THE MOST STABLE DIVIDENDS EVER

The York Water Company was incorporated in 1816 in York City, Pennsylvania, and is the oldest privately held public utility company in the United States.

By the end of 1816 the first 35 homes were connected to the water system. In 1849 a steam pump water supply was established. In 1897, typhoid fever made the water unfit for use. To reduce the spread of the fever, York Water built the world's first successful water purification plant.

This story might seem rather boring if it were not for one interesting fact about finances. This year York Water paid its 606th consecutive dividend, or a continuous consecutive dividend for 206 years. That's a record among all publicly traded companies in the U.S. and probably the world.

Even in 1863, when York was occupied by the Confederate (Southern) army during Robert E. Lee's desperate attempt to turn the tide of the Civil War by a surprise attack on the North, York Water's board of directors kept and paid the dividend unchanged.

To date, the company has raised its dividend continuously for the past 25 years. The current dividend yield is 1.96%, slightly higher than the market average (1.6%) but lower than the yield on 5-year Treasury bonds. The share of earnings allocated to dividends in recent years is about 60%. The moderate yield and reinvestment of earnings also allows the stock to provide good long-term capital appreciation (price), but with a P/E of about 31 (market is about 20) it seems expensive right now.