2 Elite S&P 500 Dividend Stocks to Buy Now and Hold Forever

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Constellation Brands sells some of the most popular imported beers, but the stock can be bought for a song right now.
Home Depot still commands a small share of the home improvement market, making it an excellent dividend growth stock.
10 stocks we like better than Constellation Brands ›
It's nice to have cash deposited automatically deposited into your investment account on a regular basis. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) includes some of the largest and best businesses in the world, and many of these companies can make solid income investments. Here are two S&P 500 companies that are offering much higher yields than the index's 1.21% average.
Imported beer makes up nearly a fifth of all beer consumed in the U.S., according to the Beer Institute, and Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) is the top seller and importer of three of the top imported beers in the U.S.: Modelo, Pacifico, and Corona.
Recent sales weakness due to macroeconomic issues has sent the stock down, but the company generates plenty of earnings to support growing dividends. Constellation Brands is paying out close to a third of its adjusted earnings in dividends. Its quarterly payment is $1.02, which increased this year by $0.01. This puts the stock's forward dividend yield at an attractive 2.37%.
Top beverage makers like Constellation Brands can make great income investments. While sales can soften when consumer spending trends weaken, these companies are selling an affordable product that people consume throughout the year. This leads to stable sales, earnings, and dividends.
Constellation has been paying a growing dividend since 2015. Beer makes up the far majority of the company' business, but it also generates a small amount of sales from wine and spirits. However, management has sold off some wine assets recently to improve the performance of that side of the business. Management is aiming to save more than $200 million annually in costs by fiscal 2028. This spells more earnings and dividend increases for shareholders.
While the stock was falling this year, Constellation's beer business remained the top market share gainer in the first quarter, with six of the top 15 dollar share-gaining beer brands in the U.S. This makes the recent dip in the share price a good buying opportunity.
The lower share price has brought the forward price-to-earnings multiple down to a cheap 13.6 at the time of writing. Management is still guiding for full-year adjusted earnings per share between $12.60 to $12.90. Investors not only get the benefit of the above-average dividend yield but could see a nice return on the stock over the next five years.
Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is the world's largest home improvement retailer with 2,350 stores across the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Canada, and Mexico. Like Constellation Brands, Home Depot has experienced soft sales over the past year. However, the stock has held up quite well and could surge to new highs if interest rates come down. The stock is currently offering an attractive forward yield of 2.48%.
Tariffs on imported goods raised concerns about the potential for higher inflation, but so far, inflation has been relatively muted. The longer this continues, the greater the chance the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates, which would make financing home projects more affordable and benefit Home Depot.
The long-term trend of growing household net worth is a secular tailwind that has made Home Depot a solid growth stock, on top of its growing dividend. A $10,000 investment in the stock 20 years ago would be worth $107,000 today, or $176,000 including dividend reinvestment.
Home Depot has paid 38 consecutive years of dividend payments, which are well covered by earnings. The company paid 61% of earnings in dividends to shareholders over the past year. It raised its quarterly dividend earlier this year by 2% to $2.30.
Home Depot generates $162 billion in annual sales but is going after a $1 trillion addressable market in home improvement. It has a solid competitive position in an important segment of the economy that should lead to many more years of growing dividend payments.
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John Ballard has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Home Depot. The Motley Fool recommends Constellation Brands. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
2 Elite S&P 500 Dividend Stocks to Buy Now and Hold Forever was originally published by The Motley Fool