8 Attractively Valued, High-Quality, Higher-Yielding Dividend Growth Stocks

The current market environment is presenting many challenges to the conservative retired investor in need of current income. Interest rates are near all-time lows and the valuations of many blue-chip dividend growth stocks have become extended.

Consequently, it is becoming very difficult to find quality investment opportunities that can provide safety through sound valuation, attractive yield and the potential to fight inflation. Most of my recent work has been focused on presenting attractively valued, high quality, higher yielding dividend growth stocks for consideration by retired investors. Consequently, my primary focus has been on above-average yield, safety and dividend growth. Stated more plainly, my objective was to present high quality income and income growth investments over total return investments.

Attached you can find a few of my latest screening results. I've done a lot in terms of beta, also a measure of market volatility. I believe that the ratio tells investors something about the risk of the stock.

Here are my criteria:

-Low Forward P/E (under 15)
-Low Debt To Equity (under 0.5)
-Earnings Growth over 5% for the next five years
-Market Cap over 2 billion
-Dividends hiked over 10 consecutive years

These are my favorite stocks...

QUALCOMM -- Yield: 3.58%

QUALCOMM (NASDAQ:QCOM) employs 31,300 people, generates revenue of $26,487.00 million and has a net income of $7,534.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $84.15 billion.

QUALCOMM’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $9,008.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 34.01% (the operating margin is 27.84% and the net profit margin 28.44%).

Financials: The total debt represents 0.00% of QUALCOMM assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 0.00%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 20.03% was realized by QUALCOMM.

Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $3.64. Last fiscal year, QUALCOMM paid $1.54 in the form of dividends to shareholders.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 14.63, the P/S ratio is 3.18 and the P/B ratio is finally 2.28. The dividend yield amounts to 3.58%.

Stock Charts:

Long-Term Stock Price Chart of QUALCOMM (QCOM)

Long-Term Dividend Payment History of QUALCOMM (QCOM)

Long-Term Dividend Yield History of QUALCOMM (QCOM)

Cummins -- Yield: 3.48%

Cummins (NYSE:CMI) employs 54,600 people, generates revenue of $19,221.00 million and has a net income of $1,736.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $20.05 billion.

Cummins’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $2,393.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 12.45% (the operating margin is 12.30% and the net profit margin 9.03%).

Financials: The total debt represents 10.76% of Cummins assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 21.91%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 21.64% was realized by Cummins.

Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $9.52. Last fiscal year, Cummins paid $2.81 in the form of dividends to shareholders.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 11.69, the P/S ratio is 1.04 and the P/B ratio is finally 2.64. The dividend yield amounts to 3.48%.

Stock Charts:

Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Cummins (CMI)

Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Cummins (CMI)

Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Cummins (CMI)

Microsoft Corporation -- Yield: 3.28%

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) employs 118,000 people, generates revenue of $93,580.00 million and has a net income of $12,193.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $350.87 billion.

Microsoft Corporation’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $34,129.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 36.47% (the operating margin is 19.21% and the net profit margin 13.03%).

Financials: The total debt represents 20.03% of Microsoft Corporation assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 44.07%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 14.36% was realized by Microsoft Corporation.

Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $1.46. Last fiscal year, Microsoft Corporation paid $1.24 in the form of dividends to shareholders.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 30.09, the P/S ratio is 3.75 and the P/B ratio is finally 4.40. The dividend yield amounts to 3.28%.

Stock Charts:

Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)

Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)

Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)

T. Rowe Price Group -- Yield: 3.02%

T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) employs 5,991 people, generates revenue of $3,982.10 million and has a net income of $1,229.60 million. The current market capitalization stands at $17.65 billion.

T. Rowe Price Group’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $2,002.60 million. The EBITDA margin is 50.29% (the operating margin is 47.48% and the net profit margin 30.88%).

Financials: The total debt represents 0.00% of T. Rowe Price Group assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 0.00%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 23.80% was realized by T. Rowe Price Group.

Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $4.56. Last fiscal year, T. Rowe Price Group paid $1.76 in the form of dividends to shareholders.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 14.99, the P/S ratio is 4.43 and the P/B ratio is finally 3.33. The dividend yield amounts to 3.02%.

Stock Charts:

Long-Term Stock Price Chart of T. Rowe Price Group (TROW)

Long-Term Dividend Payment History of T. Rowe Price Group (TROW)

Long-Term Dividend Yield History of T. Rowe Price Group (TROW)

Archer Daniels Midland -- Yield: 2.66%

Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) employs 33,900 people, generates revenue of $81,201.00 million and has a net income of $2,253.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $25.61 billion.

Archer Daniels Midland’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $3,755.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 4.62% (the operating margin is 3.39% and the net profit margin 2.77%).

Financials: The total debt represents 12.86% of Archer Daniels Midland assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 28.91%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 11.32% was realized by Archer Daniels Midland.

Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $3.61. Last fiscal year, Archer Daniels Midland paid $0.96 in the form of dividends to shareholders.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 11.65, the P/S ratio is 0.32 and the P/B ratio is finally 1.37. The dividend yield amounts to 2.66%.

Stock Charts:

Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)

Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)

Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)

ACE Limited -- Yield: 2.64%

ACE Limited (NYSE:ACE) employs 21,000 people, generates revenue of $19,246.00 million and has a net income of $2,853.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $32.83 billion.

ACE Limited’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $6,792.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 35.29% (the operating margin is 18.36% and the net profit margin 14.82%).

Financials: The total debt represents 6.33% of ACE Limited assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 21.02%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 9.77% was realized by ACE Limited.

Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $8.90. Last fiscal year, ACE Limited paid $2.56 in the form of dividends to shareholders.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 11.41, the P/S ratio is 1.71 and the P/B ratio is finally 1.13. The dividend yield amounts to 2.64%.

Stock Charts:

Long-Term Stock Price Chart of ACE Limited (ACE)

Long-Term Dividend Payment History of ACE Limited (ACE)

Long-Term Dividend Yield History of ACE Limited (ACE)

Travelers Companies -- Yield: 2.46%

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) employs 30,200 people, generates revenue of $27,162.00 million and has a net income of $3,692.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $30.83 billion.

Travelers Companies’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $10,204.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 37.57% (the operating margin is 20.09% and the net profit margin 13.59%).

Financials: The total debt represents 6.16% of Travelers Companies assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 25.56%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 14.77% was realized by Travelers Companies.

Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $10.91. Last fiscal year, Travelers Companies paid $1.60 in the form of dividends to shareholders.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 9.06, the P/S ratio is 1.14 and the P/B ratio is finally 1.29. The dividend yield amounts to 2.46%.

Stock Charts:

Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Travelers Companies (TRV)

Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Travelers Companies (TRV)

Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Travelers Companies (TRV)

General Dynamics -- Yield: 2.02%

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) employs 99,500 people, generates revenue of $30,852.00 million and has a net income of $2,673.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $44.07 billion.

General Dynamics’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $4,385.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 14.21% (the operating margin is 12.61% and the net profit margin 8.66%).

Financials: The total debt represents 11.06% of General Dynamics assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 33.06%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 20.30% was realized by General Dynamics.

Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $8.66. Last fiscal year, General Dynamics paid $2.48 in the form of dividends to shareholders.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 16.00, the P/S ratio is 1.43 and the P/B ratio is finally 3.83. The dividend yield amounts to 2.02%.

Stock Charts: