3 Stocks for 3% Income and Growth

U.S. stocks sit midway between rich reward and punishment. If the economy continues to heal and, as Wall Street analysts predict, company profits hit a new record next year, then the Dow Jones Industrial Average can be expected to return to its former peak, too. That would make for a gain of 40% or so from today’s levels. If, however, recent signs of recovery turn out to have been an economic head-fake brought on by lavish stimulus programs, and the Dow plunges to its 2009 low, stock investors stand to lose about 35%.

Investors who find the bulls and bears equally persuasive might wish to focus their stock hunting on companies like the three listed below. Each has posted handsome increases in sales and profits of late -- just the thing the market tends to reward when shares are broadly rising. Each also pays a dividend yield of greater than 3%, versus about 2% for the S&P 500 index, providing a stream of cash that can be reinvested into more shares if prices tumble. Moreover, each has increased its dividend payments at a healthy pace over the past five years.

Source: Smart Money

Related Articles:

• Rev-up Your Portfolio With Asset Allocation
• High-Yield Dividend Stocks: A Safer Approach
• Low-Debt Dividend Stocks
• 3 Styles Of Sucessful Dividend Investing
• Increasing Dividend Yield Part I: Utilities