Income investors are drawn to dividend stocks for their steady stream of income. But dividend stocks are appealing for another reason: They tend to outperform non-dividend payers over long time periods. According to a Hartford Funds study, over a 50-year period, dividend payers returned an average of 9.2% annually, significantly outperforming non-dividend payers, which returned 4.3% annually.The best dividend stocks demonstrate strong business performance across economic cycles and maintain prudent balance ...