With Dividend Investing En Vogue, Here Are 4 More Stocks to Consider

I recently wrote about how dividend investing came back into vogue during the current quarter following the pandemic-inspired, at-home surge that helped fuel the Nasdaq during the last nine months of 2020. While dividends always have had an allure for investors, it's my belief that dividend investing, either through investing in companies with policies of increasing their dividends or through buying attractive dividend-yielding stocks, is a way for those who are under-saved for their retirement to capture additional income. A new report from the Plan Sponsor Council of America, which represents businesses with workplace retirement plans, suggests there will be even greater demand for dividend investing in 2021. According to a survey by the Plan Sponsor Council, during the pandemic roughly 8% of companies have cut their 401(k) match or non-matching contributions they typically pay workers. The Employee Benefits Security Administration says there are roughly 572,000 401(k) plans, so the Plan Sponsor Council of America's 8% figure equates to 46,000 or so business. I also believe the Plan Council's findings that suggest another 1%, or 5,700 plans, are considering such cuts. Given survey respondents ranged in size from businesses with fewer than 50 employees to those with more than 5,000, it's a tall order to estimate the number of people impacted. Even so, we can agree that there will be a lot of folks who will not be socking away what they thought they would be, and that means a shortfall that needs to be overcome. And like that we are back to the need for dividend investing. I recently shared my best dividend stocks for 2021, and I still think those five dividend- paying companies make a lot of sense. That said, folks who are just dipping their toes into dividend investing and are looking to construct a wider portfolio of dividend-paying stocks should favor what I've come to call Dividend Dynamos. Those are companies that have a track record of continually increasing their dividends no matter what. The Great Recession? Nope, they increased their dividends. The Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020? Wrong, they increased their dividends. The likely starting points include the Dividend Kings, which are those companies that have continually increased their dividends annually for at least 50 years, and the Dividend Aristocrats, which have done the same for at least 25 years. Where it becomes a tad challenging is there are 30 Dividend Kings and 65 Dividend Aristocrats -- too many for any one individual to contemplate buying. So, on top of my five dividend picks for 2021, here are a few more stocks between the Dividend Kings and Dividend Aristocrats that new dividend investors should consider: Procter & Gamble . This consumer products company has continually increased its dividend over the last 64 years and currently pays an annual dividend of $3.16 per share, for a yield of 2.3% at present. Though that yield isn't big, Procter & Gamble's ability to capture incremental pricing for its products and its growth prospects in emerging markets should be ample fodder for more dividend hikes in the coming years. PepsiCo Inc. . The beverage and snack food giant has grown its dividend consecutively over the last 48 years, which means it soon will be up for Dividend King consideration. I think it will easily get there given its geographic business mix as well as its ever-expanding product portfolio of drinks and snacks, which includes a growing variety of products that are better for you. By that I mean less sugar and less fat, which means PepsiCo is trying to capture the tailwind associated with my Cleaner Living investing theme. McDonald's Corp. . Few would accuse the fast-food behemoth of being a Cleaner Living play, and they would be absolutely right. But McDonald's is great at execution; indeed, during the company's second-quarter earnings conference call CEO Christopher Kempczinski called the company an execution machine. I must agree given how the company pivoted its business to digital ordering and drive-thru in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite in-restaurant dining not being much of a factor in 2020, McDonald's still managed to deliver a 3% increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.29 a share. That hike marked McDonald's 45th consecutive dividend increase, and if it can deliver that during 2020 odds are high it will continue to do so once its inside dining business is up and running in full force. American States Water . The company, as its name implies, is a water utility. What its name doesn't share is that American States Water has increased its dividend consistently for more than 60 years. It's able to do so because demand for water is one of those few inelastic things in life. No matter what is going on in the economy, you need water to drink, bath, cook or clean. Consequently, the company is able to pass rate increases through on a periodic basis that drive its cash flow and its ability to raise its dividend. Another benefit of American States is it's a very low-beta stock, which means it is far less volatile than the overall market. Holding a stock like that inside one's dividend portfolio is a pretty smart bet.

With Dividend Investing En Vogue, Here Are 4 More Stocks to Consider

The consistent annual dividend increases by this quartet even during bad times make them good income-investing bets going forward.

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