Dividends: 10 Highest-Yielding S&P 500 Stocks
By industry, the top yielders are a concentrated group with four telecommunication service providers, four oil and gas drillers, and two REITs.
Only half of the top-yielding stocks featured here are paying higher dividends than they paid a few years ago. Others now sport rich yields in large part because the share prices have declined. That is further evidence that yield alone is not a good reason to buy any stock. We've included the ratio of long-term debt to capital to give you some indication of the financial strength of these companies. If too much cash goes to debt service, there is less to support the dividend.
Advisors seeking income for their clients should consider this a research list, not necessarily a shopping list. -- Joseph Lisanti
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