Defensive dividend stocks

Screening Filters

1. Market Cap ≥ $10B & Market Cap Category: Mega / Large

   • Purpose: Focus on big, established companies.
   • Rationale: Defensive stocks are usually larger businesses with diversified revenues, stronger balance sheets, and better access to capital. By restricting to large and mega caps, the screener avoids small, more fragile companies whose dividends are more likely to be cut in downturns.

2. Beta: LowRisk

   • Purpose: Target lower‑volatility stocks.
   • Rationale: “Defensive” typically means the stock price moves less than the market, especially in drawdowns. A low beta filter selects companies whose share prices historically fluctuate less than the broad market, aligning with the user’s desire for defensive characteristics.

3. Listed Exchange: XNYS, XNAS, XASE (NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX)

   • Purpose: Limit results to major U.S. exchanges.
   • Rationale: The user explicitly wants U.S. market stocks. Restricting to NYSE, NASDAQ, and AMEX ensures the stocks are U.S.-listed, generally more liquid, and under stricter reporting/oversight, which suits a conservative, defensive income approach.

4. Dividend 5‑Year CAGR ≥ 3%

   • Purpose: Require consistent dividend growth, not just a high current yield.
   • Rationale: Defensive income investing isn’t only about a big yield today, but also about growing income that keeps up with or beats inflation. A minimum 3% compound annual growth rate over 5 years filters for companies with a track record of increasing dividends, suggesting stable or improving cash flows.

5. Dividend Yield (TTM) Between 4% and 8%

   • Purpose: Capture “high dividend” stocks while avoiding likely yield traps.
   • Rationale:
     • A minimum of 4% is clearly above the S&P 500’s typical yield and matches the user’s “high dividend” requirement.
     • A maximum of 8% avoids ultra‑high yields (often 10%+), which can signal financial stress or unsustainable payouts. This range targets income that is attractive yet more likely to be sustainable—important for defensive positioning.

6. Analyst Consensus: Strong Buy / Moderate Buy

   • Purpose: Ensure fundamental support from Wall Street research.
   • Rationale: High yield can sometimes mean trouble. Requiring at least a Moderate Buy consensus helps avoid companies where analysts largely expect deterioration, dividend risk, or structural problems. This aligns with seeking stable, defensive names rather than “high yield because it’s distressed.”

Why Results Match

• The U.S. exchange filters match the user’s request for stocks “在美国市场” (in the U.S. market).
• Large/mega cap + low beta directly target the “防御性” (defensive) aspect by focusing on stable, less volatile, higher‑quality businesses.
• 4–8% dividend yield and 5‑year dividend growth ≥ 3% address the “高股息” (high dividend) requirement while emphasizing sustainability and growth rather than just raw yield.
• Positive analyst consensus adds another layer of quality control, filtering out many risky high‑yield names and keeping those more likely to preserve both capital and dividends, which is core to a defensive income strategy.