Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd
Looking at the near-term prospects for Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd (ASX: CCL) could lead many investors to think that it's a stock to avoid. That's because, from an income perspective for instance, it is forecast to reduce dividends per share by 16.3% per annum over the next two years as it makes the necessary changes to improve its efficiency and invest in future growth.
Despite this, Coca-Cola Amatil still seems to work as an income play. For example, it has a partially franked yield of 4.9% and, over the last 10 years, has increased dividends per share at an annualised rate of 8.5%. This shows that, in the long run, it is likely to once again deliver impressive increases in shareholder payouts and could still prove to be a great dividend play for longer-term investors.
QBE Insurance Group Ltd
Looking back at QBE Insurance Group Ltd's (ASX: QBE) track record of shareholder payouts does not exactly fill an investor with a great deal of confidence. That's because, over the last 10 years, the insurance company has cut dividends per share at an annualised rate of 4.5%.
Clearly, that's disappointing, but QBE has been undergoing a challenging period and, looking ahead, the future for dividend payments seems to be much brighter than the past. That's because QBE is rationalising its business and making the necessary changes to be able to build a more profitable business in future.
And, with it forecast to grow dividends per share (rather than cut them) by 21.6% per annum over the next two years, its current yield of 3.2% could become much juicier and more appealing over the medium term.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group
With inflation falling to just 1.7% in the December quarter, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group's (ASX: ANZ) forecast dividend growth rate has become much more appealing. That's because, over the next two years, it is expected to increase dividends by 5.5% per annum, which is over three times the current rate of inflation.
And, with ANZ already offering a fat, fully franked yield of 5.2%, it seems to offer a potent mix of a great income now and real-term increases in dividends moving forward. As such, its current valuation could rise during the course of the year, especially since its price to earnings (P/E) ratio, for example, is below that of the wider banking sector at 13.2 versus 15 for the wider sector. As a result, ANZ could make for a top notch income investment.
