3 Dividend Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever (Including 1 Dividend King)

The best investing strategies aren't always the most complicated ones. Sometimes, simply buying great dividend stocks and holding them for the long term is the smartest approach you can take.

Of course, you have to find the right stocks. While there are many great candidates, here are three dividend stocks that I think are great picks to buy and hold forever.

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1. AbbVie

Perhaps the most important thing to know about AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) is that it's a Dividend King. This elite group of companies have increased their dividends for at least 50 consecutive years. AbbVie's track record of dividend hikes spans 53 straight years, including the period when it was part of Abbott Labs (NYSE: ABT).

Inclusion in the Dividend Kings usually means that a company has a remarkably resilient underlying business. That's definitely the case with AbbVie. Its roots date back to 1888. The company has survived and thrived throughout its 138-year history despite facing stiff challenges.

One of AbbVie's biggest challenges was the patent expiration for Humira, which ranked for years as its top-selling product. But management planned well for the loss of exclusivity. Today, AbbVie has two successors to Humira -- Skyrizi and Rinvoq -- that together are already more successful than Humira was at its peak.

AbbVie's business development strategy has also been effective. Most recently, the company announced plans to acquire Apogee Therapeutics for $10.9 billion. This deal further expands AbbVie's immunology pipeline.

2. Enbridge

Enbridge (NYSE: ENB) isn't a Dividend King yet, but it's well on the way to joining the club. The energy company has increased its dividend for 31 consecutive years. And with a dividend yield of around 5.6%, Enbridge doesn't need to deliver tremendous share price appreciation to deliver a double-digit total return.

I think such attractive returns are likely going forward. Four key trends serve as big growth drivers for Enbridge: the surging build-out of data centers, rising demand for liquid natural gas (LNG), onshoring, and the conversion of power plants from coal to gas.

Enbridge forecasts a compound annual growth rate of around 5% for its distributable cash flow, earnings per share, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). As long as the company's dividends continue to flow at least at current levels, double-digit total returns should be attainable.

Fortunately for investors, Enbridge's business stability should make the dividend safe. The company operates the world's longest oil and liquids transportation system, with its pipelines transporting 40% of U.S. crude oil imports and 30% of crude oil produced in North America. It's also North America's largest natural gas utility by volume.

3. Realty Income

Speaking of business stability, the third dividend stock on our list ranks highly in this category. Realty Income (NYSE: O) shares have outperformed the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) across 13 drawdowns of 10% or more since its public listing in 1994, with an average total return of -2.6% versus -22.6% for the S&P 500.

The real estate investment trust (REIT) has also increased its dividend for 31 consecutive years. And it has paid a dividend for 674 consecutive months.

What's behind Realty Income's remarkable record? A diversified real estate portfolio serves as a key factor. The REIT owns over 15,500 properties leased to clients representing 92 industries. Those industries include recession-resistant ones, such as grocery stores, convenience stores, and dollar stores.

Realty Income's growth prospects look bright, too. The company has a $15 trillion total addressable market. Around $9 billion of this total addressable market is in Europe, which has a highly fragmented market that offers attractive risk-adjusted returns.

Keith Speights has positions in AbbVie, Enbridge, and Realty Income. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AbbVie, Abbott Laboratories, Enbridge, and Realty Income. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.