To make the initial cut, companies had to show higher operating earnings in the first quarter of the calendar year than in the same period in 2015—a sign that the basic business was improving despite the disappointing economy.
To make it easy for my readers, I concentrated my research on the best dividend growth stocks and used the Dividend Aristocrats Index to start the search of high-quality dividend stocks.
I screened the index by the cheapest stocks in terms of forward P/E. It's always a good way to find cheaply valuated stocks which are not affected by current, short-term accounting issues.
Here are the results...
AT&T -- Yield: 4.92%
AT&T (NYSE:T) employs 280,870 people, generates revenue of $146,801.00 million and has a net income of $13,687.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $240.94 billion.AT&T’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $49,599.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 33.79% (the operating margin is 16.88% and the net profit margin 9.32%).
Financials: The total debt represents 31.33% of AT&T assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 102.84%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 12.57% was realized by AT&T.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $2.25. Last fiscal year, AT&T paid $1.89 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 17.31, the P/S ratio is 1.64 and the P/B ratio is finally 1.95. The dividend yield amounts to 4.92%.
Stock Charts:
| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of AT&T (T) |
| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of AT&T (T) |
| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of AT&T (T) |
AbbVie -- Yield: 3.64%
AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) employs 28,000 people, generates revenue of $22,859.00 million and has a net income of $5,144.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $102.72 billion.AbbVie’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $8,523.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 37.29% (the operating margin is 32.97% and the net profit margin 22.50%).
Financials: The total debt represents 59.70% of AbbVie assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 802.81%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 180.90% was realized by AbbVie.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $3.34. Last fiscal year, AbbVie paid $2.10 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 18.78, the P/S ratio is 4.44 and the P/B ratio is finally 25.59. The dividend yield amounts to 3.64%.
Stock Charts:
| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of AbbVie (ABBV) |
| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of AbbVie (ABBV) |
| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of AbbVie (ABBV) |
Target Corporation -- Yield: 3.25%
Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) employs 341,000 people, generates revenue of $73,785.00 million and has a net income of $3,321.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $40.60 billion.Target Corporation’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $7,124.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 9.66% (the operating margin is 7.49% and the net profit margin 4.50%).
Financials: The total debt represents 31.69% of Target Corporation assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 98.48%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 24.64% was realized by Target Corporation.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $5.29. Last fiscal year, Target Corporation paid $2.20 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 13.03, the P/S ratio is 0.55 and the P/B ratio is finally 3.20. The dividend yield amounts to 3.25%.
Stock Charts:
| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Target Corporation (TGT) |
| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Target Corporation (TGT) |
| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Target Corporation (TGT) |
Target Corporation -- Yield: 3.25%
Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) employs 341,000 people, generates revenue of $73,785.00 million and has a net income of $3,321.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $40.60 billion.Target Corporation’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $7,124.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 9.66% (the operating margin is 7.49% and the net profit margin 4.50%).
Financials: The total debt represents 31.69% of Target Corporation assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 98.48%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 24.64% was realized by Target Corporation.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $5.29. Last fiscal year, Target Corporation paid $2.20 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 13.03, the P/S ratio is 0.55 and the P/B ratio is finally 3.20. The dividend yield amounts to 3.25%.
Stock Charts:
| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Target Corporation (TGT) |
| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Target Corporation (TGT) |
| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Target Corporation (TGT) |
AFLAC -- Yield: 2.36%
AFLAC (NYSE:AFL) employs 9,915 people, generates revenue of $21,025.00 million and has a net income of $2,533.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $28.96 billion.AFLAC’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $5,420.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 25.78% (the operating margin is 19.74% and the net profit margin 12.05%).
Financials: The total debt represents 4.20% of AFLAC assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 28.07%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 14.05% was realized by AFLAC.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $6.08. Last fiscal year, AFLAC paid $1.58 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 11.44, the P/S ratio is 1.37 and the P/B ratio is finally 1.70. The dividend yield amounts to 2.36%.
Stock Charts:
| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of AFLAC (AFL) |
| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of AFLAC (AFL) |
| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of AFLAC (AFL) |
Cardinal Health -- Yield: 2.30%
Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) employs 34,500 people, generates revenue of $102,531.00 million and has a net income of $1,212.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $25.75 billion.Cardinal Health’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $2,913.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 2.84% (the operating margin is 2.05% and the net profit margin 1.18%).
Financials: The total debt represents 18.22% of Cardinal Health assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 87.79%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 19.15% was realized by Cardinal Health.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $4.18. Last fiscal year, Cardinal Health paid $1.37 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 18.68, the P/S ratio is 0.25 and the P/B ratio is finally 4.10. The dividend yield amounts to 2.30%.
Stock Charts:
| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Cardinal Health (CAH) |
| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Cardinal Health (CAH) |
| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Cardinal Health (CAH) |
Chubb -- Yield: 2.17%
Chubb (NYSE:CB) employs 22,000 people, generates revenue of $19,138.00 million and has a net income of $2,834.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $59.49 billion.Chubb’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $6,765.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 35.35% (the operating margin is 18.30% and the net profit margin 14.81%).
Financials: The total debt represents 9.48% of Chubb assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 33.28%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 9.65% was realized by Chubb.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $7.54. Last fiscal year, Chubb paid $2.66 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 16.88, the P/S ratio is 3.09 and the P/B ratio is finally 1.42. The dividend yield amounts to 2.17%.
Stock Charts:
| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Chubb (CB) |
| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Chubb (CB) |
| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Chubb (CB) |
Franklin Resources -- Yield: 1.93%
Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) employs 9,200 people, generates revenue of $7,948.70 million and has a net income of $2,104.70 million. The current market capitalization stands at $22.05 billion.Franklin Resources’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $3,129.30 million. The EBITDA margin is 39.37% (the operating margin is 37.96% and the net profit margin 26.48%).
Financials: The total debt represents 13.19% of Franklin Resources assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 18.20%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 17.27% was realized by Franklin Resources.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $2.76. Last fiscal year, Franklin Resources paid $0.60 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 13.55, the P/S ratio is 2.75 and the P/B ratio is finally 1.90. The dividend yield amounts to 1.93%.
Stock Charts:
| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Franklin Resources (BEN) |
| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Franklin Resources (BEN) |
| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Franklin Resources (BEN) |