Which are the top largecap dividend growth stocks in India right now?
As per Equitymaster's Stock Screener, these are the top largecap dividend growth stocks in India right now -
- #1 IRCTC
- #2 BAJAJ FINSERV
- #3 NESTLE
- #4 PNB
- #5 VARUN BEVERAGES
These largecap companies are ranked based on the growth in dividend per share paid out in the past three years. A high value indicates that the company is paying out relatively more of its earnings in the form of dividends.
There are other parameters you should take into account as well before forming a hard opinion on the stock.
What are dividend growth stocks?
As the name suggests, dividend growth stocks are stocks that offer a high rate of dividend growth. These companies have consistently paid dividends at an increasing rate every year.
These stocks would normally have manageable levels of debt and growing revenues and profits.
What are largecap stocks?
The market regulator defines largecap companies as those listed companies which are ranked from 1-100 in terms of market capitalization.
Because of their large size, they may not grow as fast as midcaps. But they are relatively more stable and resilient to negative macroeconomic developments.
Should you invest in dividend growth stocks?
By keeping a steady hand and staying disciplined, investing in dividend growth stocks can provide a stable, growing income stream over time.
A quality dividend growth stock can provide you with a rising income from your investment, which you can then reinvest into more shares, creating an exponentially growing income stream over time.
However, before investing in dividend growth stocks, be sure to check the fundamentals of the company. Sustained research must not be compromised despite the odds.
How much should you invest in dividend growth stocks?
Allocation to stocks cannot be determined by the dividends fetched from them. Rather investors must keep in mind that even high dividend yield stocks like Coal India have eroded shareholder wealth and bit the dust due to poor capital allocation, lack of corporate governance, and management apathy.
So, investors should bear in mind that all high dividend yield stocks are NOT wealth creators...even over the long-term.
Allocation to dividend stocks must depend on the marketcap of the company in question. If the company is a bluechip or a smallcap stock, please allocate funds to the stock accordingly.
Further, we believe that a single stock should ideally not comprise more than 5-6% of the total money allocated towards equities
What kind of business pay dividends at a growing rate?
A company can do two things with the profits that it earns - It can either plough the profits back into the company for investing in capex, new products or distribution or pay out the amount as dividend and become a dividend stock.
As such, dividend payout depends a lot on the cash (after meeting its capital expenditure and working capital requirements) a company generates during a year.
Often companies do not need to reinvest into the business purely because they don't see the need for it.
A classic example would be of companies from the FMCG sector. The FMCG sector is a slow yet steady growing industry. But yet, companies choose to pay out huge dividends due to the sector's slow growing nature as capex requirements are on the lower side.
As against this commodity businesses like cement, steel, textile or even capital goods and telecom businesses need to constantly reinvest cash. This leaves very little on the table to pay to shareholders by way of dividends.