5 Rising Dividend Payers for a Bullish but Skittish Stock Market

I do not own DIS. I expect to have my TWX position called away as I am short in-the-money August calls. I'll leave a few bucks on the table, given TWX's strength in recent weeks, but I'm alright with this. I might write puts in an attempt to get long on a pullback.

I own VIAB in my daughter's custodial account. It's one of those stocks I will continue to buy approximately twice a month, holding all else constant.

On the other end of the M&A possibilities, it could make sense for Viacom to go after another stock I am buying for the custodial account -- Madison Square Garden (MSG).

MSG, with its foothold in the northeast, particularly the Tri-State area, could give Viacom what it needs to develop a meaningful presence in sports entertainment. If you don't have one, it's going to be difficult to compete as new media continues to evolve. Also, keep this in the back of your mind: MSG recently purchased the Forum, a somewhat forgotten Southern California venue that the Los Angeles Lakers used to call home.

Put BCE, as well as Canadian counterpart Rogers Communications (RCI) (up 7.6% over the last six months and 15.8% the last three), in a class by itself. As I have discussed frequently over the last year, given the relatively loose regulatory environment north of the border, the sky's the limit over the long-term for these two stocks.

Bottom line, by keeping a significant amount of capital in dividend-paying growth stocks, such as the ones mentioned in this article, you're not running and hiding in the face of what might be irrational fear. However, if the worst comes, you're probably better off having invested in this class of stocks than other more volatile ones that do not produce consistent income.

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At the time of publication, the author was long BCE, RCI and TWX. He owns MSG and VIAB in a custodial account he manages for his minor child.

This article is commentary by an independent contributor, separate from TheStreet's regular news coverage.

Rocco Pendola is a private investor with nearly 20 years experience in various forms of media, ranging from radio to print. His work has appeared in academic journals as well as dozens of online and offline publications. He uses his broad experience to help inform his coverage of the stock market, primarily in the technology, Internet and new media spaces. He has taken a long-term approach to investing, focusing on dividend-paying stocks, since he opened his first account as a teenager. Pendola, 37, is based in Santa Monica, Calif., where he lives with his wife and child.

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