE).

Each Dividend King satisfies the primary requirement to be a Dividend Aristocrat (25 years of consecutive dividend increases) twice over.

Not all Dividend Kings are Dividend Aristocrats.

This unexpected result is because the ‘only’ requirement to be a Dividend Kings is 50+ years of rising dividends.

On the other hand, Dividend Aristocrats must have 25+ years of rising dividends, be a member of the S&P 500 Index, and meet certain minimum size and liquidity requirements.

Table of Contents

How To Use The Dividend Kings List to Find Dividend Stock Ideas

The Dividend Kings list is a great place to find dividend stock ideas. However, not all the stocks in the Dividend Kings list make a great investment at any given time.

Some stocks might be overvalued. Conversely, some might be undervalued – making great long-term holdings for dividend growth investors.

For those unfamiliar with Microsoft Excel, the following walk-through shows how to filter the Dividend Kings list for the stocks with the most attractive valuation based on the price-to-earnings ratio.

Step 1: Download the Dividend Kings Excel Spreadsheet.

Step 2: Follow the steps in the instructional video below. Note that we screen for price-to-earnings ratios of 15 or below in the video. You can choose any threshold that best defines ‘value’ for you.

Alternatively, following the instructions above and filtering for higher dividend yield Dividend Kings (yields of 2% or 3% or higher) will show stocks with 50+ years of rising dividends and above-average dividend yields.

Looking for businesses that have a long history of dividend increases isn’t a perfect way to identify stocks that will increase their dividends every year in the future, but there is considerable consistency in the Dividend Kings.

The 5 Best Dividend Kings Today

The following 5 stocks are our top-ranked Dividend Kings today, based on expected annual returns over the next 5 years. Stocks are ranked in order of lowest to highest expected annual returns.

Total returns include a combination of future earnings-per-share growth, dividends, and any changes in the P/E multiple.

Dividend King #5: PepsiCo Inc. (PEP)

• 5-Year Annual Expected Returns: 14.7%

PepsiCo is a global food and beverage company. Its products include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Frito-Lay chips, Gatorade, Tropicana orange juice and Quaker foods.

Its business is split roughly 60-40 in terms of food and beverage revenue. It is also balanced geographically between the U.S. and the rest of the world.

Source: Investor Presentation

On February 4th, 2025, PepsiCo announced that it would increase its annualized dividend by 5.0% to $5.69 starting with the payment that was made in June 2025, extending the company’s dividend growth streak to 53 consecutive years.

That same day, PepsiCo announced fourth quarter and full year results for the period ending December 31st, 2025. For the quarter, revenue decreased 0.3% to $27.8 billion, which was $110 million below estimates.

Adjusted earnings-per-share of $1.96 compared favorably to $1.78 the prior year and was $0.02 better than excepted.

For the year, revenue grew 0.4% to $91.9 billion while adjusted earnings-per-share of $8.16 compared to $7.62 in 2023. Currency exchange reduced revenue by 2% and earnings-per-share by 4%.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on PEP (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Dividend King #4: PPG Industries (PPG)

• 5-Year Annual Expected Returns: 15.2%

PPG Industries is the world’s largest paints and coatings company. Its only competitors of similar size are Sherwin-Williams and Dutch paint company Akzo Nobel.

PPG Industries was founded in 1883 as a manufacturer and distributor of glass (its name stands for Pittsburgh Plate Glass) and today has approximately 3,500 technical employees located in more than 70 countries at 100 locations.

On January 31st, 2025, PPG Industries announced fourth quarter and full year results for the period ending December 31st, 2024. For the quarter, revenue declined 4.6% to $3.73 billion and missed estimates by $241 million.

Adjusted net income of $375 million, or $1.61 per share, compared favorably to adjusted net income of $372 million, or $1.56 per share, in the prior year. Adjusted earnings-per-share was $0.02 below expectations.

Source: Investor Presentation

For the year, revenue from continuing operations decreased 2% to $15.8 billion while adjusted earnings-per-share totaled $7.87.

PPG Industries repurchased ~$750 million worth of shares during 2024 and has $2.8 billion, or ~10.3% of its current market capitalization, remaining on its share repurchase authorization. The company expects to repurchase ~$400 million worth of shares in Q1 2025.

For 2025, the company expects adjusted earnings-per-share in a range of $7.75 to $8.05.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on PPG (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Dividend King #3: SJW Group (SJW)

• 5-Year Annual Expected Returns: 16.0%

SJW Group is a water utility company that produces, purchases, stores, purifies and distributes water to consumers and businesses in the Silicon Valley area of California, the area north of San Antonio, Texas, Connecticut, and Maine.

SJW Group has a small real estate division that owns and develops properties for residential and warehouse customers in California and Tennessee. The company generates about $670 million in annual revenues.

Source: Investor Presentation

On October 28th, 2024, SJW Group reported third quarter results for the period ending June 30th, 2024. For the quarter, revenue grew 9.9% to $225.1 million, beating estimates by $11.6 million. Earnings-per-share of $1.18 compared favorably to earnings-per-share of $1.13 in the prior year and was $0.04 more than expected.

As with prior periods, the improvement in revenue was mostly due to SJW Group’s California and Connecticut businesses, which benefited from higher water rates, while growth in customers aided the Texas business.

Higher rates overall added $40 million to results for the quarter, higher customer usage added $4.8 million, and growth in customers contributed $2.4 million. Operating production expenses totaled $166.7 million, which was a 12% increase from the prior year.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on SJW (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Dividend King #2: Gorman-Rupp Co. (GRC)

• 5-Year Annual Expected Returns: 16.5%

Gorman-Rupp began manufacturing pumps and pumping systems back in 1933. Since that time, it has grown into an industry leader with annual sales of nearly $700 million and a market capitalization of $1 billion.

Today, Gorman-Rupp is a focused, niche manufacturer of critical systems that many industrial clients rely upon for their own success.

Gorman Rupp generates about one-third of its total revenue from outside of the U.S.

Source: Investor Presentation

Gorman-Rupp posted fourth quarter and full-year earnings on February 7th, 2025, and results were weaker than expected. Adjusted earnings-per-share came to 42 cents, which was three cents light of estimates.

Revenue was up 1.3% year-over-year to $162.7 million, which matched expectations. The increase in sales was primarily attributed to the impact of pricing increases taken in the year-ago period.

Gross profit was $49.2 million for the quarter, or 30.2% of revenue. These were down from $50.9 million and 31.7%, respectively, in the same period of 2023.

The decline in gross margins of 150 basis points included 220 basis points of increased labor and overhead costs, which were driven by healthcare expenses.

That was partially offset by a 70-basis point improvement in cost of materials, which itself was driven by a 140-basis point improvement in selling prices offset by a 70-basis point decline from inventory costing.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on GRC (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Dividend King #1: Stepan Co. (SCL)

• 5-Year Annual Expected Returns: 20.0%

Stepan manufactures basic and intermediate chemicals, including surfactants, specialty products, germicidal and fabric softening quaternaries, phthalic anhydride, polyurethane polyols and special ingredients for the food, supplement, and pharmaceutical markets.

It is organized into three distinct business lines: surfactants, polymers, and specialty products. These businesses serve a wide variety of end markets, meaning that Stepan is not beholden to just a handful of industries.

Source: Investor presentation

The surfactants business is Stepan’s largest by revenue, accounting for ~68% of total sales in the most recent quarter. A surfactant is an organic compound that contains both water-soluble and water-insoluble components.

Stepan posted fourth quarter and full-year earnings on February 19th, 2025, and results were mixed once again. Revenue was down 1.2% year-on-year to $526 million, but did beat estimates by almost $5 million. Adjusted earnings-per-share came to 12 cents, which missed estimates by 21 cents.

Global sales volume was off 1% year-over-year as double-digit growth in surfactants was offset and then some by demand weakness in polymers. Surfactants were up 3% year-over-year in Q4 to $379 million. Polymer net sales fell 12% to $130 million.

The company managed to generate about $13 million in pre-tax cost savings during the quarter, and about $48 million for the full year.

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The Dividend Kings In Focus Series

You can see analysis on every single Dividend King below. The newest Sure Analysis Research Database report for each security is included as well.

Consumer Staples

Industrials

Health Care

Consumer Discretionary

Financials

Materials

Energy

Real Estate

Utilities

Performance Of The Dividend Kings

The Dividend Kings out-performed the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) in February 2025. Return data for the month is shown below:

• Dividend Kings February 2025 total return: 0.4%
• SPY February 2025 total return: -1.3%

Stable dividend growers like the Dividend Kings tend to underperform in bull markets and outperform on a relative basis during bear markets.

The Dividend Kings are not officially regulated and monitored by any one company. There’s no Dividend King ETF. This means that tracking the historical performance of the Dividend Kings can be difficult.

More specifically, performance tracking of the Dividend Kings often introduces significant survivorship bias.

Survivorship bias occurs when one looks at only the companies that ‘survived’ the time period in question. In the case of Dividend Kings, this means that the performance study does not include ex-Kings that reduced their dividend, were acquired, etc.

But with that said, there is something to be gained from investigating the historical performance of the Dividend Kings. Specifically, the performance of the Dividend Kings shows that ‘boring’ established blue-chip stocks that increase their dividend year-after-year can significantly outperform over long periods of time.

Notes: S&P 500 performance is measured using the S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The Dividend Kings performance is calculated using an equal weighted portfolio of today’s Dividend Kings, rebalanced annually. Due to insufficient data, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (FMCB) returns are from 2000 onward. Performance excludes previous Dividend Kings that ended their streak of dividend increases which creates notable lookback/survivorship bias. The data for this study is from Ycharts.

In the next section of this article, we will provide an overview of the sector and market capitalization characteristics of the Dividend Kings.

Sector & Market Capitalization Overview

The sector and market capitalization characteristics of the Dividend Kings are very different from the characteristics of the broader stock market.

The following bullet points show the number of Dividend Kings in each sector of the stock market.

• Consumer Staples: 14
• Industrials: 12
• Utilities: 9
• Consumer Discretionary: 2
• Health Care: 5
• Financials: 5
• Materials: 5
• Real Estate: 1
• Energy: 1
• Communication Services: 0

The Dividend Kings are overweight in the Industrials, Consumer Staples, and Utilities sectors. Interestingly, The Dividend Kings have zero stocks from the Information Technology sector, which is the largest component of the S&P 500 index.

The Dividend Kings also have some interesting characteristics with respect to market capitalization. These trends are illustrated below.

• 6 Mega caps ($200 billion+ market cap; ABBV, JNJ, PEP, PG, KO, WMT)
• 26 Large caps ($10 billion to $200 billion market cap)
• 14 Mid caps ($2 billion to $10 billion)
• 8 Small caps ($300 million to $2 billion)

Interestingly, 23 out of the 54 Dividend Kings have market capitalizations below $10 billion. This shows that corporate longevity doesn’t have to be accompanied by massive size.

Final Thoughts

Screening to find the best Dividend Kings is not the only way to find high-quality dividend growth stock ideas.

Sure Dividend maintains similar databases on the following useful universes of stocks:

There is nothing magical about investing in the Dividend Kings. They are simply a group of high-quality businesses with shareholder-friendly management teams that have strong competitive advantages.

Purchasing businesses with these characteristics at fair or better prices and holding them for long periods of time will likely result in strong long-term investment performance.