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Time to Buy These 3 Dividend Kings

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As we progress through 2023 investors will surely be looking for stocks that offer reliable dividends amid economic uncertainty, with inflation concerns still prevalent.

Here are three of the highest-ranked Dividend Kings at the moment who have raised their dividends for at least 50 consecutive years.

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM - Free Report) )

Starting the list is Archer Daniels Midland which has been a mainstay on the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) list since late January. Archer Daniels has continued to benefit from higher commodity prices as a producer and processor of food and beverage ingredients, including oilseeds, corn, wheat, and cocoa.

To that point, earnings estimates revisions have continued to go up over the last 30 days. Fiscal 2023 earnings estimates have now risen 7% throughout the quarter and FY24 estimates have climbed 17%. 

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This is a great sign as Archer Daniels is following a very tough to compete against fiscal 2022 that saw EPS at $7.85 per share. Still, the rising earnings estimates are a great sign Archer Daniels will have another strong year with CEO Juan Luciano stating the company is positioned well for 2023 and beyond.

Dividend History: ADM has a 2.34% annual dividend yield at $1.80 a share. The annualized dividend growth over the last five years is 4.03%. Archer Daniels currently has a 20% payout ratio and has now raised its dividend for 50 consecutive years recently becoming a Dividend King.

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Shares of ADM are down -17% year to date, but this year’s drop may be a buying opportunity as Archer Daniels stock is still up +37% over the last two years to easily top the S&P 500's -1% and the Agricultural Operations Markets +7%.  

Making Archer Daniels stock look more attractive at the moment is its valuation. Shares of ADM trade at 11.4X forward earnings which is nicely beneath the industry average of 17.6X and the S&P 500’s 18.1X. This is also 44% below its decade high of 20.5X and a 22% discount to the median of 14.6X.

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Nucor (NUE - Free Report) )

The next highly ranked Dividend King was recently added back to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) list today with steel producer Nucor continuing to benefit from higher commodity prices.

2022 was Nucor’s most profitable year ever at $7.61 billion in net earnings and EPS of $28.79. As the largest recycler in North America, Nucor has been able to boost profits through scrap metal used in steel and iron production.

While 2022 will be an extremely tough year to follow, earnings estimates have continued to soar throughout the quarter. Fiscal 2023 EPS estimates have soared 24% with FY24 estimates up 11%.

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Dividend History: NUE has a 1.38% annual dividend yield at $2.04 a share. Nucor’s’ dividend growth over the last five years is 6.19% with a payout ratio of 7%. Nucor recently became a Dividend King as well, raising its dividend for 50 consecutive years.

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Even better, Nucor stock is up +15% YTD to beat the S&P 500’s +3% and the Steel Producers Markets +12%. More impressive, Nucor stock has skyrocketed +119% over the last two years to largely outperform the benchmark and its Zacks Subindustry’s +21% and still trades at just 10.3X forward earnings.

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W.W. Grainger (GWW - Free Report) )

Rounding out the list is W.W. Grainger, which also sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Grainger is a broad-line business-to-business distributor of maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) products and services.

Grainger products include material-handling equipment, safety and security supplies, lighting and electrical products, power and hand tools, pumps and plumbing supplies, cleaning and maintenance supplies, and metalworking tools.

Benefiting from a strong business industry, Grainer’s earnings estimate revisions have continued to trend higher. This year’s earnings estimates have gone up 8% over the last 90 days with FY24 estimates up 6%.

Grainger’s bottom line growth continues to stand out even after a very impressive year. Grainger’s fiscal 2023 earnings are forecasted to jump 12% and rise another 7% in FY24 at $35.79 per share.

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Dividend History: GWW has a 1.02% annualized dividend yield at $6.88 a share. Grainger’s annualized dividend growth over the last five years is 6.12% with a payout ratio of 23%. Grainger has raised its dividend for 51 consecutive years.

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Grainger stock is up +22% YTD to outperform the S&P 500 and the Industrial Services Markets +14%. Plus, over the last two years, Grainger’s +69% has crushed the benchmark and its Zacks Subindustry’s -43%.  

While Grainger’s 20.2X forward earning is above the industry average of 13.2X, it is a proven leader in the space and still trades below its decade high of 26.4X and closer to the median of 19.5X.

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Bottom Line

The rising earnings estimate revisions are a great sign for these Dividend Kings and supports investors that buy their stocks for the reliable income. The P/E valuation of these Dividend Kings is also attractive at their current levels and indicates there could be more upside to their strong stock performances over the last two years. 


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Nucor Corporation (NUE) - free report >>

Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) - free report >>

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