Altria Group and Universal - dividend kings in 2024

Dividend stocks have seen gains over time, even during recessions, according to a visualcapitalist.com analysis, which presents the top 15 "dividend kings" in 2024, identified by FinanceCharts, based on data available in October. "Dividend Kings" are the companies that have increased their dividends annually for more than 50 years.

The cited source notes that a key benefit of investing in companies that pay dividends is that they grow consistently, and companies with strong financial positions often increase payouts annually.

The cited analysis shows that Altria Group offers the highest dividend yield, namely 8.18%. Formerly known as Philip Morris, the American corporation is one of the world's largest producers and distributors of tobacco, cigarettes and medical products for the treatment of smoking-related diseases.

Altria is followed by Universal, another tobacco company. The largest global supplier of leaf tobacco offers a dividend yield of nearly 6.5%, according to FinanceCharts.

According to the cited source, Northwest Natural Holding ranks third on the list, with a yield of 4.83%. The company provides natural gas services to approximately two million residents of Oregon and Southwest Washington. Following are: Black Hills (Utilities; yield 4.27%), United Bankshares (Financials, 3.90%), Federal Realty Investment (Real Estate, 3.89%), Hormel Foods (Consumer Goods, 3, 63%), National Fuel Gas (Utilities, 3.39%), Kimberly-Clark (Consumer Goods, 3.36%), Consolidated Edison (Utilities, 3.15%), PepsiCo (Consumer Goods, 3 .08%), Stanley Black & Decker (Industrial, 3.06%), Johnson & Johnson (Healthcare, 3.02%), Genuine Parts (Consumer Discretionary, 2.85%), Target (Consumer, 2.79% ).

Genuine Parts and Northwest Natural have the longest dividend payout periods: both 68 years, according to the cited source.