DIVIDEND PAYING STOCKS:
It is easy to understand why investors are seeking dividend paying stocks to seek relief from the recent frenetic markets..
Dividends are those steady and often increasing cash payments made by companies to stockholders, and are one thing investors can hang onto during unsteady times.
Over time, dividend payments account for roughly a third of investors’ total returns from stocks. So while a stock price rises and falls as the economy churns, investors at least have the comfort of receiving dividends as they endure the volatility.
Be aware that dividends can be and often are cut by companies during hard times. That’s a legitimate risk. During the bear market between 2007 and 2009, for instance, companies didn’t hesitate to cut dividend payments to conserve cash.
Also, be careful when you’re chasing stocks that pay lofty dividend yields. Many times, the yields are high because the stock price has fallen. If a stock is in freefall because the company paying the dividend is in trouble, you could see your entire annual dividend get wiped out in just one bad trading day.
Even so, buying dividend paying stocks can be a good strategy for investors looking for a little more predictability in their investment results. You can find stocks that pay dividends at most financial websites.
Here is a list of the 25 S&P 500 stocks with the highest dividends as of Tuesday:
Ticker Company Dividend yield
FTR Frontier Communications Ord Shs Series B 12.7%
WIN Windstream 9.2%
CTL CenturyTel 8.5%
RAI Reynolds American 6.7%
VZ Verizon Communications 6.5%
T AT&T 6.5%
POM Pepco Holdings 6.5%
HCN Health Care REIT 6.5%
MO Altria Group 6.5%
PBI Pitney Bowes 6.2%
PGN Progress Energy 6.2%
AEE Ameren 6.1%
FE FirstEnergy 6.0%
Q Qwest Communications International 6.0%
NI NiSource 5.8%
PNW Pinnacle West Capital 5.8%
LLY Eli Lilly 5.8%
HCP HCP 5.7%
CINF Cincinnati Financial 5.7%
DUK Duke Energy 5.7%
TEG Integrys Energy Group 5.6%
CNP CenterPoint Energy 5.5%
BMY Bristol-Myers Squibb 5.4%
ED Consolidated Edison 5.4%
PPL PPL 5.4%
Source: MSN Money.
