The best time to buy shares is when they're at good value, the price you pay is very important for any shares you buy. A bonus is that a lower share price boosts the starting yield for an investor.
Here are four dividend shares that I think look attractive for long-term investors:
WAM Capital Limited (ASX: WAM)
WAM Capital is the flagship listed investment company run by Geoff Wilson and his investment team.
It has increased its dividend every year since the GFC and its underlying portfolio has beaten the market benchmarks over medium term and long-term time periods.
The share price is down by 9% since its all-time high in April 2017, after it just paid out a large dividend.
It's currently trading with a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 8.92%.
Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)
Rural Funds is the only listed real estate investment trust (REIT) that is a pure play on agricultural property.
With a diverse range of farms and quality tenants like Select Harvests Limited (ASX: SHV) and Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) it's easy to see how Rural Funds could become an income winner in the long run.
Its share price is currently 9% down from its all-time high in April 2017. This drop has boosted the trailing distribution yield to 5.26%.
Japara Healthcare Ltd (ASX: JHC)
Japara is one of the biggest aged care operators in Australia. The ageing population of Australia has unstoppable momentum and a certain portion of this growing demographic will enter one of Japara's quality establishments eventually.
Sentiment about the industry is a lot worse than it was two years ago due to funding, but this could just provide a good buying price for long-term investors, particularly with Japara's trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 7.17%.
Crown could be one of the biggest beneficiaries from the tourism tailwind that Australia is experiencing, particularly from Asia.
The business is well placed with its quality hotels, casinos and ongoing projects that could seriously boost earnings over the coming years.
Crown is currently trading at 24x FY17's estimated earnings with a committed partially franked dividend yield of 4.68%.
Foolish takeaway
I think all four of the above ideas could be great options to boost your dividend income. WAM Capital and Rural Funds look like the best long-term value at the current prices in my opinion.
