Many investors desire stability within their portfolios so they can enjoy a good night’s sleep.
Blue-chip stocks, which are known for their reliability, can provide them with this assurance.
This category of stocks boasts a long track record with the business having weathered different economic cycles.
The good news is that most of them also pay a dividend, thus ensuring you can enjoy a stream of passive income.
We feature four such reliable blue-chip stocks that you can consider for your buy watchlist.
OCBC Ltd (SGX: O39)
OCBC is Singapore’s second-largest bank and provides a comprehensive range of banking, insurance, and investment services for individuals and corporations.
The lender’s standing as one of the three big banks in Singapore should provide investors with the assurance that it can weather future economic storms.
The bank reported a stellar set of earnings for the first half of 2024 (1H 2024).
Total income rose 7% year on year to S$7.3 billion on the back of a 3% year-on-year increase in net interest income to S$4.9 billion.
OCBC also saw non-interest income jump 15% year on year, contributed by better trading income and higher contributions from its insurance arm.
Net profit for 1H 2024 went up 9% year on year to hit a record S$3.9 billion.
In line with the strong results, the group upped its interim dividend by 10% year on year to S$0.44.
OCBC’s trailing 12-month dividend stood at S$0.86, giving its shares a trailing dividend yield of 5.8%.
There could be more to come from the bank.
OCBC plans to invest more than HK$1.5 billion in its technology and facilities in Greater China over the next three years.
This money will be used to modernise its technology platforms, channels, and products.
Keppel Ltd (SGX: BN4)
Keppel is a global asset manager with expertise in the areas of infrastructure, real estate, and connectivity.
The group operates in more than 20 countries providing critical infrastructure and services for renewables, clean energy, sustainable urban renewal, and digital connectivity.
Keppel reported a mixed set of earnings for 1H 2024 with revenue falling by 13% year on year to S$3.2 billion.
Both Infrastructure and Real Estate divisions were responsible for the revenue drag.
However, core net profit rose 7% year on year to S$513 million.
To reward shareholders, Keppel declared an interim dividend of S$0.15, unchanged from a year ago.
The group is pressing forward with its asset monetisation plans, with more than S$5.6 billion announced cumulatively since October 2020.
Keppel targets to monetise S$10 billion to S$12 billion of assets by the end of 2026.
Keppel’s funds under management (FUM) stood at S$85 billion as of 30 June 2024.
The group intends to grow this to S$100 billion by 2026 and to S$200 billion by 2030.
Mapletree Industrial Trust (SGX: ME8U)
Mapletree Industrial Trust, or MIT, is an industrial REIT with 56 properties in the US, 83 in Singapore, and one in Japan.
Its assets under management stood at S$9 billion as of 30 June 2024.
Gross revenue rose 2.7% year on year to S$175.3 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 (1Q FY2025).
Net property income inched up 1.3% year on year to S$132.5 million.
Distribution per unit (DPU) edged up 1.2% year on year to S$0.0343.
MIT’s overall occupancy stood at 91.9% as of 30 June 2024, with the portfolio’s overall weighted average lease expiry increasing from 4.4 years last quarter to 4.6 years in the current quarter.
The industrial REIT also reported an average positive rental reversion of 9.2% for renewal leases.
MIT’s aggregate leverage stood at 39.1% with an average cost of debt of 3.2%.
The REIT’s interest cover ratio stood healthy at 4.7 times with 82.1% of its loans pegged to fixed rates.
Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX: S68)
Singapore Exchange Limited, or SGX, is Singapore’s sole stock exchange operator.
The group has a natural monopoly in Singapore and provides investors and portfolio managers with a wide range of securities to invest and trade in.
The bourse operator reported a resilient set of earnings for its fiscal 2024 (FY2024) ending 30 June 2024.
Revenue rose 3.1% year on year to S$1.2 billion.
Core net profit increased by 4.5% year on year to S$525.9 million.
SGX announced an increase in its final dividend to S$0.09 from S$0.085, bringing its annualised dividend to S$0.36.
Shares of SGX offer a forward dividend yield of 3.1%.
The group is seeing healthy momentum for its foreign exchange platform, with average daily volume growing by 47% year on year to US$111 billion for FY2024.
Commodities volumes have also grown significantly and have more than doubled from FY2021’s levels.
SGX intends to grow group revenue by between 6% to 8% compound annual growth rate in the medium term.
Management intends to forge closer regional partnerships to enhance connectivity and widen its suite of products.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of Mapletree Industrial Trust and Singapore Exchange Limited.
