Investors still love dividends. They really love when companies raise their dividends and can keep raising them for years ahead. After all, anywhere from one-third to as much as two-thirds of total returns through time can be tied to dividends throughout the market cycles.

24/7 Wall St. has been tracking dividends, and buybacks for that matter, for years now. What really drives growth and income investors is when a dividend has ample room to grow for the next five or 10 years without much further economic growth assumptions. In short, investors want to be able to identify companies that can grow their dividends even if the economy stays only relatively healthy or remains flattish.

In this effort, we have identified nine large companies that either have a long history of dividend growth or that can easily grow their dividends for much of the next decade. As you might expect, some of these companies are Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) components. Some were even picked by 24/7 Wall St. as companies to own for the next decade.

In order to avoid the unpredictable business cycle’s impact on the economy and in commodities, companies were excluded if they were in banking, technology and oil and gas, or if they were in commodities and mining. Those sectors can do very well, but we have all seen true flops in earnings power and their ability to generate excess cash. In order to qualify here, a company’s yield had to be at least 1%, and each company had to have either key drivers or pricing power in their products.

The one most obvious caveat that always exists with dividend growth and earnings growth is the economy. Any massive weakness in the economy can crimp even the best-run companies in the world.

Also included were most earnings payout ratios to make sure that companies were not paying out more than or anywhere close to their full earnings in the form of dividends. Many of these companies are buying back stock as well. Basic share price data, analyst targets, trading history, growth or earnings drivers, dividend history, and other color was included about these companies.

These are the nine companies that 24/7 Wall St. thinks should be able to keep raising their dividends over the next decade.

American Electric Power

American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP) now has a dividend yield of close to 3.6%, but the power utility almost certainly can keep raising its payout ahead. This was refreshed as one of our own 10 stocks to own for the next decade, and its payout ability is one reason, despite it still having many legacy systems that have been targeted by the EPA rules to be replaced. AEP’s dividend payout ratio of about 60% of income is lower than many electric utility peers.

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AEP is also expected to post earnings per share growth of 5% or so ahead. Its history of dividends has not been a hike every year forever, but its earnings and payouts should be able to keep ticking higher and higher over the coming years to justify reasonable dividend hikes. AEP even launched the “Defend My Dividend” effort in the past, so how much more pro-dividend can a company be?

Shares of American Electric closed Friday at $58.46, with a consensus analyst price target of $61.27 and a 52-week trading range of $52.29 to $65.38. The company has a total market cap of $28.7 billion.

American Express

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) has been a business that is changing, and its earnings power seems to have reached a near-term peak while it gets past a changing environment and losing its Costco exclusive. American Express has managed to be a dividend hiker through time, but it has not raised its dividend every single year.

American Express is still a DJIA component and should be more and more outside of some financial oversight that has kept financial dividend sector yields lower. With a yield of only about 1.5%, the card issuer should almost feel embarrassed of its yield, considering that its stock is down 20% from its high. Its payout ratio is only about 20% of its stated earnings per share.

The company may not be the growth engine of years past, but Warren Buffett is the largest shareholder here. Even if earnings do not grow by very much in the next five years, American Express should be able to deliver modest dividend hikes — or aggressive ones if earnings growth resumes.

American Express shares recently were trading near $77.00. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $83.40 and a 52-week trading range of $71.71 to $94.89. The company has a total market cap of $76.9 billion.

American Water Works

American Water Works Co. Inc. (NYSE: AWK) is the best water utility for investors to invest in for its diverse geographic footprint. It serves about 15 million people and has a presence in 47 states and one province in Canada. American Water Works has seen its shares appreciate to the point that its stock price now roughly matches the analysts’ price targets, but the stock almost never pulls back 10%.

It has also committed to broad dividend hikes for years into the future and was refreshed on our list of stocks to own for the next decade. 24/7 Wall St. first started highlighting this water utility back in the low $20s and its dividend is 75% higher than in early 2009. Its payout ratio is just over 50% of stated operating earnings.

Shares of American Water Works were recently trading at $58.38, with a consensus price target of $58.64 and a 52-week range of $48.36 to $58.63. The total market cap is $10.5 billion.

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Boeing

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) may have at-risk revenues through time on the defense and space businesses, but Boeing has entered into the sweet spot of the growth cycle, and it could have a liftoff for the next 10 or even 20 years with new airplanes and with the coming replacement cycle of existing planes. Boeing pays out about half of its stated operating earnings, but the normalized earnings of $7.50 to $8.00 per share could easily rise to $10.00 in the years ahead, after it recoups its R&D and capital spending.

This could all point to a Dreamliner of a dividend growth engine ahead, for what is only a 2.6% yield currently. Just keep in mind that the doubling of the dividend in the past four years was more aggressive than expected, and we do not expect a repeat of that same growth.

Boeing shares recently closed at $137.60. The consensus analyst price target is $163.05, and the 52-week range is $115.14 to $158.53. Boeing’s total market cap is $93.2 billion.

Home Depot

Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) was stuck in the mud for years, but its recovery has come at a time when building of new homes has been muted. Homeowners also still have been slow to remodel or upgrade their existing homes, and this could point to clear skies ahead.

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Home Depot has nearly doubled its dividend over the past four years and the dividend has almost quadrupled since prior to the hike right before the recession kicked into gear. The DJIA stock pays out about 45% of current operating earnings, and earnings per share growth of 10% on 5% revenue growth should allow for dividend hikes to continue at a modest pace to boost that current 2% yield.

Shares of Home Depot recently closed at $122.74, with a consensus price target of $131.61 and a 52-week range of $89.77 to $123.80. The company has a total market cap of $157.5 billion.

Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Co. NYSE: KMB) is one of the largest consumer products giants in the world, well behind Procter & Gamble, and also has been restructuring to right size its portfolio to focus on growth and higher margin consumer products. Kimberly-Clark also was refreshed on our 10 stocks to own for the next decade.

Its dividend payout ratio is up above 60%, but earnings growth is expected to continue enough to justify dividend hikes. The company has a history of dividend hikes too that is more than just enviable — 2015 marked the 43rd consecutive year that Kimberly-Clark raised its dividend.

Kimberly-Clark shares recently were trading around $117.30. The consensus price target is $116.55, the 52-week range is $101.76 to $119.01, and the total market cap is $42.7 billion.

3M

3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) is another DJIA stock, one with a long history of dividend payments and hikes. It has even noted that the conglomerate has paid dividends for almost 100 straight years now and has increased its annual dividend for 57 consecutive years. Its 2.8% yield is generated with a payout ratio that is about 50% to 55% of current operating earnings, and that payout ratio rose in recent years. Earnings growth is expected to pick back up in 2016, and if 3M is not too aggressive in its payout growth, it should be able to post dividend growth of at least 5% per year ahead.

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3M shares recently were trading at $148.70. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $156.50 and a 52-week trading range of $134.00 to $170.50. The company has a total market cap of $92.5 billion.

Starbucks

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) is still considered a growth company by many investors, and that price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 38 keeps a lid on how high its dividend can be. The coffee retail giant now has a dividend yield of only about 1%, but its 40% payout ratio has room to grow on its own, and it should have room to grow as double-digit earnings growth is expected to continue for the coming years.

Starbucks is only about five years into paying a dividend at all, and that payout has roughly tripled since it was first declared. Investors should expect modest dividend hikes ahead, but there is plenty of room for that payout to grow over the next decade.

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Shares of Starbucks were last seen right at $60.00, with a consensus price target of $64.09 and a 52-week range of $36.71 to $60.89. Its total market cap is $89.6 billion.

Walt Disney

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) has raised dividends aggressively, but its share price appreciation has masked the growth because it has made the yield stay low. Disney has barely a 1% yield due to that share gain, and it pays out less than 30% of operating earnings as a dividend.

Disney was also one of the stocks to own for the next decade, and Star Wars, higher theme park prices, Marvel and other efforts are likely to more than offset concerns about ESPN and cord-cutters. Earnings growth is in the double-digits, with sales growth of more than 5% expected to remain ahead.

The only issue that might cap that dividend growth is that Disney is aggressively buying back stock now. Disney’s dividend should double from current levels, and the question is whether that takes three years or more than five years to come about.

Disney’s stock price was last seen back up around $109.00. The consensus price target is $118.50, shares have traded in a range of $84.15 to $122.08 in the past 52 weeks, and the total market cap of $182.7 billion.

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