Best Single DG Stock RIGHT NOW

[Kerim]

Ok, with the market close to all-time highs and bargains nowhere in sight, I thought it would be fun for everyone to shout out their answer to this question:

You've got to make a purchase today -- at today's prices and other metrics -- of one good dividend growth stock. You'll have to hold it for the next 20 years at least. And forget for the moment about your overall portfolio; this is an isolated purchase and you don't need to worry about your allocations and weightings. What is the best buy / value out there right now?


My pick: XOM.

(Again, which is not to say that it is a bargain at these prices. Just that balancing all of the factors I care about, that seems like the best one at the moment to me, given the high prices all around.)

[earthtodan]

I'll go with JNJ.

[rapidacid]

:RTN:

[EricL]

I really like CVX as a long term play with a yield at 3.9%.

Kinder Morgan (KMI) is also very attractive at a 4.3% yield.

[Dividend Watcher]

JNJ or EMR

[kayboy]

I kinda like M&Ms (MO and MMM).

[navyasw02]

(04-23-2015, 02:49 PM)EricL Wrote: I really like CVX as a long term play with a yield at 3.9%.

Kinder Morgan (KMI) is also very attractive at a 4.3% yield.

I'm interested in KMI, but with it being at the top of its 52 week band and a high PE, is it a good value right now? I'm holding off to see if it trends lower.

[DividendDragon]

At current, would have to be JNJ for me.

[crimsonghost747]

(04-23-2015, 01:57 PM)rapidacid Wrote: :RTN:

Agreed.

[Bogart]

I would go with DIS or V.

[Kerim]

Hmmm. Two votes for RTN. I'll try to find some time soon to put it through its paces. Haven't looked at it too closely before.

[Kerim]

Ok, I've done a somewhat deeper dive on RTN. I'm glad you guys brought this one to my attention; it scores well in my system.

I'm still giving a strong edge to XOM, however, as single best DG stock at the moment.

RTN has a small edge in both earnings growth and dividend growth. Their payout ratios are about the same. XOM has a better-established DG streak, but I wouldn't ding RTN too much for that. Where XOM really dominates RTN is with a much higher current yield and a much lower P/E ratio. Those count for a lot with me, and make XOM seem like a much better value at the moment.

This is not to say anything bad about RTN. Now that it is on my radar, I will explore further and could imagine opening a position. But for "single best at the moment" I'm sticking with XOM. What arguments for RTN am I overlooking?

(Just for fun, XOM scores a 78 in my silly system, compared to 62 for RTN and 71 for JNJ.)