US Dividend Growth Stocks

The US universe of quality dividend paying stocks is very large. One very good passive strategy is iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index Fund(DVY). The screening is done for you, the costs are very low, and you get excellent diversification.

If you choose an active strategy, there are many ways to screen for candidates to buy.

Mergents - Companies who have increased their dividend annually for at least 10 years and whose annual dividend growth rate is in excess of 12%.
S&P S&P_Dividend_Aristocrats_-_1989_to_2004.pdfA+, A, A- Stocks - Stocks with the highest earnings/dividend quality rating from S&P. According to an S&P study, stocks with the highest rating have outperformed the S&P500 with the same amount of risk.
Selective S&P Screen - Stocks rated B+ or better with a payout ratio less than 50% and a debt/total capital ratio less than 50%, ranked by yield.
US Dividend Growth Stocks
Stable EPS - Stocks with a history of stable earnings, as represented by the r-squared value of a simple regression of the annual earnings change, seem to outperform the S&P.
S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats - 25 consecutive years of increased cash payments (11/17/03)
S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Annually, 1989-2004 - note that only 15 of the 44 1995 Aristocrats were Aristocrats in 2004 (06/13/05)
US Stocks with 10 years or more consecutive years of dividend growth
The Top 10 Yields by Industry - US (Added 07/06/03)