24/7 Wall St. Insights

• The futures market has 100% priced in a 25-basis-point rate cut.
• The futures traders are also pricing in a 41% chance of a 50=basis-point cut.
• Passive income is simple- own quality dividends that pay you for doing nothing. Don’t miss out on our brand-new “7 Things I Demand in a Dividend Stock” report. It includes two A++ dividend stocks and how to spot future dividend winners that can put your returns on hyperdrive: Access 2 legendary, high-yield dividend stocks Wall Street loves.

At 24/7 Wall St., we have focused on dividend stocks for over 15 years because, despite the ups and downs that always accompany the stock market, the reality for many people is the need to have solid passive income streams that accompany income from employment or other avenues.

The more passive income can help cover costly and rising costs like mortgage, insurance, taxes, and other expenses, the easier it is for investors to put away money for future needs as they build to retirement.

According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), passive income generally includes earnings from rental activity or any trade or business in which the individual does not materially participate. It can also include income from limited partnerships, stocks, bonds, and other similar enterprises in which the investor is not actively involved.

With at least a 25-basis-point cut priced into the market and more expected over the next two years, many passive income investors have been snapping up some of the top Dividend Kings in anticipation of lower rates. The Dividend Kings are the 53 companies that have raised their dividends for 50 years, a testament to their dependability and reliability. Those are two “must-have” items for investors who rely on passive income to boost their overall revenue.

Many investors have focused on five top Dividend Kings stocks to get ahead of the coming rate cuts. Dividend stocks are returning in favor as bond yields plunge, and the five we selected are all buy-rated on Wall Street.

Why do we cover dividend stocks?

Dividend stocks provide investors with reliable streams of passive income. Passive income is characterized by its ability to generate revenue without requiring the earner’s continuous active effort, making it a desirable financial strategy for those seeking to diversify their income streams or achieve financial independence.

Black Hills

This Dividend King is way off the radar for many but is among the safest plays now and pays a hefty 4.32% dividend. Through its subsidiaries, Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) operates as an electric and natural gas utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments.

The Electric Utilities segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 220,000 electric utility customers in:

• Colorado
• Montana
• South Dakota
• Wyoming

The company also owns and operates 1,482 megawatts of generation capacity and 0,024 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines.

The Gas Utilities segment distributes natural gas to approximately 1,107,000 natural gas utility customers in:

• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Nebraska
• Wyoming

In addition, the company owns and operates 4,713 miles of intrastate gas transmission pipelines, 42,222 miles of gas distribution mains and service lines, seven natural gas storage sites, approximately 50,000 horsepower of compression, and 515 miles of gathering lines.

Black Hills also constructs and maintains gas infrastructure facilities for gas transportation customers, provides appliance repair services to residential utility customers, and constructs electrical systems for large industrial customers.

Lastly, it produces electric power through wind, natural gas, coal-fired generating plants, and coal at its coal mine near Gillette, Wyoming.

Johnson & Johnson

With a diverse product base and a very popular and solid brand, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is among the most conservative big pharmaceutical plays and pays a solid 3.01% dividend. The company researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the health care field worldwide.

The company’s Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as:

• Immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis
• Infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS
• Neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia
• Oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer
• Cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration
• Pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension

Its MedTech segment provides Interventional Solutions, including:

• Electrophysiology products to treat heart rhythm disorders
• The heart recovery portfolio, which includes technologies to treat severe coronary artery disease requiring high-risk PCI or AMI cardiogenic shock
• Neurovascular care that treats hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke.

This segment also offers an orthopedics portfolio that includes products and enabling technologies that support hips, knees, trauma, spine, sports, and others:

• Surgery portfolios comprising advanced and general surgery technologies, as well as solutions for breast aesthetics, ear, nose, and throat procedures
• Contact lenses under the ACUVUE Brand
• TECNIS intraocular lenses for cataract surgery

PepsiCo

This top consumer staples stock posted mixed earnings for the quarter but will still supply all the goods for upcoming NFL football season tailgates and parties and pays a solid 3.08% dividend. PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is a worldwide food and beverage company.

Its Frito-Lay North America segment offers:

• Lays and Ruffles potato chips
• Doritos, Tostitos, and Santitas tortilla chips
• Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, branded dips
• Fritos corn chips

The company’s Quaker Foods North America segment provides:

• Quaker Oatmeal
• Grits
• Rice cakes
• Natural granola and oat squares
• Pearl Milling mixes and syrups
• Quaker Chewy granola bars
• Cap’n Crunch cereal
• Life cereal
• Rice-A-Roni side dishes

PepsiCo’s North America Beverages segment offers beverage concentrates, fountain syrups, and finished goods under these brands:

• Pepsi
• Gatorade
• Mountain Dew
• Diet Pepsi
• Aquafina
• Diet Mountain Dew
• Tropicana Pure Premium
• Sierra Mist
• Mug brands

Stanley Black & Decker

With the potential for the economy to take a hit, you can bet that the do-it-yourself legions will fix rather than buy new, and yielding a strong 3.35% this legendary stock is a solid idea now. Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (NYSE: SWK) provides hand tools, power tools, outdoor products, and related accessories in the United States, Canada, Other Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Its Tools & Outdoor segment offers professional-grade corded and cordless electric power tools and equipment, including:

• Drills
• Impact wrenches and drivers
• Grinders, saws, routers, and sanders
• Pneumatic tools and fasteners, such as nail guns, nails, staplers and staples, and concrete and masonry anchors; corded and cordless electric power tools
• Hand-held vacuums, paint tools, and cleaning appliances
• Leveling and layout tools, planes, hammers, demolition tools, clamps, vises, knives, saws, chisels, and industrial and automotive tools
• Drill, screwdriver, router bits, abrasives, saw blades, and threading products
• Toolboxes, sawhorses, medical cabinets, and engineered storage solutions
• Electric and gas-powered lawn and garden products

This segment sells its products under these brand names:

• DeWalt
• Craftsman
• Cub Cadet
• Black+Decker
• Hustler

The company’s Industrial segment provides:

• Threaded fasteners, blind rivets and tools, blind inserts and tools
• Drawn arc weld studs and systems
• Engineered plastic and mechanical fasteners
• Self-piercing riveting systems
• Precision nut running systems
• Micro fasteners
• High-strength structural fasteners
• Axel swage, latches, heat shields, pins, couplings, fitting, and other engineered products
• Attachments used on excavators and handheld tools.

This segment sells its products through a direct sales force and third-party distributors to the automotive, manufacturing, electronics, construction, aerospace, and other industries.

Universal

While this company’s products may not be for everyone, they have strong demand, have been in business for almost 150 years, and offer shareholders a hefty 6.05% dividend. Universal Corp. (NYSE: UVV) processes and supplies leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients worldwide.

The company operates through two segments:

• Tobacco Operations
• Ingredients Operations

It procures, finances, processes, packs, stores, and ships leaf tobacco for sale to manufacturers of consumer tobacco products.

The company:

• Contracts, purchases, processes, and sells flue-cured, burley, and oriental tobaccos that are primarily used in the manufacture of cigarettes
• Dark air-cured tobaccos manufacture naturally wrapped cigars, cigarillos, and smokeless and pipe tobacco products

Universal also provides value-added services, including:

• Blending, chemical, and physical tobacco testing
• Service cutting for various manufacturers
• Manufacturing reconstituted leaf tobacco
• Just-in-time inventory management services
• Electronic nicotine delivery systems
• Customer smoke testing services

Five Ultra-High-Yield Dividend Stocks That Can Pay Your Monthly Bills

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