10 Low Risk Dividend Growth Stocks

Published on May 11th, 2026 by Bob Ciura

Stocks, in aggregate, are incredibly safe investments given enough time.

Source: Schroders

The above image refers to the overall stock market, rather than individual stocks. Individual stocks have wider performance fluctuations, both in the short and long term.

Investing in quality stocks – particularly true dividend growth stocks, which are a clear indicator of quality – offers risk reduction based on the nature of the investment.

One of the big advantages of dividend growth investing is that it reduces risk and investment mistakes by focusing solely on stocks that pay rising dividends.

The longer a company’s dividend streak, the more it demonstrates its ability to generate actual cash and return it to shareholders.

Therefore, we created a list of Dividend Kings, a group of stocks with 50+ years of dividend increases.

You can see the full downloadable spreadsheet of all 58 Dividend Kings (along with important financial metrics such as dividend yields, payout ratios, and price-to-earnings ratios) by clicking on the link below:

Dividend growth stocks represent proven businesses.

Investing in stocks has a proven history of long-term success. By focusing on quality businesses that return money to shareholders, you can reduce mistakes and benefit from compounding dividend income over time.

This article will discuss 10 Dividend Kings with proven businesses that have a very high likelihood of raising their dividends for many years to come.

All 10 Dividend Kings have our highest Dividend Risk Score of ‘A’, and payout ratios below 70%.

These 10 low-risk Dividend Kings are ranked by their current dividend yields, from lowest to highest.

The table of contents below allows for easy navigation:

Low Risk Dividend King #10: California Water Service (CWT)

California Water Service is the third largest publicly-owned water utility in the United States.

The company has six subsidiaries that provide water to about two million people, mainly in California, with some additional operations in Washington, New Mexico, and Hawaii.

California Water Service was founded in 1926 and has increased its dividend for more than 50 consecutive years, which makes the company a Dividend King.

California Water Service reported its fourth quarter earnings results on February 25th. The company reported that its operating revenues totaled $220 million during the quarter, down 1% year-over-year.

The revenue decline was caused by a lower water consumption among the company’s customers, partially offset by higher rates.

California Water Service generated earnings-per-share of $0.19 during the fourth quarter, which was weaker than what was expected by the analyst community.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on CWT (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Low Risk Dividend King #9: Automatic Data Processing (ADP)

Automatic Data Processing is one of the largest business services outsourcing companies in the world.

The company provides payroll services, human resources technology, and other business operations to more than 700,000 corporate customers.

ADP posted second quarter earnings on January 28th, 2026, and results were better than expected on both the top and bottom lines.

Adjusted earnings-per-share came to $2.62, which was a nickel ahead of estimates, and was up from $2.49 in Q1, and from $2.35 in the year-ago period. Revenue was up 7.2% year-over-year to $5.36 billion, beating estimates by $20 million.

Expenses came to $4.08 billion, which was higher from $3.98 billion in Q1 and $3.88 billion a year earlier. Adjusted EBIT margin was 26.0% of revenue, up from 25.5% in Q1 and from 25.2% a year ago.

The company guided for revenue growth of 6% for this year, adjusted EBIT margin of ~60 basis points, and adjusted diluted earnings-per-share growth of 9% to 10%.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on ADP (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Low Risk Dividend King #8: AbbVie Inc. (ABBV)

AbbVie is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing drugs for immunology, oncology and virology. It was spun off by Abbott Laboratories in 2013.

Since then, AbbVie has become one of the largest players in the biotechnology industry.

AbbVie reported its fourth quarter earnings results on February 4. The company generated revenue of $16.6 billion during the quarter, up 10% year-over-year.

Revenue was positively impacted by compelling growth from some of its major drugs, including Skyrizi and Rinvoq, while Humira sales declined by 26% due to competition from biosimilars and market share losses.

AbbVie earned $2.71 per share during the fourth quarter, which was 25% more than the company’s earnings-per-share during the previous year’s quarter.

AbbVie’s earnings-per-share beat the consensus analyst estimate by $0.06, as analysts expected a smaller profit increase.

The profit increase was driven by higher revenues and some margin expansion. AbbVie’s guidance for 2026’s adjusted earnings-per-share is $14.37 – $14.57.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on ABBV (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Low Risk Dividend King #7: The Marzetti Company (MZTI)

The Marzetti Company has been making food products since 1969. Marzetti makes various meal accessories like croutons and bread products in frozen and non-frozen categories.

Marzetti also has one of the best dividend increase streaks in the entire market, with more than six decades of consecutive increases.

Marzetti posted second quarter earnings on February 3rd, 2026, and results were worse than expected on both the top and bottom lines. The company saw earnings-per-share come to $2.15, which missed estimates by eight cents.

Revenue was up 1.7% year-over-year to $518 million, missing expectations by $2.37 million. The company also noted $8.2 million of revenue was attributed to a temporary supply agreement that is expected to conclude on March 31st.

Gross profit was $137.3 million, while gross margin was up 80 basis points on an adjusted basis. SG&A costs were up by $3.3 million, primarily driven by higher marketing spending and the expanded launch of Texas Roadhouse rolls.

Capex for the quarter was $17.7 million, while the company paid a $28 million dividend and repurchased $20 million in stock. Marzetti still has no debt and $201 million in cash on hand.

Management is buying Bachan’s, the maker of Japanese-American barbeque sauces – for $400 million. They noted the acquisition is expected to be accretive immediately.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on MZTI (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Low Risk Dividend King #6: Target Corp. (TGT))

Target was founded in 1902 and has operations solely in the U.S. market.

Its business consists of about 1,850 big box stores, which offer general merchandise and food, as well as serving as distribution points for the company’s burgeoning e-commerce business.

Target should produce more than $105 billion in total revenue this year. The company also sports an extremely impressive dividend increase streak of 57 years.

Target posted fourth quarter and full-year earnings on March 3rd, 2026, and results were better than expected. The company saw revenue fall 1.5% year-over-year to $30.45 billion for the quarter, which met expectations.

However, earnings came to $2.44 per share on an adjusted basis, which beat estimates by a massive 28 cents. The management team noted advertising revenue was higher, as well as good results in beauty and food & beverage.

Sales were weaker in most of its major categories, however, resulting in the 1.5% drop. Comparable sales were down 2.5%, slightly worse than expected, as transactions fell 2.9% and average ticket rose 0.4%.

The company expects sales to grow at about 2% for this year, reflecting a small increase in comparable sales, new stores, and non-merchandise sales contributing to growth.

Earnings are expected between $7.50 and $8.50 per share on an adjusted basis. Strength in earnings could come from higher sales and operating margins expected to be 20 basis points above fiscal 2026.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on TGT (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Low Risk Dividend King #5: Black Hills Corp. (BKH)

Black Hills Corporation is an electric utility that provides electricity and natural gas to customers in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

The company has 1.35 million utility customers in eight states. Its natural gas assets include 49,200 miles of natural gas lines. Separately, it has ~9,200 miles of electric lines and 1.4 gigawatts of electric generation capacity.

Black Hills Corporation reported its fourth quarter earnings results in February. The company generated revenue of $635 million during the quarter, which was 6% more than the previous year’s fourth quarter.

Black Hills Corporation generated earnings-per-share of $1.41 during the fourth quarter, which was in line with the consensus analyst estimate. Earnings-per-share were up $0.04 versus the previous year’s quarter.

Q4 and Q1 are seasonally stronger quarters due to higher natural gas demand for heating, which was again showcased by the above-average profitability during the most recent quarter. Black Hills Corporation forecasts earnings-per-share of $4.25 to $4.45 for the current fiscal year.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on BKH (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Low Risk Dividend King #4: PepsiCo Inc. (PEP)

PepsiCo is a global food and beverage company that generates almost $94 billion in annual sales. The company’s products include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Frito-Lay chips, Gatorade, Tropicana orange juice and Quaker foods.

The company has more than 20 $1 billion brands in its portfolio.

On February 3rd, 2026, PepsiCo announced that it would increase its annualized dividend by 4.0% to $5.92 starting with the payment for June 2026, extending the company’s dividend growth streak to 54 consecutive years.

That same day, PepsiCo released fourth quarter and full year results for the period ending December 31st, 2025. For the quarter, revenue grew 5.6% to $29.3 billion, which beat estimates by $370 million.

Adjusted earnings-per-share of $2.26 compared favorably to $1.96 the prior year, which was $0.02 more than expected.

For the year, revenue grew 2.3% to $93.9 billion while adjusted earnings-per-share of $8.14 was down from $8.16 in 2024. Organic sales grew 2.1% for the quarter and 1.7% for the year.

For the quarter, food volume fell 2% while beverages grew 1%. PepsiCo Beverages North America’s organic revenue improved 2% for the period even as volume decreased by 4%.

Revenue for PepsiCo Foods North America as lower by 1%, largely due to divestitures. Food volume declined 1%.

The International Beverages segment grew 2% due to 3% volume growth. Revenues in Europe/Middle East/Africa were up 5%. Food volume declined 5%, but this was offset by a 1% gain in beverages.

Currency was a 7% headwind for this region. Latin America Foods increased 5% and Asia Pacific Foods grew 4%.

PepsiCo provided guidance for 2026 as well, with the company expecting organic sales in a range of 2% to 4%. The company expects earnings-per-share growth in a range of 4% to 6%.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on PEP (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Low Risk Dividend King #3: Northwest Natural Holding (NWN)

Northwest Natural Holding Company is a diversified utility holding company that operates through three business segments: NWN Gas Utility, SiEnergy, and NWN Water.

Its core gas utility serves 810,000 metered connections and around 2 million people in Oregon and southwest Washington, with approximately 88% of customers located in the former and the remaining 12% located in the latter.

More recently, NWN has expanded its footprint into the high-growth Texas market through the acquisition of SiEnergy. This serves roughly 90,000 metered connections and 225,000 people in the Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Austin area.

Finally, NWN Water reaches 200,000 people across 80,000 connections in six states (Texas, Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington).

Boasting a 70-year dividend growth streak, NWN is one of the most established Dividend Kings.

On February 27th, 2026, the company released its earnings report for the fourth quarter ended December 31st, 2025. NWN’s total operating revenue grew by 6.3% over the year-ago period to $394.2 million in the quarter.

Key contributors to this topline growth during the quarter included new rates in Oregon for NWN Gas Utility, the SiEnergy Gas Utility acquisition in January 2025/Pines last June, and new rates for NWN Water Utility’s Arizona utilities/water acquisitions.

NWN’s adjusted EPS decreased by 1.4% year-over-year to $1.39 for the quarter.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on NWN (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Low Risk Dividend King #2: Genuine Parts Co. (GPC)

Genuine Parts Company was founded in 1928 and since that time, it has grown into a sprawling conglomerate that sells automotive and industrial parts, electrical materials, and general business products.

Its global span reaches throughout North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe and is comprised of more than 3,000 locations. It has about 63,000 employees with about $24 billion in annual revenue.

Genuine Parts has raised its dividend for an incredible 69 consecutive years.

Genuine Parts posted fourth quarter and full-year earnings on February 17th, 2026, and results were weak on both the top and bottom lines.

Adjusted earnings-per-share came to $1.55, which was well off of estimates that were 27 cents higher. Revenue was up 4.1% year-over-year to $6 billion, but missed estimates by $60 million.

Sales performance was attributed to a 1.7% increase in comparable sales, a 1.5% benefit from acquisitions, and a forex translation gain of 0.9%.

Gross profit was up 70 basis points on an adjusted basis to 37.6% of sales. Earnings was down from $1.61 per share a year earlier.

The company guided for total sales growth of 3% to 5.5%, and adjusted earnings-per-share of $7.50 to $8.00.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on GPC (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):

Low Risk Dividend King #1: Sonoco Products (SON)

Sonoco Products provides packaging, industrial products and supply chain services. The markets that use the company’s products include those in the appliances, electronics, beverage, construction and food industries.

The company generates $7.5 billion in annual sales. Sonoco Products is now composed of 2 major segments, Consumer Packaging, and Industrial Packaging, with all other businesses listed as “All Other”.

On February 16th, 2026, Sonoco Products reported fourth quarter and full year results. For the quarter, revenue grew 30.1% to $1.77 billion, which beat estimates by $10 million.

Adjusted earnings-per-share of $1.05 compared to $1.00 in the prior year and was $0.05 better than expected.

For the year, revenue increased 41.7% to $7.5 billion while adjusted earnings-per-share of $5.71 compared to $4.89 in 2024.

For the quarter, Consumer Packaging revenues were up 62.1% to $1.14 billion, mostly due to contributions from Eviosys. Results were once again aided by price increases that were implemented to offset inflation and tariff pressure.

Sales for Industrial Paper Packing were down slightly to $568 million due to weaker volume following two plant divestitures in China last year. All Other declined 34.9% to $57 million due to the divestiture of ThermoSafe in November.

Sonoco Products provided an outlook for 2026 as well, with the company expecting adjusted earnings-per-share in a range of $5.80 to $6.20 for the year.

Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on SON (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):