It's getting quite hard for investors to find good sources of income these days because of how low interest rates have gone.
But we still need to be careful about the prices we pay for some shares. For example, Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) and Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) are sought after dividend shares, but their valuations have risen substantially, they may be too expensive.
Either way, if you're looking for rock solid dividends then these three shares could be ideas:
Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW)
Brickworks hasn't seen a dividend cut for 40 years, it has one of the best dividend records on the ASX. In FY19 it grew its dividend by 6%, which is a solid increase compared to typical dividend shares like banks and telcos.
The Brickworks dividend is essentially supported by just the distributions from its property trust and the dividends from its investments. The Brickworks share price is also backed by these investments' underlying values.
Investors get the building products businesses in Australia and US business for free. Australian building products are expected to grow with the recovery of the property market. The US building product business has also long-term growth prospects as it aims to improve its profit margins.
It currently has a grossed-up dividend yield of 4.3%.
ARB Corporation Limited (ASX: ARB)
ARB is 4×4 car accessories business which has seen steady growth in Australia and the US. There has been a steady trend over the long-term for households to buy larger vehicles, even if they don't use them for off-road travel.
ARB has steadily been increasing its ordinary dividend over the past two decades, with a few special dividends paid along the way too.
The 4×4 accessories business has seen consistent growth of its earnings and it currently has a grossed-up dividend yield of 3%.
Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)
Ramsay is one of the largest private hospital operators in the world after its recent Capio acquisition in Europe.
The hospital business is aligned with the ageing population tailwind. To take advantage of this it is building new hospitals and expanding existing ones so that it has a larger total addressable market.
I like that Ramsay is aiming to increase its exposure to healthcare earnings outside of the hospitals, which would make it even more of a generalised healthcare play.
It has grown its dividend every year since 2000 and currently has a grossed-up dividend yield of 3%.
Foolish takeaway
All three of these businesses have excellent dividend track records. I think that Brickworks probably has the best chance of maintaining its excellent dividend record because its underlying assets are the most diverse. Continuing population growth and regeneration of cities should see more earnings and dividend growth for Brickworks.
