What's better than being up more than 18% this year owning the S&P 500? Being up that much and scoring a plump dividend yield, too.
And that's exactly what investors in five S&P 500 stocks — including Hasbro, Williams and Oneok — are scrambling to cash in on, says an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSurge. All these stocks yield at least 4.5% on top of gaining 18% or more this year.
Dividends could become an increasingly important part of returns. "For 2024 dividends, the projection is positive and ahead of the historical 5.79% annual growth rate since 1936," said Howard Silverblatt of S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Playing For Yield
Toymaker Hasbro is a great example of how investors are selectively seeking out returns from dividend-paying stocks. Shares are up an astounding 21.7% already this year.
And what's more, Hasbro yields an impressive 4.7% on top of the stock gain. That's a strong yield if you consider the S&P 500's yield is down to just 1.2%. Hasbro has the profit growth to back up the dividend, too. The company's earnings per share are on pace to rise more than 45% this year.
Energy firm Williams is another example of the high-dividend payer S&P 500 investors are looking for now. Shares are up 21.6% this year and additionally yield 4.5%.
But it's important to note that Williams is not a growth story. The company's adjusted profit per share is seen dropping nearly 2% this year. But who cares with a yield like that.
Other Yield Plays
It's not big-cap tech stocks in the S&P 500 where investors are finding big yields and gains.
Consumer discretionary and energy firms are the two sectors that four of these five popular dividend stocks make their home. The other, Altria, is a consumer staple long known for paying a rich dividend. The stock is now paying 8.2% and is up more than 19% this year.
A rallying S&P 500 is pushing down dividend yields. But it's good to know you can still get big gains with large yields.
Dividend Stocks That Are In Demand
S&P 500 stocks up 18% or more this year and yield 4.5% or better
| Company | Ticker | YTD change | Yield | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hasbro | 21.7% | 4.7% | Consumer Discretionary | |
| Williams Cos. | 21.6% | 4.5 | Energy | |
| Oneok | 21.1% | 4.7 | Energy | |
| Altria Group | 19.1% | 8.2 | Consumer Staples | |
| Ford Motor | 18.0% | 5.5 | Consumer Discretionary |
