20 dividend stocks to fund 20 years of retirement

Each of these high-quality dividend stocks yields roughly 4%, and you can expect them to grow their payouts even more. That's a powerful 1-2 combo for retirement income.

  • By Brian Bollinger,
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Once upon a time, if you were planning to retire, the traditional wisdom was the "4% rule." You withdraw 4% of your savings in the first year of retirement, followed by "pay raises" in each subsequent year to account for inflation. The idea is that, if you're invested in a mix of dividend stocks, bonds and even a few growth equities, your money should last across a 20-year retirement.

But the world looks much different today. Interest rates and bond yields are near historic lows, reducing future expected returns. Complicating retirement planning even further is the fact Americans are living longer than ever before.

If you're wondering how to retire without facing the uncomfortable decision of what securities to sell, or questioning whether you are at risk of outliving your savings, wonder no more. You can lean on the cash from dividend stocks to fund a substantial portion of your retirement without touching your principal.

The broader market's yield might be chintzy at the moment, but many companies yield 4% or more currently. And if you rely on solid dividend stocks for that 4% annually, you won't have to worry as much about the market's unpredictable fluctuations. Better still, because you likely won't have to eat away at your nest egg as much, you'll have a better chance of leaving your heirs with a sizable windfall when the time comes.

Read on as we explore 20 high-quality dividend stocks, yielding on average well above 4%, that should fund at least 20 years of retirement, if not more. Each has paid uninterrupted dividends for more than two decades, has a fundamentally secure payout and has the potential to collectively grow its dividends to protect investors' purchasing power over time.

Data is as of May 6. Stocks listed in reverse order of yield. Dividend yields are calculated by annualizing the most recent payout and dividing by the share price.

Public Storage

  • Sector: Real estate
  • Market value: $48.2 billion
  • Dividend yield: 2.9%

Founded in 1972, Public Storage (PSA) is the world's largest owner of self-storage facilities and has paid dividends without interruption every year since 1981.

Self-storage warehouses generate excellent cash flow because they require relatively low operating and maintenance costs. Few customers are willing to deal with the hassle of moving to a rival facility to save a little money too, creating some switching costs.

And customers have historically prioritized making their self-storage rental payments. During the 2007-09 Great Recession, delinquency rates hovered around just 2%. Public Storage experienced similar performance in April 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

America's self-storage industry is dealing with a short-term rise in supply, making it even more competitive to acquire customers and increase rent. But PSA maintains a strong balance sheet and seems likely to remain a dependable dividend payer for years to come.

Omnicom

  • Sector: Communications
  • Market value: $18.1 billion
  • Dividend yield: 3.4%

Omnicom (OMC) has paid uninterrupted dividends since it was formed in 1986 by the merger of several large advertising conglomerates. The provider of advertising and marketing services serves more than 5,000 clients in over 70 countries.

No industry exceeds 16% of total revenue, and more than 45% of sales are derived outside of the U.S., providing international diversification, too.

Many clients prefer to work with only a couple of agencies to maximize their negotiating leverage and the efficiency of their marketing spend.

As one of the largest agency networks in the world with decades of experience, Omnicom is uniquely positioned to serve multinational clients with a complete suite of services.

That said, the marketing world is evolving as digital media continues to surge.

Alphabet (GOOGL), Facebook (FB), Amazon.com (AMZN), Accenture (ACN) and other non-traditional rivals are all trying to get a piece of these fast-growing advertising markets.

While the global advertising market seems likely to continue expanding with the economy over time, it will be important for Omnicom to maintain its strong client relationships and continue adapting its portfolio to remain relevant.

"The emergence and growth of digital media, which has brought along more below the line, or a more targeted marketing and advertising platform, has also driven increased consolidation within the ad space," writes Ali Mogharabi, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, "as Omnicom and its peers have acquired various smaller agencies that focused on the growing digital advertising niche within the overall ad space."

With larger clients preferring multichannel advertising campaigns, these deals are expected to help make Omnicom "platform-agnostic and one-stop shops."

Omnicom's large size and diverse mix of business limit its growth potential. But its strong balance sheet, predictable free cash flow and ongoing commitment to its dividend likely make OMC a safe bet for income investors.

Old Republic International

  • Sector: Financials
  • Market value: $7.9 billion
  • Dividend yield: 3.4%

Old Republic International (ORI) has not only paid its dividend without interruption for 79 years, but it has raised its payout in each of the past 39 years as well. Such a track record is especially impressive for a commercial lines insurer given the industry's cyclicality and cutthroat competition.

Old Republic's business is split almost equally between general insurance – which includes workers compensation, trucking insurance, home warranty and other lines – and title insurance offered to real estate purchasers.

Old Republic's general insurance operations have generated underwriting profit in 14 of the last 15 years, reflecting management's disciplined and conservative approach to risk management. Meanwhile, title insurance requires minimal capital and losses tend to be minimal, providing nice earnings diversification and further reducing underwriting volatility.

With a healthy payout ratio below 50% and a strong capital position to mitigate almost any future downturn, Old Republic appears positioned to extend its dividend growth streak for years to come. The firm's financial strength even allowed it to pay a large special dividend in January 2021.

Toronto-Dominion Bank

  • Sector: Financials
  • Market value: $128.5 billion
  • Dividend yield: 3.7%

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) is one of North America's largest financial institutions. The bank's revenue is balanced between simple lending operations such as home mortgages and fee-based businesses such as insurance, asset management and card services.

And unlike most large banks, TD maintains little exposure to investment banking and trading, which are riskier and more cyclical businesses.

As one of the 10 largest banks on the continent, TD's extensive reach and network of retail locations has provided it with a substantial base of low-cost deposits. This helps the company's lending operations earn a healthy spread and provides the bank with more flexibility to expand the product lines it can offer.

Management runs the bank very conservatively, too. TD's capital ratios sit well above the minimum levels required by regulators, providing a healthy margin of safety to absorb loan losses during downturns without jeopardizing the dividend. The bank maintains an AA- credit rating from Standard & Poor's.

Thanks to this financial discipline, shareholders have received cash distributions since 1857, making TD one of the oldest continuous payers among all dividend stocks, and putting it among the ranks of the Canadian Dividend Aristocrats.

With the worst of the pandemic's impact on the economy likely in the past, TD's dividend looks all the more sustainable going forward.

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation

  • Sector: Real estate
  • Market value: $1.9 billion
  • Dividend yield: 3.7%

Founded in 1968, Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation (MNR) is one of the oldest public traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) worldwide. The company rents out its 121 industrial properties under long-term leases to mostly investment-grade tenants (82% of Monmouth's revenue). Monmouth's tenants include Amazon.com, Home Depot (HD), Kellogg (K) and Coca-Cola (KO).

Monmouth properties are relatively new, featuring a weighted average building age of just more than nine years. Its real estate also is primarily located near airports, transportation hubs and manufacturing facilities that are critical to its tenants' operations.

These qualities have kept portfolio occupancy above 98.9% since 2016 and helped the REIT collect virtually all rent throughout the pandemic.

As a result of its cash-rich business model, Monmouth has paid uninterrupted dividends for 30 consecutive years. But dividend growth has been less predictable. Following a 6.25% raise in October 2017, management held the payout flat until announcing a 5.9% increase in January 2021.

Still, income investors should expect safe, moderately growing dividends from Monmouth in the years ahead. The REIT has a supportive payout ratio below 90% and is growing funds from operations (FFO, an important profitability metric for real estate investment trusts).

Duke Energy

  • Sector: Utilities
  • Market value: $77.3 billion
  • Dividend yield: 3.9%

Duke Energy (DUK) is about as steady as dividend stocks come. In fact, 2021 marks the 95th consecutive year that the regulated utility paid a cash dividend on its common stock.

The company services approximately 7.8 million retail electric customers across six states in the Midwest and Southeast. Duke Energy also distributes natural gas to more than 1.6 million customers across the Carolinas, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Most of these regions are characterized by constructive regulatory relationships and relatively solid demographics.

The company also maintains a strong investment-grade credit rating, which supports Duke's dividend … and substantial growth plans over the next few years. The utility plans to invest $59 billion between 2021 and 2025 to expand its regulated earnings base and accelerate its clean energy transition. If everything goes as expected, Duke should generate 5% to 7% annual EPS growth through 2025, driving similar upside in its dividend.

"Duke's regulatory environment is consistent with its peers and is supported by better-than-average economic fundamentals in its key regions," writes Morningstar senior equity analyst Andrew Bischof. "These factors contribute to the returns Duke has earned and have led to a constructive working relationship with its regulators, the most critical component of a regulated utility's moat."

Pinnacle West Capital Corporation

  • Sector: Utilities
  • Market value: $9.7 billion
  • Dividend yield: 3.9%

Formed in 1985, Pinnacle West Capital (PNW), via its Arizona Public Service (APS) subsidiary, is Arizona's largest and longest-serving electric company. The regulated utility serves 1.3 million residential and commercial customers across the state, and roughly half of its power is from clean energy sources.

Pinnacle West's footprint is particularly appealing since Arizona is the third fastest-growing state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This helped the company grow its retail customer base by 2.3% in 2020 as more people and businesses moved to Arizona amid the pandemic.

Coupled with constructive state regulators, an A- corporate credit rating and a healthy payout ratio that has remained below 70% each year for more than a decade, Pinnacle West has paid dividends without interruption for more than 25 consecutive years.

Income investors have also enjoyed pay raises in each of the last nine years, including a 6.1% hike announced in October 2020. Looking ahead, that trend seems likely to continue. CFRA analyst Andrzej Tomczyk expects Pinnacle West's earnings to enjoy a boost in the near- and mid-term driven by "increased renewables' investing supported by a favorable clean-energy regulatory environment."

Washington Trust Bancorp

  • Sector: Financials
  • Market value: $916.9 million
  • Dividend yield: 4.0%

Washington Trust Bancorp (WASH) is a small-cap regional bank. But its lack of size shouldn't be confused with its impressive longevity. Washington Trust is the oldest community bank in America and the largest state-chartered bank based in Rhode Island.

Offering a full range of financial services throughout parts of the Northeast, Washington Trust generates around half of its income from lending operations, but also enjoys substantial fees from wealth management and mortgage banking services. These businesses contribute more stable profits over a full economic cycle.

In fact, the bank's diverse earnings stream and conservative, time-tested underwriting allowed its earnings to grow in 2020 despite the country's first recession since the 2007-09 Great Financial Crisis.

But even if profits took a major hit, the bank is extremely well capitalized to keep the dividend protected. Even under a severe global recession, management's stress tests suggested Washington Trust would continue to have substantial excess capital amounts to continue paying its dividend without jeopardizing the business.

Thanks to its financial conservatism, the bank has maintained or grown its dividend every year since 1992. Washington Trust might not be a household name, but it represents a potentially appealing income play in the financial sector.

Consolidated Edison

  • Sector: Utilities
  • Market value: $26.7 billion
  • Dividend yield: 4.0%

Founded in 1823, regulated utility Consolidated Edison (ED) provides electric, gas and steam energy for 10 million people in New York City and surrounding areas.

Regulated utility operations account for around 90% of the firm's earnings, resulting in predictable returns over the decades.

Coupled with New York's ongoing need for reliable energy, ConEd has managed to raise its dividend for 47 consecutive years. That's the longest string of annual dividend increases of any utility company in the S&P 500 (.SPX).

Looking ahead, Consolidated Edison's dividend streak seems likely to continue. Management expects the business to deliver average annual EPS growth between 4% and 6% over the next five years, driven by continued infrastructure investments around New York City.

The utility stock also remains conservatively managed, as demonstrated by its A- investment-grade credit rating from Standard & Poor's. This should help the utility navigate most potential challenges with regulators, who have criticized the firm's response to a 2020 tropical storm that caused widespread power outages.

Assuming ConEd continues navigating political and regulatory pressures as it has for more than a century, we expect the stock to keep paying a safe dividend, albeit one with modest growth prospects.

Southern Co.

  • Sector: Utilities
  • Market value: $69.9 billion
  • Dividend yield: 4.0%

Regulated utilities are a source of generous dividends and predictable growth thanks to their recession-resistant business models. As a result, utility stocks tend to anchor many retirement portfolios.

Southern Co. (SO) is no exception, with a track record of paying uninterrupted dividends since 1948. The utility serves 9 million electric and gas customers primarily across the southeast and Illinois.

While Southern experienced some bumps in recent years because of delays and cost overruns with some of its clean-coal and nuclear projects, the firm remains on solid financial ground with the worst behind it.

Morningstar equity analyst Charles Fishman says that while the company's long-term 6% annual EPS growth is resilient, "uncertainties remain with respect to the impact of nuclear cost overruns, possible emissions legislation, and other fossil-fuel regulations."

"However, compliance measures could prove to be less painful to shareholders than some might expect and could actually boost earnings due to rate base growth. We expect regulators will allow Southern to pass most of the incremental costs on to customers, preserving the firm's long-term earnings power."

Southern's payout ratio sits near 80%, which is higher than most of its regulated utility peers. However, with earnings growth set to pick up following completion of the firm's nuclear power plants over the next couple years, SO is positioned to keep raising its dividend while also improving its coverage.

Realty Income

  • Sector: Real estate
  • Market value: $25.2 billion
  • Dividend yield: 4.2%

Realty Income (O) is an appealing income investment for retirees because it pays dividends every month. Impressively, Realty Income has paid an uninterrupted dividend for 609 consecutive months and counting – one of the best track records of any REIT in the market.

The company owns nearly 6,600 commercial real estate properties that are leased out to approximately 600 tenants – including Walgreens (WBA), FedEx (FDX) and Walmart (WMT) – operating in 51 industries. These are mostly retail-focused businesses with strong financial health; just over half of Realty Income's rent is derived from properties leased to tenants with investment-grade ratings.

Importantly, Realty Income focuses on single-tenant commercial buildings leased out on a "triple net" basis. In other words, rents are "net" of taxes, maintenance and insurance, which tenants are responsible for. This, as well as the long-term nature of its leases, has resulted not only in very predictable cash flow, but earnings growth in 24 of the past 25 years, including the 2020 pandemic.

"The steady, stable stream of revenue has allowed Realty Income to be one of only two REITs that are both members of the S&P High-Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index and have a credit rating of A- or better," writes Morningstar equity analyst Kevin Brown. "This makes Realty Income one of the most dependable investments for income-oriented investors, even during the current coronavirus crisis."

Simply put, Realty Income is one of the most dependable dividend growth stocks for retirement.

Verizon

  • Sector: Communications
  • Market value: $245.5 billion
  • Dividend yield: 4.3%

Unlike rival AT&T (T), which has aggressively diversified its business into pay-TV and media content in recent years, Verizon Communications (VZ) has mostly focused on its core wireless business lately. In fact, the company even restructured in 2018 to better focus on its rollout of 5G service, or the next generation technology for cellular networks – and more recently, it announced a $5 billion deal to sell its AOL and Yahoo properties to Apollo Global Management (APO).

Thanks to its investments in network quality, the company remains at the top of RootMetrics' rankings of wireless reliability, speed and network performance. These qualities have resulted in a massive subscriber base which, combined with the non-discretionary nature of Verizon's services, make the firm a reliable cash cow.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/B) was attracted to these qualities. The firm disclosed a new stake in Verizon in the fourth quarter of 2020, making the network giant one of its 10 largest positions.

Reflecting its predictable cash flow that likely drew Buffett's attention, Verizon and its predecessors have paid uninterrupted dividends for more than 30 years. Its dividend growth rate, like AT&T's, is hardly impressive – VZ's most recent payout hike was a mere 2% uptick in late 2020. But the yield is high among blue-chip dividend stocks, and the almost utility-like nature of Verizon's business should let it slowly chug along with similar increases going forward.

Universal Health Realty Income Trust

  • Sector: Real estate
  • Market value: $921.8 million
  • Dividend yield: 4.4%

Universal Health Realty Income Trust (UHT) is a REIT with 72 investments in healthcare properties across 20 states. More than 70% of its portfolio is medical office buildings and clinics; these facilities are less dependent on federal and state healthcare programs, reducing risk. But UHT also has hospitals, freestanding emergency departments and child-care centers under its umbrella.

The REIT was founded in 1986 and got its start by purchasing properties from Universal Health Services (UHS), which it then leased back to UHS under long-term contracts. UHS remains a financially strong company that accounts for about 20% of Universal Health Realty Income Trust's revenue today.

The firm has increased its dividend each year since its founding. However, unlike many dividend stocks that hike payouts once annually, UHT typically does so twice a year, albeit at a leisurely pace. The REIT's current 69.5-cent-per-share dividend is about 1.5% better than it was at this time in 2020.

But as long as management continues focusing on high-quality areas of healthcare that will benefit from America's aging population, the stock's dividend should remain safe and growing.

National Retail Properties

  • Sector: Real estate
  • Market value: $8.4 billion
  • Dividend yield: 4.4%

National Retail Properties (NNN) has increased its dividend for 31 consecutive years. For perspective, only 86 out of the more than 10,000 publicly traded companies out there have raised their dividends for an equal amount of time or longer.

This REIT owns approximately 3,100 freestanding properties that are leased out to more than 370 retail tenants – including 7-Eleven, Mister Car Wash and Camping World (CWH) – operating across 37 lines of trade. No industry represents more than 18.2% of total revenue, and properties are primarily used by e-commerce-resistant businesses such as convenience stores and restaurants.

Like Realty Income, National Retail is a triple-net-lease REIT that benefits from long-term leases, with initial terms that stretch as far as 20 years. Its portfolio occupancy as of 2020 was 98.5%; it hasn't dipped below 96% since 2003, either – a testament to management's focus on quality real estate locations.

National Retail's dividend remains on solid ground, even as the retail world evolves. Despite the pandemic forcing many tenants to temporarily close, the REIT still collected about 90% of rent originally due in 2020. With National Retail's dividend expected to remain covered by cash flow going forward, we expect the company to continue extending its dividend growth streak.

Ennis

  • Sector: Ennis
  • Market value: $555.0 million
  • Dividend yield: 4.7%

Ennis (EBF) is a simple company, selling business products and forms such as labels, checks, envelopes and presentation folders. The firm, founded in 1909, has grown via acquisitions to serve more than 40,000 global distributors today.

While the world is becoming increasingly digital, Ennis has carved out a nice niche, as 95% of the business products it manufactures are tailor-made to a customer's unique specifications for size, color, parts and quantities. This is a diversified business, too, with no customer representing more than 5% of company-wide sales.

Ennis is a cash cow that has paid uninterrupted dividends for more than two decades. While the company's payout has remained unchanged for years at a time throughout history, management has started to more aggressively return capital to shareholders, including double-digit dividend raises in 2017 and 2018.

While the company paused pay raises over the next couple of years, Ennis is fresh off an April announcement hiking its payout by 11% as of the August distribution. Its dividend has remained covered by earnings despite challenging business trends triggered by the pandemic. And the company boasts more cash than debt.

Ennis has flexibility to continue consolidating its market, though it will never be a fast-growing business. However, if you're looking for a company that prioritizes its dividend and offers a generous yield, EBF may fit the bill.

Chevron

  • Sector: Energy
  • Market value: $210.2 billion
  • Dividend yield: 4.9%

Chevron (CVX) has arguably been the best positioned and most committed oil major to continue paying its dividend during these turbulent times in the energy sector.

The company's net debt-to-capital ratio, which measures the portion of a company's financing that is from debt, was 13% at the end of 2019 – well below the 20% to 30% average of its peers. When oil prices cratered during the pandemic, Chevron had the borrowing capacity necessary to keep paying its dividend until the environment proved – and even snuck in a crafty all-stock acquisition of Noble Energy to capitalize on depressed prices.

Management also has prioritized cost reductions and improved capital efficiency to help Chevron generate more cash during downcycles.

During the second half of 2020, Chevron's breakeven, or the price of oil needed to cover the dividend and capital expenditures with operating cash flow only, fell below $50 per barrel. That's down from $55 in 2019 and the $80s not long before that.

Chevron's conservative financial practices, scale and low-cost resource base have helped the firm raise its dividend for 33 consecutive years. The bottom line is that this integrated energy giant is committed and able to protect its status as a Dividend Aristocrat in almost any environment. Investors just have to be comfortable with the energy sector's high volatility.

W.P. Carey

  • Sector: Real estate
  • Market value: $13.2 billion
  • Dividend yield: 5.7%

W.P. Carey (WPC) is a large, well-diversified REIT with a portfolio of "operationally-critical commercial real estate," as the company describes it. More specifically, W.P. Carey owns more than 1,200 industrial, warehouse, office and retail properties located primarily in the U.S. and Europe.

The company's properties are leased out to approximately 350 tenants under long-term contracts, with 99% of its leases containing contractual rent increases. W.P. Carey's operations are also nicely diversified – nearly 40% of its revenue is generated outside of America, its top tenant represents just 3.3% of its rent, and its largest industry exposure (retail stores) is about 22% of its revenue.

REITs, as a sector, are among the highest-yielding dividend stocks on the market since their business structure literally mandates that they pay out 90% of their profits as cash distributions to shareholders. But W.P. Carey and its 5.9% yield stick out. Better still, thanks to its aforementioned qualities, as well as its strong credit and conservative management, WPC has paid higher dividends every year since going public in 1998.

It should have little trouble continuing that streak for the foreseeable future. Even throughout the pandemic, W.P. Carey's annualized base rent grew each quarter in 2020 and occupancy remained near a record high.

Pembina Pipeline

  • Sector: Energy
  • Market value: $17.7 billion
  • Dividend yield: 6.4%

Pembina Pipeline (PBA) began paying dividends after going public in 1997 and has maintained uninterrupted monthly payouts ever since. The pipeline operator transports oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids primarily across western Canada.

Energy markets are notoriously volatile, but Pembina has managed to deliver such steady payouts because of its business model, which is underpinned by long-term, fee-for-service contracts.

In fact, fee-based activities accounted for roughly 94% of Pembina's EBIDTA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) in 2020, with take-or-pay contracts representing the majority.

Coupled with a conservative payout ratio in recent years, the firm's dividend is expected to remain well covered by fee-based distributable cash flow (DCF, an important cash metric for pipeline companies), providing a nice margin of safety. For comparison's sake, its payout represented 135% of its DCF in 2015; it's expected to be just 71%-75% this year.)

The dividend is further protected by Pembina's investment-grade credit rating, focus on generating at least 75% of its cash flow from investment-grade counterparties, and self-funded organic growth profile.

Pembina's financial guardrails and tollbooth-like business model should help PBA continue to produce safe dividends for years to come.

Enbridge

  • Sector: Energy
  • Market value: $80.6 billion
  • Dividend yield: 6.6%

Canada's Enbridge (ENB) owns a network of transportation and storage assets connecting some of North America's most important oil- and gas-producing regions. Advances in low-cost shale drilling were expected to drive growth in the continent's energy production over the years ahead, but ENB is defensively positioned even if the energy environment remains challenging.

CFRA analyst Stewart Glickman notes that ENB is "capable of self-funding both its growth capex needs as well as its dividends via operating cash flow, which leaves it in the position of not relying on external capital markets to do so."

While some pipeline operators ran into trouble when their access to financing was cut off during the 2020 downturn in energy markets, Enbridge's conservative distributable cash flow payout ratio near 70%, reasonable capital spending plans, and investment-grade balance sheet kept its capital allocation plans intact.

In fact, despite the tough year for most pipeline operators, management in December 2020 hiked the dividend by 3%, marking Enbridge's 26th consecutive annual increase. With a yield near 7% and plans to grow its cash flow per share by 5% to 7% over the long term, Enbridge offers a solid combination of income and growth for investors who are comfortable with the midstream industry.

Enterprise Products Partners LP

  • Sector: Energy
  • Market value: $50.8 billion
  • Distribution yield: 7.7%*

Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD), a master limited partnership (MLP), is one of America's largest midstream energy companies. It owns and operates more than 50,000 miles of pipelines, as well as storage facilities, processing plants and export terminals across America.

This MLP is connected to every major shale basin as well as many refineries, helping move natural gas liquids, crude oil and natural gas from where they are produced by upstream companies to where they are in demand.

Approximately 85% of Enterprise's gross operating margin is from fee-based activities, reducing its sensitivity to volatile energy prices. The firm also boasts one of the strongest investment-grade credit ratings in its industry (BBB+) and maintains a conservative payout ratio. Its DCF in 2020 was about 160% of what it needed to cover its distribution.

Ample distribution coverage has helped Enable raise its payout every year since it began making distribution in 1998. That trend seems likely to continue.

Enable should "continue to benefit from its substantial asset base along the Gulf Coast as well as from projects slated to enter service over the next three years," writes Argus analyst Bill Selesky. "We expect these projects and existing assets to support future distribution growth."

* Distributions are similar to dividends but are treated as tax-deferred returns of capital and require different paperwork come tax time.

Brian Bollinger was long DUK, ED, NNN, ORI, PSA, SO, VZ and WPC as of this writing.

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