Rick Orford
5 min read
In uncertain times, dividend income is more than just a strategy; it helps you sleep better at night. The key is knowing which ones to choose and when to buy. In terms of which dividend stocks to buy, I like companies with a long history of increasing their dividends, like the Dividend Aristocrats.
Dividend Aristocrats are S&P 500 listed companies who have increased their dividends for at least each of the last 25 years.
When it comes to answering the question, “When do I buy?” it’s been said that time in the market beats timing the market over the long haul, as buying at the wrong time can lead to eroding returns.
So, with that out of the way, I thought about looking for some quality Dividend Aristocrats that are positioning themselves for a breakout in Q3’25.
Using Barchart’s Stock Screener, I selected the following filters to get my results:
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Number of Analysts: At least 12 analysts. A high number of analysts reflects a better rating consensus.
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Current Analyst Rating: Moderate to Strong Buy.
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Overall Buy/Sell/Hold Signal: Buy. It filters which stocks have a buy signal.
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Overall Opinion Direction: Average to Top 1%. It indicates that the signal direction is getting stronger.
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Overall Opinion Strength: Average - Top 1%. It is a long-term measurement of strength. Stronger strength means less volatility, which is what we’re looking for.
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Watchlists: Dividend Aristocrats.
I ran these filters and got 6 Dividend Aristocrats:
Of course, we want to find the Dividend Aristocrats that are moving up the most, so I sorted the results based on the overall opinion strength.
Let’s kick off this list, starting with number one:
Cardinal Health is a drug distributor, healthcare services, and products company. The company specializes in providing customized solutions for various health needs in over 30 countries, including more than 90% of U.S. hospitals. Cardinal Health operates under two primary segments: Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions, and Global Medical Products and Distribution.
The company’s most recent financials reported sales of $730 million, up 98% from the previous year. Its net income also increased 93.9% year-over-year to $508 million.
Cardinal Health is a Dividend Aristocrat that has increased its dividends for 29 consecutive years. It pays a forward annual dividend of $2.04 per share, which translates to approximately 1.23% yield. That said, 14 analysts rate the CAH a strong buy.
