Good, old-fashioned industrial stocks with decent dividends had all but disappeared until the latest market crash brought them back into focus. True, not every company weathered the storm well enough to continue their payouts. But for those who did, we raise our glass. Here are four such outfits worthy of some bubbly – and perhaps your investment dollars, too. (For more, see How And Why Do Companies Pay Dividends?)
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Big Gains
Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) is a global manufacturer and marketer of a diversified commercial and household product line that includes everything from air conditioners to appliance motors to data networks. The company's stock is up nearly 25% in just the last two months. It sells at a reasonable trailing earnings multiple of 11.90 and offers investors a comfortable 3.97% dividend to boot. The company just announced a big automation contract with Swiss biotech company Lonza Group, to design and build that company's new plant in Singapore.
America's Biggest Sanitation Corporation
Waste Management Inc. (NYSE:WMI) is one of the world's largest waste disposal and recycling operations, with a market cap of just under $14 billion and clients from every sector of society, including commercial, industrial, residential and government. The stock trades 25% higher today than its 52-week low, hit back in March. It yields 4.20% annually and has a P/E of 13.65. Recent earnings beat Wall Street's consensus by a penny, coming in at 42 cents.
PPG Industries Inc. (NYSE:PPG) is a mid-cap producer of glass and a variety of other industrial and commercial coatings. PPG trades with a yearly yield of 4.71%. Roughly ten weeks ago, the company's shares exploded, climbing over 60% to stand at a current $44.09. Investment gurus Kenneth Fisher and David Dreman recently bought in to PPG and added to previous positions, respectively. (For more, see The World's Greatest Investors.)
An Old, Reliable Dividend Payer
Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC) saw a greater than 30% rise in the value of its shares recently, as the company handily beat analyst estimates of its quarterly earnings. The street had expected 49 cents a share, while GPC delivered 56. The shares offer a healthy annual yield of 4.86%, and the dividend is also noteworthy for having been paid to investors without interruption for 53 years. Genuine Parts does business in auto and other industrial replacement parts, and office products. (For more on GPC, see Invest With The All-Time Dividend Kings.)
The Wrap
Old-fashioned American industry appears to be on the mend. It's hard to say whether this is a foretaste of a general recovery or just a blip on the radar screen, but riding out whatever storm remains with a few fundamentally sound companies that pay you reasonable dividends is always a strategy worth considering. (To learn more, see The Importance Of Dividends.)
