Dividend Stocks For A Govt. Shutdown

Over the very short term the markets may well be whipped around by Washington inanity. On the government-shutdown front, S&P Capital IQ points out that during the 1995-96 shutdown the S&P 500 lost 3.7% but then gained 10.5% in the month following that bit of folly. During the 2011 debt-ceiling imbroglio the S&P 500 fell 10% from late July to early August. There were more moving pieces to deal with in the summer of 2011 -- Europe was in the depths of its own debt problems -- but by year end the S&P had retraced nearly half that loss and by the end of the first quarter of 2012, it had snapped back with a 17% rise from the August 2011 low.

That’s the long-winded way to suggest that whatever sell-off occurs will be short-lived and the markets will eventually get around to paying attention to fundamentals. And that’s where things get really interesting. As dark as Washington may make the next few weeks, the expectation is that economic growth is on track to accelerate in the fourth quarter and next year. In terms of dividend dependability, S&P’s Dividend Aristocrats list is always worth a look-see. The list currently contains 54 stocks within the S&P 500 index that have managed to raise their dividend for at least 25 consecutive years. Starting with consumer cyclicals, the contenders are Bemis (BMS), Genuine Parts (GPC), Lowe’s Companies (LOW), McDonald’s (MCD) and apparel company VF Corporation (VFC).

Source: Y Charts

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