12 Dividend Champions With Lowest Debt

The amount of debt is of huge importance for investors. The debt level is a capital capacity measure and something like a buffer for tough times. If the company gets trouble, big credit lines could help the make sure that the company gets back on track.

Recently, I screened stocks with consecutive dividend hikes of at least 10 years in a row (Dividend Achievers) and low debt to equity ratios (below 0.1). Twenty-two Dividend Achievers fulfilled these criteria and most of the results had a low number of dividend hikes.  

Now, I narrowed my criteria and screened the investment category Dividend Champions (over 25 years of consecutive rising dividends) by stocks with a very low debt to equity ratio (below 0.1). Twelve Dividend Champions fulfilled these criteria but only eight are currently recommended by brokerage firms.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) has a market capitalization of $383.82 billion. The company employs 82,100 people, generates revenues of $486,429.00 million and has a net income of $42,206.00 million. The firm’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $89,087.00 million. Because of these figures, the EBITDA margin is 18.31 percent (operating margin 15.06 percent and the net profit margin finally 8.68 percent).

Financial Analysis: The total debt representing 5.15 percent of the company’s assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 11.03 percent. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 27.26 percent was realized. Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $8.28. Last fiscal year, the company paid $1.85 in form of dividends to shareholders. XOM raised dividends over a period of 30 consecutive years.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 9.91, P/S ratio 0.79 and P/B ratio 2.52. Dividend Yield: 2.78 percent. The beta ratio is 0.49.






T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ:TROW) has a market capitalization of $14.59 billion. The company employs 5,230 people, generates revenues of $2,747.10 million and has a net income of $773.20 million. The firm’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $1,299.30 million. Because of these figures, the EBITDA margin is 47.30 percent (operating margin 44.66 percent and the net profit margin finally 28.15 percent).

Financial Analysis: The total debt representing 0.00 percent of the company’s assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 0.00 percent. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 22.92 percent was realized. Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $2.93. Last fiscal year, the company paid $1.24 in form of dividends to shareholders. TROW raised dividends over a period of 25 consecutive years.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 19.54, P/S ratio 5.31 and P/B ratio 4.24. Dividend Yield: 2.38 percent. The beta ratio is 1.61.






Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion. The company employs 19,500 people, generates revenues of $7,895.09 million and has a net income of $479.20 million. The firm’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $849.17 million. Because of these figures, the EBITDA margin is 10.76 percent (operating margin 9.40 percent and the net profit margin finally 6.07 percent).

Financial Analysis: The total debt representing 5.89 percent of the company’s assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 9.41 percent. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 18.75 percent was realized. Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $1.75. Last fiscal year, the company paid $0.51 in form of dividends to shareholders. HRL raised dividends over a period of 46 consecutive years.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 17.26, P/S ratio 1.01 and P/B ratio 3.00. Dividend Yield: 1.99 percent. The beta ratio is 0.45.






Take a closer look at the full table of Dividend Champions with lowest debt ratio. The average price to earnings ratio (P/E ratio) amounts to 17.00 and forward P/E ratio is 14.32. The dividend yield has a value of 2.27 percent. Price to book ratio is 2.87 and price to sales ratio 1.97. The operating margin amounts to 18.02 percent and the beta ratio is 0.87.

Here is the full table with some fundamentals (TTM):


Related stock ticker symbols:
MCY, CVX, ADP, XOM, TROW, LANC, HRL, GRC, TR, RAVN, CLC, HP