Defensive, Dividend Stocks For Cautious Investors

In an earlier article about defensive stocks I provided a description of what makes a stock a defensive holding. I won’t go into that longer, detailed discussion here. I’d rather keep it simple. An ideal defensive stock is a company that provides a service or product we can’t live without. So, I thought we could get right down to the basics with food, water and air (or in this case oxygen). It doesn’t get any more straightforward than that.

Let’s start with water. How many of us are really going to drink less water or bath less (maybe I don’t want responses to this one) during a recession? We use water for so many things every day that we tend to take it for granted until it begins to run out. My favorite water utility is American Water Works (AWK), with operation in Canada and over 30 states in the U.S. New Jersey is its biggest market accounting for about 19 percent of revenue.

Source: Seeking Alpha

Related Articles:
- 5 Dividend Stocks In Need Of A Market Correction
- My Top And Bottom Performing Dividend Growth Stocks
- How To Build A Sustainable High Yield Portfolio
- 10 Stocks That Have Paid Dividends Since The 1800s
- 7 Exceptional Dividend Growth Stocks With Quality Financials