The Sure Dividend datable is comprised exclusively of businesses with 25 or more years of dividend payments without a reduction. For a business to sustain (and often grow) dividends for 2.5+ decades, it must have (or at least recently had) a strong competitive advantage.

Currently, there are 154 businesses in the Sure Dividend database. The Sure Dividend newsletter ranks these 150+ businesses using The 8 Rules of Dividend Investing to find the top high quality businesses trading at fair or better prices. This article is part 1 of a 2 part series on the highest yielding dividend stocks in the Sure Dividend database. Part 1 looks at the 10th through 6th highest yielding stocks, and part 2 will examine the remaining 5.

#10 – CononcoPhillips (COP)

ConocoPhillips is the largest ‘non-major’ publicly traded oil corporation. The company has a market cap of $79 billion and a dividend yield of 4.54%. The company’s stock price has fallen nearly 20% over the last 6 months due to the decline in oil prices.

ConocoPhillips has historically not cut its dividend during periods of low oil prices. The company has paid dividends for 37 consecutive years without a reduction. Thirty seven years covers multiple oil price expansions and declines.

Low current oil prices are obscuring ConocoPhillips strong performance. The company has an average reserve replacement ratio of 153% over the last 3 years. Additionally, ConocoPhillips grew volume 4% in fiscal 2014. Increased volume growth came with a 5.8% dividend increase in 2014; not a bad year for dividend growth investors, all things considered.

ConocoPhillips is expected to remain profitable in 2015, despite low oil prices. The company is actually projecting a 2% to 3% production increase in fiscal 2015. Analysts are expecting EPS of around $1.16 for full fiscal 2015. For comparison, adjusted EPS came in at $5.30 in fiscal 2014.

Even with low analyst expectations for earnings in 2015, ConocoPhillips dividend is safe. The company currently pays a $2.96 dividend. With expected earnings of $1.16, this leaves a shortfall of $ 1.80 per share. Fortunately, ConocoPhillips has over $4.00 of cash per share. At current oil prices, ConocoPhillips can support its dividend for 2 full years without a reduction before having to tap debt markets for additional cash.  The company’s dividend is even more secure using a cash-flow analysis, as management can delay cap-ex projects to boost free cash flow.

#9 – Harleysville Savings (HARL)

Harleysville Savings is a small cap bank with a market cap of just $63 million. The company’s operations consist of 6 bank locations in Pennsylvania. The company’s stock has a strong 4.6% dividend yield and a payout ratio of about 65%. Harleysville Savings has paid steady or increasing dividends since 1988 for a streak of 27 years without a dividend reduction.

Harleysville Savings was founded in 1915 and is celebrating its 100th year of operations this year. The company is not a fast grower; dividends have grown at about 2.5% a year over the last decade. This anemic growth barely covers inflation. With a price-to-book value ratio of just 1.08 and a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.3, Harleysville savings is a cheap stock with a high dividend yield, but lacks significant growth potential.

#8 – BCE, Inc. (BCE)

BCE (or Bell Canada Enterprises) is a Canada’s largest telecommunications company. The company has paid steady or increasing dividends for 32 consecutive years. BCE provides wireless, internet, television, and local telephone services throughout Canada. In addition, the company has a media segment which owns several Canadian television stations.

BCE has a sizeable 4.7% dividend yield and a 65% payout ratio. Further, the company has shown a respectable revenue per share growth rate of 4.7% over the last decade to go along with its high dividend yield. Management’s outlook is for EPS growth of around 4.7% (in line with historical revenue per share growth) in fiscal 2015. Business growth of 4.7% combined with a 4.7% dividend yield gives investors total return potential of 9.4%; not bad for a ‘boring’ telecommunications company.

#7 – BHP Billiton (BHP)

BHP Billiton’s corporate history goes back to 1851, when the company was set up as a tin mining operation on Billiton Island in Indonesia. BHP Billiton currently has a $134.5 billion market cap and is the largest mining corporation in the world.

BHP Billiton appears to be an attractive investment at this time. Low oil and metal prices have depressed the company’s stock. In fact, BHP Billiton is down about 23% over the last 6 months, while the overall stock market has risen. The company is currently trading for a P/E ratio of just 13.8 and has a dividend yield of 4.82%. Just as impressively, BHP Billiton has grown revenue per share at over 9% a year over the last decade.

In addition, the company is planning to spin-off several of its non-core assets into a new company named South 32. The South 32 spin-off could be the catalyst that unlocks value in BHP Billiton and gives shareholders valuation multiple expansion gains.

#6 – Philip Morris International (PM)

Philip Morris is the largest tobacco company in the world. Phillip Morris sells its flagship Marlboro cigarette brand (and other brands) throughout the world, except in the U.S. Altria (MO) sells the Marlboro brand in the U.S. Philip Morris has a market cap of $127 billion and has paid increasing dividends each year since being spun-off from Altria. Including its parent company’s history, Philip Morris has a streak of 31 consecutive years of dividend increases.

Philip Morris’ management has demonstrated excellent capital allocation skill over the last several years. The company has continued to grow despite declining cigarette industry volume. The company continues to grow thanks to its world-class brand management; Philip Morris has 40%+ market share in 45 countries. In addition, intelligent capital allocation decisions have helped the company increase earnings-per-share. Philip Morris has leveraged itself with cheap debt and used the proceeds to repurchases shares. The company currently has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Philip Morris’ interest payments on its debt are less than its dividend yield. This means that share repurchases funded by debt actually enhance the company’s current cash flow.

Philip Morris has grown revenue per share at 8.6% a year since leaving Altria. The company’s 4.9% dividend yield and strong growth give shareholders a high probability of double-digit returns.

Final Thoughts

The 5 companies above all have dividend yields well above 4%. They all have 25 or more years of consecutive dividend payments without a reduction. Having a long dividend history and a high dividend yield alone does not make a stock a successful investment. The rankings of each of these stocks using The 8 Rules of Dividend Investing and the Sure Dividend database are shown below:

• ConocoPhillips – 13th out of 154
• Harleysville Savings – 103rd out of 154
• BCE, Inc. – 28th out of 154
• BHP Billiton – 18th out of 154
• Philip Morris International – 5th out of 154