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Best Dividend Stocks to Buy Now for May 2022

By:
Lucas Downey
Published: Apr 21, 2022, 15:38 UTC

Markets have continued to be volatile for a while as inflation rages. In the past, dividend paying stocks have proven to be good hedges for these kinds of environments.

Best Dividend Stocks to Buy Now for May 2022

In this article:

See, dividend payers are typically big, stable companies with rock-solid balance sheets. They not only can rise in value, but also provide stable cash flows. They’re holding their own right now, helping buoy markets overall. Let me show you what I mean.

Markets and Big Money in the Last Six Months

My research firm, MAPsignals, measures Big Money investor activity. That includes institutions, pension funds, big individual investors, and so on. Our research shows Big Money moves markets.

In fact, we created the Big Money Index (BMI), which is a 25-day moving average of Big Money buy and sell activity. It tends to be a leading indicator of market movement. Here is the BMI over the last six months laid over SPY:

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The BMI is trending up lately because there are sections of strength within the market. Today, I want to focus on four of them – energy, staples, real estate, and health care. Unsurprisingly, they also happen to be big dividend-paying sectors.

Energy stocks have been on fire due to the geopolitical situation right now. Investors have often leaned on them in uncertain times because they pay dividends.

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Staples too have been seeing inflows. Recession fears are setting in and investors want the certainty of companies selling what people need.

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The real estate sector saw three HUGE buying days recently as people rush to holding tangible assets with strong cash flows.

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Lastly, health care companies pay big, growing dividends, which is music to investors’ ears right now. Historically, it’s been a defensive area for investors, and it’s performing well now.

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Not only do these sectors pay dividends, but the cream-of-the-crop dividend payers in these sectors increase their dividends regularly. That means investors get a raise, which is always welcome. So, those four strong sectors are featured in the top five dividend-paying stocks we like: XOM (energy), MO (staples), EXR (real estate), JNJ (health care), and ABBV (health care).

Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) Analysis

Up first is Exxon Mobil, which is an oil and gas producing giant that has consistently paid a big dividend (currently it’s at 4.0%).

Even though great stocks can be volatile, like Exxon Mobil the last few years, these companies are worthy of attention. Check out XOM:

  • 1-month performance (11.8%)
  • Historical Big Money signals

Just to show you what our Big Money signals look like, have a look at the buy signals XOM has made the last year in the chart below. Green bars show it was likely being bought by a Big Money player according to MAPsignals.

When you see a lot of them, as XOM has this year, I call it the stairway to heaven:

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Source: www.MAPsignals.com

But, what about fundamentals? As you can see, XOM’s sales are strong, and its debt is manageable:

  • 1-year sales growth rate (+57.4%)
  • Debt/equity ratio (+31.5%)

Altria Group, Inc. (MO) Analysis

Next up is Altria Group, which is a tobacco company that has paid dividends for decades. Its current dividend yield is 6.5%.

Check out these technicals for MO:

  • 1-month performance (+7.1%)
  • Recent Big Money signals

Let’s look long-term. These are the top buy signals for Altria Group since 1990. The Big Money has bought time and again:

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Source: www.MAPsignals.com

Let’s dive deeper. As you can see, Altria Group has been a stabile giant:

  • 1-year sales growth rate (+1.3%)
  • 3-year sales growth rate (+2.5%)
  • Profit margin (+11.7%)
  • Forward price-to-earnings ratio of 11.4x earnings

Extra Space Storage Inc. (EXR) Analysis

Another dividend-paying name we like is Extra Space Storage, which owns and operates self-storage facilities throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. It pays a nearly 2.3% dividend right now.

Strong dividend payers usually have Big Money buying the shares, and EXR has that. It’s also jumped in price recently:

  • 1-month performance (+13.1%)
  • Historical Big Money signals

Below are the top Big Money signals EXR has made since 2010. That’s the JUICE!

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Source: www.MAPsignals.com

Now let’s look under the hood. Extra Space Storage’s sales growth and profits are impressive. I expect more in the coming years:

  • 1-year sales growth rate (+12.0%)
  • Profit margin (+50.5%)

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Analysis

Number four on the list is Johnson & Johnson, which is a health care behemoth and one of the biggest companies in the world. It just posted great earnings and raised its dividend by 6% (it currently yields almost 2.5%).

Here are the technicals important to me:

  • Year-to-date performance (+7.0%)
  • Historical Big Money signals

Below are the top Big Money signals for JNJ since 2006:

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Source: www.MAPsignals.com

Let’s examine a bit more. Johnson & Johnson has been growing nicely and it should continue:

  • 1-year sales growth rate (+13.5%)
  • 2-year vs. 1-year EPS growth estimate (+5.5%)

AbbVie, Inc. (ABBV) Analysis

Our last dividend payer is AbbVie, which is a pharmaceutical company with many different focus areas. It makes a lot of money, which means it can pay big dividends (currently it yields more than 3.6%).

Check out these technicals:

  • Year-to-date performance (+15.0%)
  • Historical Big Money signals

ABBV is a high-quality stock with a high-quality dividend. That’s why it’s made the Top 20 report 14 times since 2012:

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Source: www.MAPsignals.com

Now look under the hood. The company has had solid sales and earnings growth:

  • 3-year sales growth rate (+20.6%)
  • 3-year EPS growth rate (+44.3%)

Bottom Line and Explanatory Video

 

XOM, MO, EXR, JNJ, & ABBV represent top dividend-paying stocks to buy now for May 2022. Strong fundamentals, big and growing dividends, and historical Big Money buy signals make these stocks worthy of extra attention.

To learn more about MAPsignals’ Big Money process please visit: www.mapsignals.com

Disclosure: the author holds long positions in MO, EXR, & ABBV in personal and managed accounts, and no positions in XOM or JNJ.

Contact:

https://mapsignals.com/contact/

 

About the Author

Lucas Downeycontributor

Lucas is a well-versed equity investor and educator. He currently is co-founder of research and analytics firm, MAPsignals.com, which focuses on finding outlier stocks by following the Big Money.

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