By Brian McKay

Sometimes it is nice to know you have some consistent revenue. Stocks go up and down, as we have seen extensively this last year, but dividends are a great little payout every quarter that the company is profitable.

Dividend stocks represent some aspects of safety for investors and tend not to swing as much as non-dividend paying stocks. There is one aspect of risk though and that is that the dividend could be cut. Oh yes, they can do that.

zenruption has commented frequently on the coming market turbulence, so we decided to list some very good dividend stocks. While some oil companies pay good dividends, we have chosen to omit them and other companies that are not socially or ecologically responsible.

Maybe one of these will produce revenue for you for years to come.

AT&T (symbol T) – With a dividend yield of 4.97%, it is one of the highest yielding dividends out there. AT&T has a 15% return this year to date and an average annual total return over five years of 10.6%. The stock has gone from 34.41 to 38.67, since the first of the year.

Verizon Communications VZ – Verizon yields 4.22% and has returned 18% this year. The average annual return over 5 years is 12.3%. The stock has gone from 46.22 to 51.95 this year.

PPL Corporation PPL – While an energy company, PPL is centered around deliverance of natural gas and general energy to customers mostly in Kentucky and electricity deliverance to 1.4 million customers in Pennsylvania. It has a 4.05% dividend yield and has returned 11% year to date. The average annual return over 5 years is an amazing 15%. The stock has gone from 34.13 to 37.46 this year.

CenterPoint Energy Inc. CNP – CenterPoint is another distributor of energy that operates overhead powerlines and natural gas distribution. Like AT&T, it has an excellent dividend yield of 4.97%. Its total return year to date is also an excellent 15%. The average annual return over 5 years is only 7.7% though. The stock has gone from 18.36 to 21.26 this year.

Each of these dividend stocks provides an excellent return to their investors and are a safe haven for returns in turbulent times. The fact that they have risen in value this year seems to indicate that savvy investors are moving into the safety of strong dividend-producing companies.

Consider adding one or more of these companies to your portfolio.

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