Ryman Hospitality Properties Inc (RHP), Cablevision Systems Corporation (CVC): Three Retirement Picks for This Season

Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) is one of my retirement stock picks in the electric utilities sector. The company operates in the United States and Latin America. It also has a history of increasing dividends like Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC), with its current yield standing at 4.7%. Revenue growth in the last quarter beat the industry average of 13%, and the company’s stock has gained momentum in the last year. The utilities sector is highly capital-intensive, though Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) has a relatively low debt to equity (D/E) ratio. After a merger with Progress Energy, it became the largest regulated utility in the United States. Duke Energy Corp (NYSE:DUK) has been able to increase its dividends year-over-year despite incurring huge capital expenditures. This suggests that it is expecting consistently good cash flows and earnings growth from its previous investments, including the Progress Energy merger. Altogether, the stock is one of the best retirement picks owing to its impressive operating cash flows, rock solid financial position and high dividend yield.

Summary

To summarize, all the above stocks are highly defensive and have some common characteristics. They are less risky, have high dividend yields and will generate a steady flow of income in the coming years which is essential from a retiree’s point of view. I believe that these three retirement stocks are the safest bets as of now.

The article 3 Retirement Picks for This Season originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Tanya Kanodia.

Tanya Kanodia has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Ryman Hospitality Properties. Tanya is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

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