A lot has happened since then, and some of these companies have held onto dividend increase streaks for even longer than that.
It's hard to argue against buying Dividend Aristocrats because they have displayed a remarkable consistency for long periods of time.
At the same time, though, that doesn't mean every one of them is a buy today. Buying a great company can be a less-than-great investment if you pay a hefty premium.
Looking across the landscape of Dividend Aristocrats, here are seven really cheap stocks from the index that stand out as worth buying today:
AT&T -- Yield: 4.48%
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 $264.79 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 19.04, the P/S ratio is 1.80 and the P/B ratio is finally 2.15. The dividend yield amounts to 4.48%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of AT&T (T) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of AT&T (T) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of AT&T (T) |
AbbVie -- Yield: 3.60%
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 $101.93 billion.AbbVie’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $8,707.00 million. The EBITDA margin is 38.09% (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 18.97, the P/S ratio is 4.48 and the P/B ratio is finally 25.84. The dividend yield amounts to 3.60%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of AbbVie (ABBV) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of AbbVie (ABBV) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of AbbVie (ABBV) |
Target Corporation -- Yield: 3.29%
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 $42.78 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 13.81, the P/S ratio is 0.58 and the P/B ratio is finally 3.39. The dividend yield amounts to 3.29%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Target Corporation (TGT) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Target Corporation (TGT) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Target Corporation (TGT) |
T. Rowe Price Group -- Yield: 2.89%
T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) employs 6,061 people, generates revenue of $4,200.60 million and has a net income of $1,223.00 million. The current market capitalization stands at $18.66 billion.T. Rowe Price Group’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $2,025.20 million. The EBITDA margin is 48.21% (the operating margin is 45.21% and the net profit margin 29.11%).
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 23.76% was realized by T. Rowe Price Group.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $4.68. Last fiscal year, T. Rowe Price Group paid $2.08 in the form of dividends to shareholders.
Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 15.94, the P/S ratio is 4.41 and the P/B ratio is finally 3.93. The dividend yield amounts to 2.89%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of T. Rowe Price Group (TROW) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of T. Rowe Price Group (TROW) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of T. Rowe Price Group (TROW) |
AFLAC Incorporated -- Yield: 2.24%
AFLAC Incorporated (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 $30.23 billion.AFLAC Incorporated’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 Incorporated 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 Incorporated.
Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $6.08. Last fiscal year, AFLAC Incorporated 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 12.07, the P/S ratio is 1.44 and the P/B ratio is finally 1.80. The dividend yield amounts to 2.24%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of AFLAC Incorporated (AFL) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of AFLAC Incorporated (AFL) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of AFLAC Incorporated (AFL) |
Cardinal Health -- Yield: 2.18%
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 $26.64 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 19.68, the P/S ratio is 0.26 and the P/B ratio is finally 4.32. The dividend yield amounts to 2.18%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Cardinal Health (CAH) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Cardinal Health (CAH) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Cardinal Health (CAH) |
Chubb -- Yield: 2.13%
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 $60.03 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 17.19, the P/S ratio is 3.14 and the P/B ratio is finally 1.44. The dividend yield amounts to 2.13%.
Stock Charts:
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| Long-Term Stock Price Chart of Chubb (CB) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Chubb (CB) |
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| Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Chubb (CB) |