The Smartest Dividend King Stocks to Buy With $2,000 Right Now

If you are a dividend lover, then you have very likely heard of Dividend Kings. These companies have increased their dividend payout every year for at least five decades. You can't do that without having a strong business plan that gets executed well in both good markets and bad.

If you have $2,000 in cash (or any amount really) available to invest and you like the idea of owning reliable dividend stocks, you should be looking at Dividend Kings Nucor (NYSE: NUE), Black Hills (NYSE: BKH), and Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE: SWK) right now. While all three share some qualities that make them great buys, each one fits a bit of a different niche in an investment portfolio.

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Nucor is down, but not out

Steelmaker Nucor's stock has lost more than a third of its value since hitting a peak in early 2024. Before jumping to the conclusion that something must be wrong with Nucor, it's important to remember the industry in which it operates. Steel is a highly cyclical business, and the current drop is really related to weakening industry conditions. It is not because Nucor has suddenly lost its way.

Data by YCharts.

The truth is, drawdowns like this one are pretty common for Nucor. And they generally represent buying opportunities. There's no telling when the current industry weak patch will get better. And it might even get worse before it turns up again.

But Nucor is built to survive it and, actually, improve its business along the way. That's a normal approach here, with Nucor currently about two-thirds of the way through a $10 billion capital investment plan. Essentially, it will be a bigger and better company when steel prices recover, allowing it to post a higher high even as it also posts higher lows.

Nucor's 1.7% dividend yield isn't going to light anyone's world on fire. But if you like owning industry leaders, this domestic steel giant, and Dividend King, is one you shouldn't ignore.

Black Hills has an attractive yield

If you are looking for yield, a better option might be Black Hills. This company is one of the few utilities to reach Dividend King status, and its roughly 4.5% dividend yield is near the high end of its recent yield range. The best part, however, is that slow and steady growth looks like it remains the name of the game here.

Black Hills provides natural gas and electricity to 1.35 million customers in parts of Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The customer base in the areas it serves has been growing at nearly three times the rate of the broader U.S. population. The company believes that customer growth will support regulated investment plans that will lead to earnings growth of between 4% and 6% a year, with dividends likely to trail along for the ride. Not bad for a sleepy little $4 billion market cap utility.

Stanley Black & Decker is for risk-takers

The last company up isn't going to be for everyone because it is working through a difficult turnaround. Toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker went on an acquisition spree and ended up with too much leverage and an unwieldy product portfolio. It has been working on slimming down, trimming debt, and improving its productivity.

This has been a multiyear effort, but the process is moving slowly forward. Notably, this Dividend King's dividend streak hasn't ended because of this headwind, though the dividend growth rate has slowed down.

At this point, Stanley Black & Decker has hit an important inflection point on the earnings front. After several years of decline, adjusted earnings started to rise again in 2024. While 2025 could be a difficult year because of the uncertainty in the global economy, that isn't a function of Stanley Black & Decker's internal issues. It is, at this point, operating from a much stronger position. But investors are still leery, leaving the shares trading with a historically high 4% dividend yield.

While iconic industrial company Stanley Black & Decker won't be for everyone, if you don't mind turnaround stories, it might be attractive to you. The biggest part of that is the fact that the turnaround is well underway, and Wall Street appears unfazed by the improvement in the business.

Dividend Kings come in all flavors

To be fair, Nucor, Black Hills, and Stanley Black & Decker are just three Dividend Kings with interesting stories and investment prospects. And few investors will likely find all three to their liking. But if you prefer to own reliable dividend stocks, one of these companies will probably find its way into your portfolio pretty soon.

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*Stock Advisor returns as of March 24, 2025

Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in Black Hills, Nucor, and Stanley Black & Decker. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.