Here are 5 Dividend Aristocrat stocks: Companies that have increased dividends for over 50 years consecutively!

Have you ever heard of a so-called Dividend Aristocrat? This term alludes to a company in the S&P 500 that has increased dividends for at least 25 straight years. In this article, we’ll share with you a few of them.

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What’s so good about a Dividend Aristocrat?

Obviously, the confidence that the streak of paying dividends will continue. Maybe not higher or equal to confidence in death and taxes, but arguably close to it. But also that the company is robust and can last through tough economic times.

There are 66 total companies in this indice at the moment. Companies can be added, or (shudder) be removed at any time. Some of them are famous businesses that are household names worldwide, while others are equally as influential in households but without anyone realising it. Some are in sexy industries, others are blandly boring.

Without any further ado, here are 5 such Dividend Aristocrats.

1. American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Let’s start with the company with the longest streak – 71 years and counting. It recently raised its quarterly dividend by 8.3%.

AWR delivers water and electricity services to residential, commercial, and military installations. The water utility business is its core, contributing about 70% of total revenues, serving approximately 263,000 customers in California.

Its subsidiary, American States Utility Services (ASUS), contracts with the U.S. government—especially military bases—for water distribution and wastewater collection.

Being in the space it is endures AWR can deliver stable, long-term revenue (drawn from predictable rate increases as a public utility) which underpins dividends. It maintains a strong balance sheet and a strong credit rating, supporting capital-intensive operations without jeopardising payouts.

Recent operational results show no signs of the streak being threatened. Its operating cash flow jumped 55% to $109.6 million for H1 2025. Despite high capital expenditures, management has sufficient liquidity—including about $307 million undrawn from a $460 million revolving credit facility.

The company has a bright future ahead of it. America’s water infrastructure investment needs are massive (we’re talking ~$1.25 trillion according to the EPA and ASCE), presenting consolidation and upgrade opportunities.

2. Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO)

This company, which is based in Atlanta, has hiked dividends for over 60 years in a row and there’s no prizes for guessing why. Because people drink Coca-Cola regardless of how the economy is doing. There are 2.2bn servings of this company’s drinks per day around the world.

Not just regular Coca-Cola but all the various flavours and other drinks it owns such a Monster Energy drinks and the various alcohol brands it has, either owned outright or in Joint Ventures. It has been consistently able to grow revenue and maintain margins because it is a price maker.

And it thinks there is still room for growth with new opportunities in hot beverages.

3. Cincinatti Financial (NDQ:CINF)

We wrote more about this company a couple of years ago and its streak now stands at 64 years. Cincinnati Financial is a Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance firm based on the outskirts of Cincinnati, Ohio and is in the top 25 insurance companies in the USA. It makes money from insurance premiums and earnings from its float (the large sum of premium income not paid out in claims).

The company claims it is different on the basis of its commitment to its network of professional independent insurance agencies, an operating structure supporting local decision making, and financial strength to fulfil its promises. . It will also stand out by serving small business and high-net-worth clients where the need for customer service is high and these segments will pay a premium (case in point, Judo Bank in Australia).

Despite its name, it has a diversified market being only inactive in 3 mainland states and its ‘Top 5’ not accounting for more than 36%. It has 2,258 agency relationships with 3,574 locations. It is aiming for a 10-13% Value Creation Ratio (VCR) over the next 5 years, through premium growth and a solid return on investments.

Key risks facing this company include the risk of equity market fluctuations as it relies on the equity markets for investments more than many of its peers as well as the risk of more catastrophes. But we take courage that even though it had the largest catastrophe payout in its history (which was the California wildfires in January 2025), its net cash flow from operating activities only declined 4%.

4. Parker Hannifin (NYSE:PH)

Parker Hannifin’s streak currently stands at 69 years. It is one of the world’s top industrial companies and is a specialist in so-called ‘motion control technologies’ – every technology under the sun related to the movement of objects.

Motion control technologies is an enormous industry, worth US$145bn globally. It encompasses several other industries aerospace, water, climate control, process control and even renewable energy. Aerospace and defence are becoming increasingly important revenue-generating sources.

EVs will be important too because they mean twice as much content as combustion engine vehicles. Among other things, Parker Hannifin makes flame-resistant coatings, environmental and hermetic sealing, high temperature materials and vibration dampening.

The company purports to lead the market given its innovative products, its decentralised business structure, the interconnected nature of its technologies, technical expertise and distribution network.

There’s a good ESG element to this company, with a significant proportion of its portfolio enabling clean technologies. It is targeting a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2040.

It has only a 13% share globally and plans to increase this to 20%. Moreover, it is also continuing the move away from shorter cycle revenue trends towards longer cycle trends and sales from the industrial aftermarket.

5. Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW)

Forget the Australian cheap menswear retailer, good as they may be. No, we’re talking about the Carolina-based company that is the American equivalent of Bunnings. For the record, Lowe’s streak of paying dividends currently stands at 62.

Now, like Bunnings, Lowes benefited from DIY revenues during the pandemic but now hopes to pivot to sales from professional tradies, a market where it only has a 25% market share. It thinks it can benefit due to several tailwinds including housing undersupply and upgrades as well as demographic trends.

American consumers have $1.5tn in excess savings, ~85% concentrated in the top 40% of income earners. And given that mortgages are fixed for the entire term, it’s not like they’ll suddenly get a 50% hike in their monthly repayments and have to cut back spending. There is precedent for home improvement to grow even when building slows, for instance during 1993-1997.

There’s also an ESG element with this company. It generates 287Mwh of renewable energy and is targeting a 40% cut to scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030. By 2050 it aims to reduce all emissions by at least 90% and offset the balance to reach zero.

What about the full list?

There are over 66 companies that are so-called Dividend Aristocrats in the S&P 500. But we decided to list the top 5 Dividend Aristocrats based on how compelling the opportunity was.

It is important to note, as we already have, that Dividend Aristocrat companies can break the streak – nearly 20 companies were removed during the GFC era. And when companies get removed from the list of Dividend Aristocrats, it can be a big hit to their reputation – just ask VF Corp (NYSE:VFC) that was removed in 2023.

But if nothing else, seeing a company on this list can give you confidence that even if the streak of paying dividends doesn’t go on forever, it might be a good company to rely on in turbulent economic times because it has been through them all before.