Is a dividend yield of 6% good?
Yields from 2% to 6% are generally considered to be a good dividend yield, but there are plenty of factors to consider when deciding if a stock's yield makes it a good investment.
- At recent prices, shares of AT&T offer a 6.2% yield that's backed by its steadily growing telecom business.
- Pfizer shares have been beaten down so low that they offer a 6.2% dividend yield.
- Altria Group is getting battered by competition from illicit e-cigarettes but perhaps not for much longer.
But while the typical stock in the S&P 500 yields only about 1.6% at present, the highest-yielding S&P 500 dividend stocks all deliver yields north of 6% β roughly four times the typical large U.S. company.
The dividend yield is a financial ratio that tells you the percentage of a company's share price that it pays out in dividends each year. For example, if a company has a $20 share price and pays a dividend of $1 per year, its dividend yield would be 5%.
Here are the criteria we used to identify the safest stock dividend yields: Dividend yield greater than 3.5% Positive free cash flow (FCF) yield over the trailing twelve month (TTM) period. Cumulative five-year FCF greater than cumulative five-year dividend payments.
Stock | Forward dividend yield |
---|---|
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) | 3.5% |
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) | 3% |
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) | 2.3% |
Home Depot Inc. (HD) | 2.4% |
Rock-solid dividend stocks
Kinder Morgan, Equinix, and Lockheed Martin pay safe dividends and earn contractually secured revenue, enabling them to produce predictable cash flow. On top of that, they have very strong balance sheets. Those features make them some of the most bankable dividends for 2024 and beyond.
Living off dividends is a financial strategy that appeals to those aiming for a reliable income stream without tapping into their investment principal. This approach has intrigued many investors, from early-career individuals to those nearing retirement.
If a high or rising yield is due to a shrinking share price, that's a bad sign and could indicate that a dividend cut is on the horizon. If a rising dividend yield is due to rising profits, on the other hand, that's a much more auspicious sign.
Stock | Dividend yield |
---|---|
Enbridge Inc. (ENB) | 7.6% |
Ecopetrol SA (EC) | 14.6% |
United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) | 4.2% |
OneMain Holdings Inc. (OMF) | 8.3% |
Are dividend yields worth it?
Yes, there are a lot of advantages. However, there's also a price to pay for those benefits. The most obvious advantage of dividend investing is that it gives investors extra income to use as they wish. This income can boost returns by being reinvested or withdrawn and used immediately.
Dividend yields over 4% should be carefully scrutinized; those over 10% tread firmly into risky territory. Among other things, a too-high dividend yield can indicate the payout is unsustainable, or that investors are selling the stock, driving down its share price.
One downside to investing in stocks for the dividend is an eventual cap on returns. The dividend stock may pay out a sizable rate of return, but even the highest yielding stocks with any sort of stability don't pay out more than ~10% annually in today's low interest rate environment, except in rare circ*mstances.
For example, if a company issues a stock dividend of 5%, it will pay 0.05 shares for every share owned by a shareholder. The owner of 100 shares would get five additional shares.
- Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. ...
- HDFC Bank Ltd. ...
- ICICI Bank Ltd. ...
- Hindustan Unilever Ltd. ...
- ITC Ltd. ...
- State Bank of India. ...
- Infosys Ltd. ...
- Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd.
Whereas ordinary dividends are taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividends that meet certain requirements are taxed at lower capital gain rates. The payer of the dividend is required to correctly identify each type and amount of dividend for you when reporting them on your Form 1099-DIV for tax purposes.
- AGNC Investment β 14.8%
- Oxford Square Capital β 13.7%
- Ellington Residential Mortgage REIT β 13.2%
- SLR Investment β 11.5%
- PennantPark Floating Rate Capital β 10%
- Main Street Capital β 7%
- Gladstone Investment β 6.9%
- Pembina Pipeline β 5.4%
- Eli Lilly and Co (LLY) -- YES. ...
- Consolidated Edison, Inc. ...
- UGI Corp (UGI) -- YES. ...
- Procter & Gamble Co. ...
- The Coca-Cola Co (KO) -- YES. ...
- Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL) -- YES. ...
- PPG Industries, Inc. (PPG) -- YES. ...
- Chubb Corp (CB) -- NO. Dividends Paid Since 1902.
- Clearway Energy (NYSE: CWEN)(NYSE: CWEN.A) offers a 7.7% dividend yield. ...
- Oneok's (NYSE: OKE) dividend yields 5.9%. ...
- Vici Properties (NYSE: VICI) pays a 5.7% yielding dividend. ...
- Verizon (NYSE: VZ) pays a 6.7% dividend yield.
Buffett loves it when he does not have to touch his stakes and let the investments do all the work. He believes his investments are rewarded when the companies he has invested in increase dividends and focus on shareholder returns.
Is Coca Cola a dividend stock?
The Coca-Cola Company's ( KO ) dividend yield is 3.21%, which means that for every $100 invested in the company's stock, investors would receive $3.21 in dividends per year. The Coca-Cola Company's payout ratio is 74.22% which means that 74.22% of the company's earnings are paid out as dividends.
Dividends are particularly valuable in retirement because they provide a consistent stream of income that can help cover living expenses. And, unlike bonds, dividend stocks offer the potential for capital gains as well as income. That means your portfolio can continue to grow even as you withdraw money from it.
Dividend-paying Stocks
Shares of public companies that split profits with shareholders by paying cash dividends yield between 2% and 6% a year. With that in mind, putting $250,000 into low-yielding dividend stocks or $83,333 into high-yielding shares will get your $500 a month.
So can an investor really get rich from dividends? The answer is an emphatic yes. But one doesn't get rich quickly from dividends. To get rich from dividends you must practice patience and disciplined saving.
If, for example, your portfolio gets to a value of $1.5 million, you could invest in a fund or multiple investments that yield an average of 3.3%. At that rate, you could generate $50,000 in annual dividends. With a lower portfolio balance of $1 million, you would need to target an average yield of 5%.