The past year has been awful for investors of all stripes, but particularly so for relatively staid dividend-focused investors. Companies that not long ago were considered bastions of dividend fortitude -- SunTrust Banks , AIG , Fannie Mae , and the like -- are slashing payouts left and right. Fifty-three companies cut their dividends in November -- nine more than in all of 2007.

And there's plenty of reason to be sore about those dividend cuts: Mind-blowingly thorough research from Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel shows that dividends are a crucial driver of long-term market outperformance.

But rather than spend the rest of this recession hiding under a rock, we dividend-loving investors can profit. Yes, many companies are cutting their dividends, but there are plenty of stocks not only maintaining their dividends, but also growing them.

Spotting the long-haul winners
As November has shown, cuts happen. But fortunately, identifying dividend payers with sustainable, growing payouts isn't exactly rocket science -- you just need to know what you're looking for.

Companies with long, uninterrupted histories of dishing out dividends typically share these three traits.

1. They rake in cash.
Dividends are usually funded with free cash flow, which means that prodigious cash generation and dividend safety go hand-in-hand. Dividend all-star Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM), for example, converts around 24% of its revenue into free cash.

2. They aren't cyclical.
During boom times, profits in a cyclical industry flow like a Saudi oil well and often leading management teams to overcommit to higher dividends and large capital projects. When a cyclical industry tightens up (and such industries always do), cash profits follow suit, and once-high dividend payouts quickly find themselves on the chopping block.

3. They are conservatively capitalized.
Even well-run companies that aren't in cyclical industries can occasionally find themselves on the outs. Look for companies that consistently produce operating profits well in excess of their debt obligations.

By looking out for companies that demonstrate these qualities, you're setting yourself up to find the next great dividend winner.

A company that recently caught my eye -- and that demonstrates these three qualities -- is Motley Fool Income Investor recommendation Republic Services , which is poised to profitably saddle up with fellow trash giant Allied Waste .

Trash and cash
Republic, currently the nation's third-largest waste hauler, operates in a pretty mundane industry. But your trash is Republic's cash -- the company turns a stellar 10% of its revenue into free cash flow and pulls in operating profits about six times that of its interest expense. Even better, Republic's impending merger with Allied Waste should leave the combined company with even better results, thanks to scale and increased pricing power. And those of us who routinely lug our trash to the curb can attest that the company's core waste-hauling business is far from being cyclical. Continued...