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If you are a dividend lover, then you have very likely heard of Dividend Kings. These companies have increased their dividend payout every year for at least five decades. You can't do that without having a strong business plan that gets executed well in both good markets and bad.
If you have $2,000 in cash (or any amount really) available to invest and you like the idea of owning reliable dividend stocks, you should be looking at Dividend Kings Nucor (NYSE: NUE), Black Hills (NYSE: BKH), and Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE: SWK) right now. While all three share some qualities that make them great buys, each one fits a bit of a different niche in an investment portfolio.
Nucor is down, but not out
Steelmaker Nucor's stock has lost more than a third of its value since hitting a peak in early 2024. Before jumping to the conclusion that something must be wrong with Nucor, it's important to remember the industry in which it operates. Steel is a highly cyclical business, and the current drop is really related to weakening industry conditions. It is not because Nucor has suddenly lost its way.
The truth is, drawdowns like this one are pretty common for Nucor. And they generally represent buying opportunities. There's no telling when the current industry weak patch will get better. And it might even get worse before it turns up again.
But Nucor is built to survive it and, actually, improve its business along the way. That's a normal approach here, with Nucor currently about two-thirds of the way through a $10 billion capital investment plan. Essentially, it will be a bigger and better company when steel prices recover, allowing it to post a higher high even as it also posts higher lows.
Nucor's 1.7% dividend yield isn't going to light anyone's world on fire. But if you like owning industry leaders, this domestic steel giant, and Dividend King, is one you shouldn't ignore.
Black Hills has an attractive yield
If you are looking for yield, a better option might be Black Hills. This company is one of the few utilities to reach Dividend King status, and its roughly 4.5% dividend yield is near the high end of its recent yield range. The best part, however, is that slow and steady growth looks like it remains the name of the game here.
Black Hills provides natural gas and electricity to 1.35 million customers in parts of Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The customer base in the areas it serves has been growing at nearly three times the rate of the broader U.S. population. The company believes that customer growth will support regulated investment plans that will lead to earnings growth of between 4% and 6% a year, with dividends likely to trail along for the ride. Not bad for a sleepy little $4 billion market cap utility.