My Top Dividend King to Buy for 2023 (and It's Not Even Close)

Now that we're a few weeks into 2023, the steep sell-off of many stocks during 2022 has started to make a turn toward buying. But that doesn't take away the fact that many

quality companies saw their stock prices slashed by half or more over the past year or so.  While the sell-off was wide-ranging, many Dividend Kings actually did quite well

in 2022. Dividend Kings, which are S&P 500 components that have paid and raised their dividends annually for at least 50 consecutive years, have a reputation for consistency

in the form of a stable and growing dividend and a business you can count on no matter the market cycle. So when a blue-chip company like Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE: SWK)

sees its stock price decline by 60% in a single year, it derails the benefits of years, if not decades, of dividend payments. Bear markets aren't for the faint of heart. It

would be far easier to make the buy case for a Dividend King at the top of its game that beat the market in 2022 -- like Procter & Gamble, Illinois Tool Works, Coca-Cola, or

Johnson & Johnson -- than to step in and buy Stanley Black & Decker with the stock near an eight-year low. But for those who think the worst is almost over for Stanley

Black & Decker stock, the turnaround story -- along with its 3.8% dividend yield, could very well lead the stock to produce a higher total return over the next three to five

years than any other Dividend King out there. For that reason, Stanley Black & Decker stands out as my top Dividend King -- and dividend stock in general -- to buy in

2023 and hold for years to come.