In 1974 Nate Thurmon did something in an NBA game that no player had accomplished before when he recorded 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists, and 12 blocks against the Atlanta Hawks. This remained the only NBA quadruple-double until Alvin Robinson recorded one in 1986. Since then, only Hakeem Olajuwon in 1990 and David Robinson in 1994 have matched the feat.
With so many talented players in today’s game, it’s truly remarkable that there hasn’t been another for nearly 30 years. This makes it one of the rarest accomplishments in sports. By comparison, there have been 11 perfect games in MLB since the last quadruple-double in the NBA.
Quadruple-Double Dividend Growth Stocks
Fortunately for investors, double-digit growers aren’t nearly as rare as NBA quadruple-doubles. However, there’s a difference between a company that can grow at double-digits for a year or two compared with one that can do it for years on end.
For today’s list, I set out to find the best of the best dividend growers. The quadruple-doublers if you will.
These are ten companies that have grown dividends for ten-plus years straight. They have all raised payouts at a double-digit rate in the past year, and have grown at an annual double-digit rate for the past five and ten-year periods.
On top of that, I was even able to find ten that are trading at a double-digit discount to fair value!
Here’s the list:
The ten stocks come from a wide variety of industries, with Health Care, Technology, Consumer Discretionary, Financials, and Industrials all being represented.
On average the companies have grown dividends for 19 years with dividend growth rates of 17.6%, 16.9%, and 19.7% over the past 1, 5, and 10-year periods. Even better, they are trading at an average 21% discount to my fair value target.
Elevance Health Inc. $ELV
Elevance Health Inc. (formerly Anthem Health) is a managed healthcare company that has shown tremendous growth in recent years. While the company doesn’t have the notoriety that UnitedHealth does, it’s been a similar performer.
The company has produced 14.1% annual EPS growth to go along with 16.1% dividend growth over the last decade. Looking ahead, analysts are expecting similar growth, which makes the stock attractive at a PE under 15.
Intuit Inc. $INTU
Intuit is another stock that doesn’t get near the publicity it deserves as a higher-growth DGI stock. The application software company (TurboTax, QuickBooks, Credit Karma, Mailchimp) has grown EPS at a 14.66% rate over the past decade and at a double-digit rate every year since 2016.
This has translated into dividend growth rates of 14.9% and 16.4% over the last 5 and 10-year periods.
The stock trades at 30X earnings, which is a bit higher than others on the list. However, its stable earnings growth likely deserves the premium.
Lowe’s Companies Inc. $LOW
Lowe’s Companies is one of the best dividend growth stocks of all time. It’s hard to fathom that a company that’s grown the dividend for sixty years can still pump out double-digit growth year after year, but Lowe’s continues to do it.
The company produced a 31.3% dividend increase this past year and has grown dividends at a 20% rate over the past decade while growing earnings at a rate of 18.28%. Just an incredible company, and one that’s now trading at just 13.8X 2023 estimates!
Mastercard Inc. $MA
The first of two payments companies on the list, Mastercard is another beast of a company. It’s grown earnings at a 17.08% clip over the past ten years while growing dividends at 17.4% over the past 5 years and 34.0% over the past ten.
Growth is expected to continue at a mid-teens rate going forward as the world continues its migration from physical currency to electronic transactions.
Bank OZK $OZK
With the uncertainty in the banking sector, this is my most questionable stock on the list. However, you can’t argue about what it’s done over the years. OZK has grown EPS at a 14.21% rate over the past decade while growing dividends by 17.6% annually.
Earnings took a tumble during the 2020 recession, but have rebounded and are projected to grow by 23% in 2023. At a 6.2 PE and 41% discount to fair value, OZK is the highest risk/reward stock on the list and is a stock I’ve been buying in my personal portfolio.
Pool Corporation $POOL
Pool Corp. is another stock I rarely see discussed by DGI, but that’s not for lack of performance. It’s grown both dividends and earnings by nearly 20% annually over the last decade, and remarkably grew earnings by 44% in 2020 and another 80% in 2021.
Analysts are forecasting negative growth in ’23, which is to be expected with the housing slowdown from higher interest rates. Shares are now trading at just a 20 PE, which seems a fair price to pay for a quality company.
Primerica, Inc. $PRI
Life, health insurance, and managed accounts provider Primerica is another quality company trading at a discount. The company is a mid-teens grower that trades at just 11 times its earnings.
The dividend yield of 1.57% doesn’t seem like much, but considering the payout ratio is only 17.2%, there’s plenty of safety and room for it to grow. With 32% earnings growth expected in 2023, the 15-20% annual dividend growth should continue going forward.
Union Pacific Corporation $UNP
Union Pacific shares have taken a double-whammy of hits from the fallout from Norfolk Southern’s highly publicized derailment in Ohio along with never-ending talk of the impending recession. It operates in a cyclical industry but has been a pretty steady grower over the years.
It’s grown earnings by around 10% annually while raising the dividend by 15% over the past decade. It also has an aggressive share repurchase program, which has reduced shares outstanding by 33% over the same period. I suspect management is buying heavily now considering the stock is trading at its lowest valuation in several years.
Visa Inc. $V
Like Mastercard, Visa has benefited from the ongoing transition from physical to digital currency. It’s grown earnings by 16.5% annually while growing dividends by 20% over the past decade. With a low payout ratio of 21.3%, I suspect the path forward will be similar.
The stock isn’t cheap at 26 times earnings, but for its growth and compared with historical valuations, this isn’t a bad place to start building or adding to a position.
Watsco Inc. $WSO
The final stock on the list is another under-the-radar company that just keeps producing for investors. Watsco is a distributor of air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration equipment that has continued to grow by consolidating a diversified industry.
The company offers an attractive 3% yield to go along with double-digit growth, which is a rarity among stocks on this list. Concerns about the housing market have analysts expecting negative growth in 2023, but I expect Watsco will continue to provide strong growth therafter.
Closing Thoughts
A volatile stock market can be tough to handle for investors, but I welcome it with open arms. Times like these are when long-term wealth is created by buying high-quality stocks at discount prices.
These ten quadruple-double stocks have shown they are a cut above the rest over the past decade. While there are questions about near-term growth for a few of them, I expect them all to do well in the years ahead.
For more ideas, check my high-growth stocks page, which has a list of similar stocks from each sector.