With the ISA deadline approaching quickly (5th April), today I’ll be looking at two FTSE 100 dividend stocks that I’d buy for my ISA right now. One is more of a high-income play, while the other should offer a nice mix of capital growth and dividends going forward.
Energy giant
First up, Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSB), which offers considerable investment appeal at the moment, in my opinion. There are a number of reasons I’d buy Shell shares today.
For a start, there’s the dividend appeal of the stock. Not only is Shell’s yield high at 5.8% currently, but the company also has a fantastic long-term dividend track record, having not cut its payout since World War II. As such, investors all over the world, ranging from billion-dollar pension funds to private investors, rely on Shell for its dividend.
Another reason I like the look of Shell right now is that it could provide an element of protection from Brexit. As a global energy group that has operations in 70 countries, what happens with the UK economy when/if Brexit takes place is largely irrelevant to the group’s fortunes. Moreover, if the pound was to fall, Shell’s dividends would actually be worth more to UK investors, as the group reports in US dollars.
Of course, Shell shares aren’t without risks and one key risk is fluctuations in the price of oil. If the oil price tanks, Shell’s profits could dry up. Yet the company has shown in recent years that even if the oil price does fall significantly, it can still find a way to pay its dividend. Trading on a P/E of around 12, I see value in the shares at present.
Market leader
Another FTSE 100 stock that I really like the look of right now is Hargreaves Lansdown (LSE: HL) – which runs the UK’s largest investment platform.
Hargreaves is not a particularly cheap stock, as the company has an excellent growth track record and subsequently often trades at an elevated valuation. Right now, the shares are trading on a forward-looking P/E of 34. However, at its current share price of 1,776p, the stock is around 21% below its 2018 share price high after the global equity market sell-off late last year spooked investors, and as such, I think now could be a good time to take a closer look at it while it’s slightly out of favour.
What I like about Hargreaves is that there’s a long-term theme at play here. As I’ve often noted in the past, Britons desperately need to save and invest more for retirement. And as the market leader in the investment space here in the UK, with a market share of around 40%, I think Hargreaves looks very well placed to capitalise.
Another reason I like the stock is that over time, equity markets tend to go up. This means that the value of the group’s assets under administration should continually rise over time, which should, in theory, translate to higher fees for the group.
One risk here is that of fee compression. The company’s fees are quite high and it may need to reduce these in the future. However, overall, there’s a lot I like about HL shares. I’d be happy to buy right now for my ISA.