Dividend aristocrats are companies in the S&P 500 index that have annually increased its dividend for the past 25 years.
These companies have a multi-decade history of not only issuing a reliable dividend, but increasing the size of their payout each year.
Atmos Energy is the country’s largest natural gas-only distributor, delivering natural gas to +3 million distribution customers via its proprietary pipelines and storage assets across eight states located primarily in the South.
That includes one of the largest intrastate natural gas pipeline systems in Texas.
The company’s dividend history, strong balance sheet, investment-grade credit rating, and business tailwinds.
Walmart operates a chain of discount department stores and grocery stores around the globe. It is the world’s largest private employer with over 2.3 million employees.
Walmart has increased its annual cash dividend every year since it first declared a $0.05 per share dividend in 1974; that is 48 consecutive years of dividend increases.