7 Top Dividend Paying Stocks to Buy Now

Some investors will disregard occasionally the full data analysis and look only for top dividend paying stocks, regardless of other analytical metrics.

However, a high yield can be a result of a steep share price decline over a short time period. Therefore, investors should make sure that the top dividend-paying stocks under consideration also have a share price trend that supports the dividend income for positive total returns. All but one of the top dividend paying stocks on the list below have delivered a double-digit percentage total return over the trailing 12 months and all have dividend yields above 4.5%.

7 Top Dividend Paying Stocks to Buy Now: #7

International Paper Company (NYSE:IP)

While International Paper’s share price struggled recently, the company has strong fundamentals, which could send the share price higher at any moment. The company’s second-quarter 2019 earnings of $1.15 per share beat analysts’ expectations of $1.01, which will further strengthen the foundation for a share price uptick.

The upcoming $0.50 quarterly dividend payout is 5.3% higher than the $0.475 amount from the same period last year and corresponds to a $2.00 total annual payout. The 4.6% dividend yield is 23% above the company’s own 3.74% five-year average yield, as well as nearly 150% higher than the 1.85% average yield of the entire Consumer Goods sector.

Since the beginning of its current streak of consecutive dividend hikes in 2011, the company has enhanced its total annual dividend amount more than six-fold. This advancement corresponds to an average growth rate of 20% per year.

7 Top Dividend Paying Stocks to Buy Now: #6

STAG Industrial, Inc. (NYSE:STAG)

STAG Industrial, Inc. (NYSE: STAG) — an industrial real estate investment trust (REIT) — has rewarded its stockholders with a steady dividend income and has hiked its annual dividend amount every year since its formation in 2010.

The current $0.1192 monthly dividend corresponds to a $1.43 annualized payout and a 5.5% forward dividend yield. This yield level is nearly 53% above the overall Financial sector’s simple yield average of 3.06%. Compared to the 3.22% average yield of its peers in the Industrial REITs market segment, STAG’s current yield is 47% higher. Furthermore, STAG’s current 5.5% yield is also nearly 15% higher than the 4.12% simple average yield of the segment’s only dividend-paying companies.

Over the past eight years since its formation, the REIT managed to maintain a 5.5% average annual dividend growth rate by boosting its total annual dividend amount more than 50% since 2010. This dividend growth combined with rising share prices to reward shareholders with a 17% total return over the past 12 months. The total returns over the past three and five years were 37.5% and 52.5%, respectively.

7 Top Dividend Paying Stocks to Buy Now: #5

Brookfield Renewable Partners LP (NYSE:BEP)

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. owns a portfolio of renewable power generating facilities. Hydropower facilities comprise approximately 75% of the company’s portfolio and make Brookfield Renewable Partners a global leader in hydroelectric power production.

Brookfield increased its total annual payouts 53% since introducing dividend distributions in 2012. That advancement is equivalent to a 5.4% average growth rate over the last eight years. The current $0.515 quarterly distribution corresponds to a $2.06 annualized payout and currently yields 5.7%, which is in line with the company’s own 5.72% five year average yield.

Furthermore, the current 5.7% yield is nearly 180% higher than the 20.5% average yield of the entire Utilities sector, as well as 133% above the 2.45% yield average in the Diversified Utilities industry segment. The above-average dividend income combined with capital gains to offer a 24.7% total return over the past year and a 36% total return over the past three years. Additionally, the five-year total return was nearly 57%.

7 Top Dividend Paying Stocks to Buy Now: #4

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR)

EPR Properties is a specialty real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns properties in select market segments which require unique industry knowledge. The REIT operates $7 billion in assets across nearly 400 properties in Entertainment, Recreation and Education segments.

The REIT’s current $0.375 monthly dividend is equivalent to a $4.50 annualized distribution and yields 6%. This yield is nearly 5% higher than the company’s own 5.73% five-year average yield and nearly twice the 3.06% average yield of the overall Financial sector.

EPR Properties delivered a streak of 20 consecutive annual dividend hikes that increased the total annual dividend payout nearly 170% since 1999. This level of advancement is equivalent to an average growth rate of 5% per year.

The combination of rising dividends and asset appreciation delivered a total return of more than 18% over the trailing 12 months, as well as a 65% total return over the last five years.

7 Top Dividend Paying Stocks to Buy Now: #3

Enviva Partners, LP. (NYSE:EVA)

Enviva Partners, LP is the world’s largest producer of utility-grade wood pellets, which it supplies to utilities and large-scale electric power generators in the United Kingdom and other European markets as a cleaner substitute for coal.

Despite its formation only four years ago, Enviva has leveraged its market-leading position to achieve substantial dividend growth and robust total returns. The company has boosted its dividend payout every quarter since its formation in 2004. Over those 15 consecutive quarters, the company has more than doubled its dividend payout from its initial $0.263 quarterly amount to the current $0.645 distribution. This pace of advancement corresponds to a 6.2% average quarterly growth rate. The annual growth rate over the past four years is 20.4%

The current $0.645 quarterly payout corresponds to a $2.58 annualized distribution and an 8.4% forward yield. This yield is seven-fold higher than the 1.2% average yield of the overall Industrial Goods sector, as well as more than double the 4.1% average yield of only dividend-paying equities in the Lumber & Wood Production industry segment.

7 Top Dividend Paying Stocks to Buy Now: #2

Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ABR)

Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE:ABR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that invests a diversified portfolio of structured finance assets in the multifamily and commercial real estate markets.

The company’s current $0.28 quarterly dividend is 3.7% higher than the $0.27 payout amount from the previous period. The new payout amount is equivalent to a $1.12 annualized amount and a 9.2% forward dividend yield.

The current yield outperformed the 3.06% simple average yield of the overall Financial sector by 200% as well as the 4.07% average yield of the Diversified REITs industry segment by 125%. Additionally, the current yield is also 36% higher than the 6.74% simple yield average of the Diversified REITs segment’s only dividend-paying equities.

The current dividend hike marked the seventh consecutive year that the REIT boosted its total annual dividend payout. Over that period, the annual dividend amount tripled for an average growth rate of 17.6% per year.

The combined gains from dividend income and asset appreciation exceeded 18% over the past 12 months. Over the past three years, shareholders more than doubled their investment with a total return of 107%. The five-year total return was more than 122%.

7 Top Dividend Paying Stocks to Buy Now: #1

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM)

Formed as a spin-off from the D. E. Shaw & Company in 2012, the Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM) is an externally managed, closed-end, non-diversified management investment company.

The company’s current 9.4% dividend yield is more than triple the 3.06% simple average yield of the overall Financials sector. Additionally, the current yield outperformed the 6.34% average yield of the Closed-End Equity industry segment by nearly 50%, as well as the 8.7% yield average of the segments only dividend-paying companies by more than 8%.

Asset appreciation of nearly 12% combined with the above-average dividend income for a total return of almost 22% over the past 12 months. The combined total return of 67% was more than triple over the past three years.

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