GuruFocus'
All-in-One Screener
just got updated. It now has 120 filters to pinpoint the stocks
you want. For instance, the screener can narrow down the universe
of companies to predictable businesses with the highest rates of
dividend growth. If under the Fundamental tab Predictability is
set to 5, and under the Dividends tab Dividend Growth Rate is set
to 15%, 15 companies that match these criteria appear below.
Predictable companies are more likely to keep and grow their
dividend, which makes them appealing for income investors who
want to sustain a stream of stable income. As of today, the
S&P 500 dividend yield is 2.01%, and has only been higher
three times since 1997.
Aaron's Inc. (
AAN
)
, a specialty realtor of appliances, furniture, electronics and a
variety of other products, tops the list of stocks in this
screen. The company has a rapid growth rate of 17.8% annually for
revenue over the last 10 years, and 16.1% for EBITDA. Aaron's
began paying a dividend in January 1987 and has consistently paid
dividends for 24 years. In 2011, it raised the cash dividend rate
by 15% to $0.054, its seventh straight annual increase. It also
repurchased 5.1 million shares in 2011 and was authorized to
acquire 5.3 million additional shares.
Aaron's is growing mainly from opening new sales and lease
ownership stores, as well as from increased revenue from existing
stores. The rate of store opening has been relatively even in
recent years: The company added 82 company-operated and lease
ownership stores and 49 franchise stores in 2011, and 67 company
operated sales and lease ownership stores and 67 franchise stores
in 2010.
Another stock the screen generated is multinational beverage
company
PepsiCo Inc. (
PEP
)
. PepsiCo has a dividend yield of 3.1%, with growth of 12%
annually, including a 6% increase in 2011. It authorized a
further 6% increase for 2012, its 40
th
consecutive year of dividend growth. Since 2007, the company has
returned $30 billion to shareholders through share repurchases or
dividends.
PepsiCo uses its operating cash flow to repurchase shares and pay
dividends. This cash flow has increased from $6.8 billion in 2009
to $8.9 billion in 2011. It expects to generate $6 billion in
2012, after spending $1 billion in discretionary pension and
retiree medical contributions in the first quarter, contributing
to a $690 million loss.
Recently, PepsiCo has initiated a special focus on expanding
China with a three-year commitment of $2.5 billion. It will
introduce new Chinese-inspired products such as hot-and-sour fish
soup potato chips and opened its sixth potato new potato-chip
plant there in July, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Target (
TGT
)
has paid a dividend every quarter since after its 1967 IPO.
Target began paying a dividend in 1998. In 2011, it increased its
dividend 23.1%, after increasing it 31% in 2010. Target pays
dividends out of its cash flow from operations, which was $5.4
billion in 2011, up from $5.3 billion in 2010. In January, the
company also authorized a $5 billion share repurchase plan which
went into effect when its $10 billion repurchase plan authorized
in 2007 ran out in March. In June, Target increased its dividend
20% to $0.36 per common share.
Target is also a steadily growing company with a 9.3% annual
revenue growth rate over the last 10 years and 9.1% EBITDA growth
rate over the same period. The company's sales have continued to
be strong, in spite of competition from online retailers. In the
first quarter, it increased sales 6.1% to $16.5 billion from the
previous year, as well as earnings per share 11.5% to $1.11.
Target has planned to enter the Canadian market in 2013, which
cost it $55 million in EBIT in the first quarter, but which would
provide additional operating revenue toward sustaining its
dividend.
Walmart (
WMT
)
has a dividend yield of 2.2% and returned $11.3 billion to
shareholders through dividends and repurchases in 2011. In March
2012, Walmart raised its dividend 9% for fiscal 2013 over its
dividend in 2012. For 2013, it expects to pay $5.4 billion in
dividends, an increase from $5 billion in 2012.
Walmart uses its operating cash flows to fund operations and
global expansion activities, and uses all or part of the
remainder to pay its dividend and share buy backs. It had net
cash provided by operating activities of $24.3 billion in 2012,
$23.6 billion in 2011 and $26.4 billion in 2011.
Walmart has strong and growing operations. In the first quarter
both Walmart and Sam's delivered sales above guidance, and
operating income from its international store increased 21.2%.
Warren Buffett
recently
purchased a large portion of Walmart
shares in the first quarter of 2012, before the stock jumped more
than $10.
To find stocks matching your personal combination of 120
investing criteria, try GuruFocus' newly updated All-in-One
Screener
here
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