Some things truly are mutually exclusive. You can’t jump in the water without getting wet. You can’t flip a coin and get both heads and tails. But not everything that seems mutually exclusive actually is.
For example, many investors buy dividend stocks and completely write off the possibility of achieving tremendous share appreciation. While it is often true that dividend stocks grow slower than other stocks, you can still have the best of both worlds. Here are three great dividend stocks that are also fantastic growth stocks.
1. AstraZeneca
Most big pharmaceutical companies offer solid dividends. AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) is no exception, with its dividend currently yielding 2.6%. Big pharma stocks don’t usually deliver tremendous growth, but AstraZeneca is an exception.
Over the last three years, AstraZeneca stock has soared more than 60% — well above the S&P 500 index’s performance during the period. Wall Street analysts project the company will generate average annual earnings growth topping 19% over the next five years.
How can a stodgy British drugmaker achieve such impressive growth? AstraZeneca has a star-studded lineup of blockbuster drugs with strong momentum. In the third quarter, for example, sales for four of the company’s top blockbusters increased by at least 29%.
AstraZeneca also claims a pipeline loaded with potential winners. This pipeline includes 172 clinical-stage programs, with 24 of them in late-stage testing. It won’t take very many successes from this group for AstraZeneca to continue delivering solid dividends and growth for many years.
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