5 Undervalued Dividend-Growth Stocks

While they may not be the highest-yielding stocks around, dividend-growth stocks--those that have a history of increasing their payouts over time--have plenty going for them.

For starters, the management teams at these companies are focused on delivering a growing cash stream to their shareholders--and income is a key component of total return. That's a shareholder-friendly mindset.

Moreover, companies that consistently ratchet up their dividends are usually profitable and financially healthy--two especially valuable qualities during a market downturn.

And lastly, dividend-growth stocks provide some inflation protection, which is a plus for retirees. "Income-focused investors receive a little 'raise' when a company increases its dividend," reminds Morningstar director of personal finance Christine Benz.

Given their multipurpose role, dividend-growth stocks are suitable for almost any type of investor.

To uncover a few dividend-growth stocks to investigate further, we're turning to the top constituents in the Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index.

The index focuses on companies with a history of dividend growth and an ability to sustain it. The index includes U.S.-based securities that pay qualified dividends and have increased their dividend payments over the past five years. To gauge the sustainability of dividend growth into the future, eligible constituents must display positive consensus earnings forecasts from the analyst community and must also pay out no more than 75% of their earnings in the form of dividends. Constituents are weighted in proportion to the total pool of dividends available to investors.

Given the index's construction rules, its largest constituents are relatively stable mega-cap companies. Below are the five most heavily weighted in the index that are at least 10% undervalued as of this writing.

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