2024 Dividend Kings List: All 54 Ranked & Analyzed

2024 Dividend Kings List by Yield

Dividend Kings' Performance, Sector Mix, and Dividend Growth

Over most long-term periods, the current group of Dividend King stocks has delivered similar total returns to the S&P 500 but with lower volatility.

However, in recent years the kings have not kept up with the increasingly tech-heavy S&P 500 as investors have flocked to growth stocks and AI companies.

This shortfall doesn't come as a big surprise since the group of Dividend Kings looks nothing like the S&P 500, which is nearly half made up of tech stocks (including Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet, which are technically in other sectors).

No Dividend Kings are in the Information Technology or Communications sectors. Instead, nearly 80% of the group is concentrated in more stable sectors like consumer staples, industrials, healthcare, and utilities.

All 54 Dividend Kings Ranked

Dividend King #1: Automatic Data Processing (ADP)

Dividend Yield: 2.0%

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) was founded in 1949 and is a global leader in payroll and HR services. ADP provides cloud-based software and services used by businesses of all sizes to manage payroll, benefits, compliance, HR, and employee performance. The firm earns most of its revenue from recurring payroll services while also offering fully integrated HR outsourcing solutions. Trusted by over 80% of Fortune 100 companies, ADP supports organizations in managing their workforce efficiently.

Dividend King #2: United Bankshares (UBSI)

Sector: Financials – Regional Banks
Dividend Growth Streak: 50 years
Dividend Safety Score: Safe
Dividend Yield: 3.6%

With roots tracing back to 1839, United Bankshares is a regional bank offering commercial and retail banking services. It is the parent company of United Bank, which is the largest community bank in the D.C. Metropolitan region and has a presence in several surrounding states. The bank's products include checking and savings accounts, loans for businesses and individuals, mortgages, and credit cards. United Bankshares also provides digital banking, investment services, and financial planning.

Dividend King #3: Consolidated Edison (ED)

Dividend Yield: 3.5%

Consolidated Edison was formed in 1823 as the New York Gas Light Company, providing gas rather than whale oil to power New York's street lamps. The utility now provides energy for the 10 million people who live in and around New York City. Almost all of Con Ed's earnings are generated from regulated activities involving the transmission and distribution of electric, gas, and steam power.

Dividend King #4: Fortis (FTS)

Dividend Yield: 3.9%

Founded in 1885, Fortis is a leading electric and gas utility company serving customers primarily in Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Newfoundland) and the United States (numerous Midwest states, New York, and Arizona). With operations spanning electricity generation, transmission, and distribution, Fortis supplies power to over 3 million customers and operates thousands of miles of distribution lines and gas pipelines.

Dividend King #5: S&P Global (SPGI)

Dividend King #6: Walmart (WMT)

Dividend Yield: 0.9%

With roots tracing back to 1945, Walmart is the world’s largest retailer with over 10,000 stores. The company offers groceries, health products, and general merchandise at low prices. Walmart also has a strong e-commerce platform and provides financial services like money transfers. Through its Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam’s Club stores, Walmart serves millions of customers globally with a focus on affordability and convenience.

Dividend King #7: Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM)

Dividend Yield: 3.9%

Established in 1902, ADM is a global leader in agricultural processing and human and animal nutrition. The firm procures and processes crops like corn, oilseeds, and wheat into products such as vegetable oil, protein meal, flour, corn sweeteners, and ethanol. These are used in food, beverages, animal feed, chemicals, and energy markets. About half of ADM’s revenue comes from the U.S., with the rest from Europe, Brazil, Mexico, and other international markets.

Dividend King #8: Kimberly-Clark (KMB)

Dividend King #9: Nucor (NUE)

Dividend Yield: 1.5%

Founded in 1940, Nucor is the largest manufacturer of steel products in North America and America's largest steel recycler. The firm's main products are carbon and alloy steel (used in bars, beams, sheets, and plates); steel piling; steel joists; steel deck; concrete reinforcing steel; cold finished steel; and steel fasteners. Steel is sold into a variety of end markets, but non-residential construction and automotive markets are the biggest sources of demand.

Dividend King #10: PepsiCo (PEP)

Dividend Yield: 3.4%

The first Pepsi soda was created in 1898 by a pharmacist in North Carolina, inspired by Coca-Cola's recent success. The drink quickly gained popularity, and in 1902, the Pepsi-Cola Company was officially incorporated. Today, PepsiCo is a global leader in various snack and beverage categories and boasts more than 20 brands that each generate over a billion dollars in sales, including Frito's, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, Quaker, Lay's, Cheetos, Bubly, Aquafina, and Rockstar.

Dividend King #11: RPM (RPM)

Dividend King #12: AbbVie (ABBV)

Dividend Yield: 3.7%

AbbVie was formed in 2013 when healthcare giant Abbott Laboratories spun off its branded biopharma business. AbbVie has remained focused on branded drugs in immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care. Its flagship product, Humira, treats autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. AbbVie also offers Skyrizi and Rinvoq for immunological disorders, as well as cancer treatments such as Imbruvica and Venclexta.

Dividend King #13: Abbott (ABT)

Dividend Yield: 1.9%

Founded in 1888, Abbott is one of the world’s largest medical companies, with a portfolio of leading offerings in diagnostic systems, medical devices, nutritional products, and branded generic pharmaceuticals. Abbott is known for its diabetes care devices like FreeStyle Libre, cardiovascular devices such as stents and pacemakers, rapid diagnostic tests for conditions like COVID-19, and nutritional brands such as Ensure and Similac. With a presence in over 160 countries, Abbott focuses on improving health outcomes worldwide.

Dividend King #14: Becton Dickinson (BDX)

Dividend Yield: 1.9%

Founded in 1897, Becton Dickinson is a leading global manufacturer of medical supplies, devices, and diagnostic tools. It offers a range of products including syringes, needles, and catheters. Many of its products help hospitals deliver medicines to patients, but the firm also delivers specialized medical equipment for labs such as blood collection systems and diagnostic tools. Additionally, it provides surgical products used in areas like hernia repair and urology care. The firm's customers include hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, labs, and blood banks.

Dividend King #15: Canadian Utilities (CDUAF)

Dividend Yield: 5.1%

Incorporated in 1927, Canadian Utilities has long been a subsidiary of ATCO, a diversified Canadian corporation which holds a controlling interest and integrates the firm into its broader energy and infrastructure operations. Canadian Utilities primarily provides regulated electricity transmission and distribution in Alberta, the Yukon, and Northwest Territories, and natural gas distribution and pipelines in Alberta. The company also operates in energy storage, industrial water solutions, and clean fuels like hydrogen.

Dividend King #16: Gorman-Rupp (GRC)

Dividend Yield: 1.8%

Gorman-Rupp, founded in 1933, designs and manufactures a wide range of pumps and pump systems used in water and wastewater management, construction dewatering, industrial fluid transfer, petroleum handling, agricultural irrigation, and fire protection applicaitons. With over 5,000 pump models sold in more than 150 countries, the firm serves a wide variety of niche markets. Its large installed based of mission-critical products results in a healthy mix of replacement sales.

Dividend King #17: W.W. Grainger (GWW)

Dividend King #18: Illinois Tool Works (ITW)

Dividend King #19: Middlesex Water (MSEX)

Dividend Yield: 2.2%

With roots tracing to 1897, Middlesex Water provides water and wastewater services. It treats, stores, and distributes clean water to homes, businesses, and municipalities, serving a population of half a million people in New Jersey and Delaware. Middlesex also manages water systems for other utilities and municipalities.

Dividend King #20: PPG (PPG)

Dividend Yield: 2.2%

PPG, founded in 1883, is a global leader in paints, coatings, and specialty materials. Over half of the firm's sales are special-purpose coatings used in aerospace, automotive, general industrial, packaging, and marine applications, with the remainder used in architectural markets. PPG's offerings provide protection, performance, and decoration for a wide range of products, improving their durability and marketability.

Dividend King #21: Target (TGT)

Dividend Yield: 3.4%

Established in 1902, Target is one of the largest retailers in the United States. It sells a wide variety of products, including clothing, beauty items, groceries, electronics, furniture, toys, and home decor. Target serves customers through its stores and online at Target.com. With a focus on affordable quality, Target aims to provide a convenient and stylish shopping experience for millions of customers nationwide.

Dividend King #22: Tennant (TNC)

Dividend Yield: 1.4%

Established in 1870, Tennant is a global leader in designing and manufacturing cleaning equipment and solutions. Serving industries like retail, healthcare, manufacturing, and education, Tennant offers a broad portfolio of scrubbers, sweepers, vacuums, and pressure washers that create cleaner, safer, and healthier environments worldwide. Roughly 60% of its revenue comes from equipment sales, with the remaining 40% from aftermarket parts and services.

Dividend King #23: Black Hills (BKH)

Dividend Yield: 4.2%

With roots tracing to 1883, Black Hills is an electric and natural gas utility serving over one million customers across eight primarily Western states, including Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, and South Dakota. The company's service is delivered using Black Hills' thousands of miles of electric transmission and distribution lines, gas pipelines, and storage sites.

Dividend King #24: H.B. Fuller (FUL)

Dividend King #25: Altria (MO)

Dividend Yield: 7.1%

Altria's history stretches back to 1854 when British tobacconist Philip Morris made his first cigarette. Altria is now America's largest tobacco company and derives most of its income from traditional cigarettes, led by the Marlboro brand. The firm has also made smaller ventures into vaping, nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco, though these smoke-free nicotine products face much more dynamic competitive environments than Altria's core cigarette business.

Dividend King #26: National Fuel Gas (NFG)

Dividend Yield: 3.4%

The National Fuel Gas company (NFG) dates back to 1821, when America's first natural gas well was drilled and used to fuel street lights in a small town in western New York. Today, NFG is a vertically integrated natural gas company with operations in upstream exploration and production, midstream pipelines and storage, and downstream regulated utilities in Pennsylvania and New York. Despite being classified as a utility, NFG is more like a diversified energy company, with over half its earnings derived from unregulated businesses tied to producing and moving natural gas.

Dividend King #27: Universal (UVV)

Dividend Yield: 5.8%

Universal, founded in 1918, is the world’s leading supplier of tobacco leaves. The company primarily sells processed tobacco to major cigarette makers like Philip Morris International, Imperial Brands, and British American Tobacco, with most of its revenue derived outside of the United States. Universal sources specific tobacco blends by working with a global network of over 500,000 farmers. After the crops are grown, it buys the leaves, processes them, and sells the final product to manufacturers worldwide.

Dividend King #28: Sysco (SYY)

Dividend Yield: 2.5%

Founded in 1969, Sysco is the largest global distributor of food and acts as a middleman between food producers and retail consumers. The firm provides a full line of food products and non-food items to thousands of customer locations, including restaurants, schools and governments, hotels, and healthcare facilities. Its extensive product range encompasses fresh and frozen foods, dairy, beverages, and non-food items like disposable tableware and cleaning supplies.

Dividend King #29: ABM (ABM)

Dividend Yield: 1.9%

Founded in 1909, ABM provides a range of services that keep facilities running smoothly. It offers janitorial, engineering, and parking services for office buildings, sports venues, and hospitals. The firm also supports vehicle maintenance for rental car companies and provides facility services for manufacturing sites and data centers. In education, ABM delivers custodial and landscaping services for schools and universities. Additionally, it aids airlines and airports with passenger services and aircraft upkeep, and the company supports electric vehicle infrastructure projects.

Dividend King #30: Commerce Bancshares (CBSH)

Dividend Yield: 1.5%

Founded in 1865, Commerce Bancshares is a regional bank holding company operating across Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Colorado. The company offers a comprehensive range of financial services, including retail and commercial banking, mortgage banking, investment management, securities brokerage, and private banking.

Dividend King #31: California Water Service (CWT)

Dividend King #32: Federal Realty (FRT)

Dividend Yield: 3.9%

Founded in 1962, Federal Realty is one of the oldest REITs in the world. The company owns over 100 shopping centers and mixed-use properties located primarily in coastal markets such as Silicon Valley, New York, and Washington, D.C. Most of the firm's centers have a grocery component that drives consistent foot traffic for Federal Realty's retail tenants, which include drugstores, restaurants, apparel retailers, gyms, banks, and home furnishings stores. The firm also owns some apartments and offices.

Dividend King #33: SJW (SJW)

Dividend King #34: Stanley Black & Decker (SWK)

Dividend Yield: 3.9%

Founded in 1843, Stanley Black & Decker is a major provider of tools, outdoor products, and accessories. It offers a wide range of items like power tools, hand tools, and lawn equipment under well-known brands such as Dewalt, Crafstman, and Black+Decker. The firm's products are available through retailers, distributors, and direct sales. Serving various sectors, the industrial segment supplies fasteners and engineered products to industries like automotive and aerospace, enhancing their manufacturing and construction processes.

Dividend King #35: MSA Safety (MSA)

Dividend King #36: Stepan Company (SCL)

Dividend King #37: Tootsie Roll (TR)

Dividend Yield: 1.1%

Founded in 1896, Tootsie Roll is the maker of famous candy brands such as Tootsie Roll, Tootsie Pops, Blow-Pop, Junior Mints, Dots, Charleston Chew, and Dubble Bubble. The company sells its products worldwide primarily through candy and grocery brokers to thousands of supermarkets, dollar stores, and pharmacy chains.

Dividend King #38: Hormel Foods (HRL)

Dividend Yield: 3.6%

Hormel Foods was founded in 1891 and is a global branded food company offering fresh meats, refrigerated meals, sausages, hams, guacamole, and bacon. The company's portfolio features well-known brands such as Skippy peanut butter, SPAM meat, Applegate meats, Wholly Guacamole dips, Jennie-O turkey, and numerous Hormel-branded meat products. The firm's products are available in over 80 countries, serving retail, foodservice, deli, and commercial customers.

Dividend King #39: Colgate-Palmolive (CL)

Dividend Yield: 2.1%

Founded in 1806, Colgate-Palmolive sells toothpaste, soap, shampoo, deodorant, cleaning products, and pet food through retail stores and online. The firm's popular brands include Colgate, Palmolive, Irish Spring, Softsoap, and Hill’s Science Diet. Most of the company's revenue is derived outside the United States, with a focus on emerging markets.

Dividend King #40: Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (FMCB)

Dividend Yield: 1.8%

Founded in 1916, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp is the parent company of Farmers & Merchants Bank of Central California. The community bank offers a variety of services to individuals and businesses, such as checking and savings accounts, loans for real estate and agribusiness, equipment leasing, and credit cards. It also provides online banking, investment products like mutual funds, and specialized services like merchant credit card programs and electronic funds transfers.

Dividend King #41: Coca-Cola (KO)

Dividend Yield: 3.1%

Coca-Cola, founded in 1892, is a leading global beverage corporation. It offers a diverse portfolio of over 200 drink brands, including Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, Fanta, Dasani, and Minute Maid, available in more than 200 countries. The firm operates on a franchised distribution system, producing syrup concentrate sold to licensed bottlers worldwide, who then manufacture, package, and distribute the finished beverages.

Dividend King #42: Lancaster (LANC)

Dividend Yield: 2.1%

Founded in 1961, Lancaster sells specialty food products to retailers and restaurants in the United States. The firm's key brands include New York Bakery frozen garlic breads, Sister Schubert’s dinner rolls, and Marzetti salad dressings, croutons, dips, and pasta. The company also produces dressings and sauces under brand licenses for Olive Garden, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Chik-fil-A.

Dividend King #43: Nordson (NDSN)

Dividend King #44: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

Dividend King #45: Kenvue (KVUE)

Dividend Yield: 3.6%

Kenvue was separated from Johnson & Johnson in 2022 and sells consumer health products. The firm's Self Care segment offers products for issues like pain relief and allergies under brands like Tylenol and Zyrtec. In Skin Health and Beauty, it provides face, body, and hair care products featuring Neutrogena and Aveeno. The Essential Health segment delivers oral, baby, and women's health products with brands like Listerine and Band-Aid, making health and wellness more accessible through trusted, everyday items.

* Note: S&P added Kenvue to the dividend aristocrats index in August 2023 after the consumer healthcare firm was spun off by Johnson & Johnson. Kenvue was given credit for J&J's dividend growth streak and should have no trouble continuing it with an A credit rating, payout ratio near 70%, and recession-resistant products. 

Dividend King #46: Cincinnati Financial (CINF)

Dividend Yield: 2.1%

Established in 1950, Cincinnati Financial offers a range of insurance products in the U.S. It provides commercial, personal, and surplus lines of insurance that cover everything from business liability and equipment to personal auto and home insurance. Additionally, it offers life insurance, annuities, and surety bonds. The firm also invests in bonds and stocks to generate income.

Dividend King #47: Lowe's (LOW)

Dividend Yield: 1.7%

Founded in 1921, Lowe's is a leading home improvement retailer in the United States, providing a wide range of products for home construction, maintenance, and decoration. It offers everything from appliances and tools to paint and garden supplies. The company also provides installation services through independent contractors and sells national and private brand merchandise to a variety of customers, including homeowners and businesses. Products are available in-store and online through Lowes.com and mobile apps.

Dividend King #48: Genuine Parts (GPC)

Dividend King #49: Dover (DOV)

Dividend Yield: 1%

Dover, established in 1947, delivers equipment, supplies, and services globally across several industries. Its Engineered Products segment crafts tools and systems for vehicle care, waste management, and industrial technology. In Clean Energy & Fueling, it supplies solutions for handling fuels and gases. The Imaging & Identification segment offers marking and coding equipment for consumer goods and pharmaceuticals. Additionally, the Pumps & Process Solutions and Climate & Sustainability Technologies segments produce specialized pumps, connectors, and refrigeration systems for various applications.

Dividend King #50: Procter & Gamble (PG)

Dividend Yield: 2.3%

With roots tracing back to 1837, Procter & Gamble is among the oldest dividend aristocrats. The company is one of the world's largest manufacturers of laundry detergents, baby wipes, diapers, paper towels, cleaning products, shampoos, deodorants, toothpaste, and other consumer goods. Some of the firm's top brands include Luvs, Pampers, Tampax, Charmin, Downy, Tide, Cascade, Dawn, Febreze, Head & Shoulders, Old Spice, Pantene, Gillette, Braun, Crest, and Oral-B. Around half of P&G's sales occur outside of North America.

Dividend King #51: Parker-Hannifin (PH)

Dividend King #52: Emerson Electric (EMR)

Dividend King #53: Northwest Natural (NWN)

Dividend Yield: 4.7%

Northwest Natural, founded in 1859, provides natural gas services to over 2 million people in Oregon, southwest Washington, and Texas's Houston, Dallas, and Austin metropolitan areas. The company also provides water distribution and wastewater services to communities throughout the Pacific Northwest, Texas and Arizona.

Dividend King #54: American States Water (AWR)

Closing Thoughts on Dividend Kings