Dividends: How to Get Paid Regularly

If you're looking for income, S&P has compiled a list of stocks that provide the potential for a consistent dividend stream

by Beth Piskora From Standard & Poor's Equity Research

Investors looking for regular income from their investments generally want that income to be paid out regularly throughout the year. To help investors accomplish this, we've grouped a select number of stocks according to the dates on which they usually pay quarterly dividends.

Here's how it works. By purchasing just these six issues, you would receive two dividend checks per month during the course of the year. We've gone one step further and identified exactly how many shares to purchase in order to receive monthly income of about $100. For example, you could buy 185 shares of Pepco, 75 shares of PNC Financial Services, 125 shares of AT&T, 125 shares of Oneok, 75 shares of Integrys Energy Group, and 25 shares of Dominion Resources.

At recent prices, the six-stock portfolio would cost $28,925 (before brokerage commissions) and provide annual income of $1,200, for a yield of 4.1%. That is much higher than the current 2.2% yield on the S&P 500. In addition, all the stocks on the list are ranked 4 STARS (buy) or 5 STARS (strong buy) by Standard & Poor's equity analysts for expected above-average price appreciation over the next 12 months.

Piskora is managing editor of U.S. Editorial Operations for Standard & Poor's .