Investors who seek some safety after the 6.8 percent decline in stocks since the beginning of the year and the more than 10 percent drop from last year’s record high should consider buying steady payers of dividends.

Of course, a dividend payment isn’t always a sure thing, as investors in CenturyLink and Kinder Morgan learned the hard way.

Companies that have room to raise their dividends this year are even more desirable, according to MarketWatch investing columnist Philip Van Doorn.

“You must be confident that a company’s business strategy will succeed and lead to sales growth over the next several years. That leads to a solid source of dividend income,” he writes.

10 Stocks With Room to Raise Dividends (Ticker, Industry)

1. Frontier Communications Corp. (FTR, Telecom Services)
2. Assurant Inc. (AIZ, Specialty Insurance)
3. NetApp Inc. (NTAP, Computer Peripherals)
4. Nucor Corp. (NUE, Steel)
5. Western Digital Corp. (WDC, Computer Peripherals)
6. Pitney Bowes Inc. (PBI, Office Equipment/Supplies)
7. Wyndham Inc. (WYN, Hotels/ Resorts)
8. Viacom Inc. (VIAB, Media Conglomerates)
9. Kohl’s Corp. (KSS, Department Stores)
10. Western Union Co. (WU, Data Processing Services)

Source: MarketWatch

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