Best UK Dividend Stocks for 2019

UK equity markets have been under tremendous pressure lately due to the uncertain business environment and lack of policy clarity posed by the impending event of United Kingdom’s withdrawal from EU scheduled to happen early next year. It has exacerbated the sentiments among ordinary investors and high-profile fund managers alike, putting on hold their investments decisions or looking for investment opportunities elsewhere. A look at the valuations of most of the LSE listed stocks shows that they are at their lowest in a decade. Analysts though are not looking at individual stocks unfavorably but are generally un-enthusiastic on account of the clouds of Brexit looming large over the economy of the United Kingdom. For the time being at least, it looks like the United Kingdom will remain not so favorable destination for investors and fund managers.

Given the situation, one of the few bright spots remaining in the United Kingdom’s equity markets and which are worthy of investment are the high dividend paying companies. They are among a very few of equity ideas in the financial markets that are generating positive returns. Below is a list of five companies on the London Stock Exchange that have declared good dividends during 2019 and are most likely to repeat the same in future as well.

1. Nichols Plc – (LON:NICL) Nichols plc is a United Kingdom domiciled international soft drinks company with business spanning in over 85 countries. The company’s products are available in both Still and Carbonate categories and the company is also the owner of the iconic brand Vimto which has a wide fan base both in the United Kingdom and also across the globe, especially in the Middle Eastern and African countries. The most popular of the company’s brands are Sunkist, Starslush, ICEE, Levi Roots and Feel Good.

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The shares of the company are listed for trading on the London Stock Exchange. There they trade with the ticker name NICL in the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) segment. The shares of the company are also constituents of the FTSE AIM Allshare index.

The latest dividend paid by the company was the first interim dividend of 2019 of 12.40 pence per share paid on 30 August 2019. Prior to that the company had paid a final dividend of 26.80 pence for year 2018 on 03 May 2019, and prior that an interim dividend for 2018 of 11.30 pence was paid on 31 August 2018.

2. Coca‑Cola HBC AG- (LON:CCH) Coca-Cola HBC AG is one of Coca-Cola Company’s leading bottling arm with an annual sales volume of more than two billion-unit cases. The company has a huge geographic footprint serving a vast population of more than 600 million people with its business spanning over 28 countries. Coca-Cola HBC offers beverages in sparkling, juice, water, sport, energy, tea and coffee categories and a diverse range of primarily non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages. Amongst the topmost sustainability performers in the world, the Coca-Cola HBC AG is one and is also included within the ESG benchmarks indices such as the CDP, MSCI ESG, Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, and FTSE4Good, among others.

Coca-Cola HBC has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange where its shares trade under the ticker name CCH, and its shares are also listed on the Athens Exchange where they trade using the ticker name EEE.

The latest dividend paid by the company was the special dividend of 2019 of ¢ 200.00 per share paid on 30 July 2019, that the company paid a final dividend of ¢ 57.00 per share for 2019  paid on 30 July 2019, and before that it paid a final dividend of ¢ 54.00 per share for 2018 paid on 24 July 2018.

3. Vodafone Group Plc- Vodafone Group Plc (LON:VOD) is a United Kingdom domiciled telecommunication company providing a range of services including mobile communication, fixed communication, unified communication, internet of things (IoT), cloud hosting and security & carrier services based in Newbury. The company has standalone operations in 24 countries, network partnerships in 41 and fixed broadband operations in 19 countries. As on 30 June 2019 the company has approximately 640 million mobile service subscribers, 21 million fixed broadband internet service subscribers and 14 million television service subscribers (includes joint ventures and associates).

The shares of the company are listed for trading on the London Stock Exchange. There they    trade with the ticker name VOD and the main market segment. The shares of the company are also constituents of the FTSE 100 index.

The latest dividend of the company is the first interim dividend of 2019 of ¢ 4.50 per share to be paid on 07 February 2020, prior to that the company paid a final dividend of ¢ 4.16 for the year 2019 paid on 02 August 2019, prior to that the company had paid an interim dividend of ¢ 4.84 for 2019 on 01 February 2019.

4. Glaxo SmithKline Plc - Glaxo SmithKline Plc (LON:GSK) is a United Kingdom based global pharmaceutical major. The company's portfolio of products includes prescription therapeutics, medicines and vaccines. Its prescription medications range across therapeutic value chain including medications for anti-infective, dermatological conditions, gynecology, diabetes mutatis, cardiovascular disorders and respiratory ailments. The company also provides a large number of vaccines for a range of diseases namely, for the prevention of hepatitis A, hepatitis B, invasive ailments as a result of Hemophilus influenza, chickenpox, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, rotavirus, cervical cancer and streptococcus pneumonia among others.

The company’s shares are primarily listed on the London Stock Exchange where they trade with the ticker name GSK. The company’s shares also have a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange where they trade with the ticker name GSK as well. The company’s shares are constituents of the FTSE 100 index.

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The latest dividend of the company is the third quarter dividend of 2019 of 19.00 pence per share to be paid on 09 January 2020, prior to that company has paid second quarter dividend of 2019 of 19.00 pence per share on 10 October 2019 and before that the first quarter dividend of 2019 of 19.00 pence per share paid on 11 July 2019.

5. Aviva Plc - Aviva Plc (LON: AV.) is a multinational composite insurer group based out of London, United Kingdom. The group offers a wide range of savings and insurance products - including life, general and health insurance – and operates an asset management business as well. It is the UK's largest insurer and is country's only large scale, multi-line insurer, and has a strong international presence in Europe, Canada and Asia.

The company’s shares are listed on the London Stock exchange in the main market segment, and they trade under the ticker name AV. The stocks of the company are also constituents of FTSE 100 index.

The latest dividend of the company is the first interim dividend of 2019 of 9.50 pence per share paid on 26 September 2019, prior to that the company had paid a final dividend for 2018 of 20.75 pence per share paid on 30 May 2019 and before that interim dividend of 2018 of 9.25 pence per share paid on 24 September 2019.