7 High Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy Now

Occasionally, some investors will disregard most other selection criteria and only look for high yield dividend stocks to buy now. However, all equities with high yields are neither suitable for every portfolio nor potentially profitable. Therefore, investors must add a few additional criteria in order to trim the list of potentially hundreds of equities with high yields down to a shorter list of viable investment prospects.

Since every investment portfolio has specific goals and timing requirements, investors should conduct their own research to confirm the compatibility of the portfolio with their desires. The list below contains seven high yield dividend stocks to buy now. All equities listed below have dividend yields in excess of 3% and will go ex-dividend between May 29 and June 3, 2019. Therefore, interested investors should act quickly to take advantage of these equity picks.

7 High Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy Now: #7

SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE:STI)

The company enhanced its dividend payout by 25% year-over-year to the current $0.50 quarterly amount. This new amount is equivalent to a $2.00 annualized payment and a 3.18% forward dividend yield, which is 42% higher than the company’s own 2.23% average yield over the past five years. SunTrust’s current yield also is 4.2% higher than the 3.05% simple average yield of the overall Financials sector.

Since resuming dividend hikes in 2011, the company has managed to boost its total annual dividend amount 50-fold, which translates to a 55% average annual growth rate over the past nine years. However, since the company distributed a minimal quarterly dividend payout of $0.01 in 2010, a comparison against the $0.12 annualized dividend payout from 2011 is a better indicator of dividend growth. Over the past eight years, the total annual dividend has advanced nearly 17-fold, which still corresponds to an average growth rate of nearly 42% per year.

The share price decline in late 2018 resulted in a 5% total loss on shareholders’ investment over the trailing 12 months. However, the share price has been on a steady uptrend in 2019 and appears to be heading towards delivering robust total returns like SunTrust’s own 59% total return over the past three years or its 82% total return over the last five years.

7 High Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy Now: #6

Old Republic International Corporation (NYSE:ORI)

The company’s $0.20 quarterly dividend is 2.6% higher than the $0.195 payout amount from the same period last year. This new quarterly amount corresponds to an $0.80 annual distribution and yields 3.54%. This yield is 16% higher than the 3.05% average yield of the entire Financials sector, as well as 56% higher than the 2.27% average yield of only dividend-paying companies in the Surety & Title Insurance industry segment.

Old Republic has boosted its annual payout over the past 37 consecutive years. Just over the past two decades, the company nearly tripled its annual dividend amount — equivalent to a 5.5% average annual growth rate. Aided by a reliable share price growth, the company was able to deliver total returns of 11%, 36% and 64% over the past 12 months, three years and five years, respectively.

7 High Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy Now: #5

Kellogg Company (NYSE:K)       

Kellogg’s has more than doubled its annual dividend for the past 15 consecutive years, which corresponds to an average annual growth rate of 5.5%. The company’s current $0.56 quarterly distribution is 3.7% higher than it was in the same period last year. Additionally, the company’s current quarterly distribution is equivalent to a $2.24 annualized amount and a 3.96% yield, which is 23.4% higher than its 3.21% average yield over the past five years.

The Kellogg Company’s current yield is also more than twice the 1.93% average yield of the entire Consumer Goods sector and the 1.9% average yield of all the companies in the Processed & Packaged Goods market segment. Furthermore, as the fourth-highest current yield in the Processed & Packaged Goods industry segment, Kellogg’s yield is also 17% higher than the 3.38% average yield of the segment’s dividend-paying companies.

7 High Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy Now: #4

Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP)     

The Meredith Corporation — a diversified media company that operates in the United States, Europe and Asia — continues to reward its shareholders with balanced long-term returns, relatively stable asset appreciation and rising dividend income distributions. Over the past two decades, the company has boosted its annual dividend payout amount every year and achieved a nearly eight-fold enhancement since 1999. This level of advancement translates to an average annual growth rate of 10.7% per year.

The current $0.575 quarterly dividend is equivalent to a $2.30 annualized distribution and a yield of 3.88%, which is 2.5% higher than the company’s own 3.78% five-year average yield and twice the 1.97% average yield of the overall Services sector. The combination of rising dividends and capital appreciation has delivered a 20.7% total return over the trailing 12 months, as well as total returns of 30% and 50% over the last three and five years, respectively.

7 High Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy Now: #3

Newell Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL)

Despite significant share price fluctuations over the past several years, the company continued to boost its annual dividend for nearly a decade ever since cutting its annual payout in 2009. Over the past nine years, the company only failed to boost its annual dividend in 2016. Since then, the company has delivered three consecutive annual boosts and enhanced its annual dividend amount by 21% for an average annual growth rate of 6.6%. Even with one missed hike, Newell Brands managed to advance its annual payout amount 360% over the past nine years, which is equivalent to an average growth rate of 18.5% per year.

The current quarterly distribution of $0.23 corresponds to a $0.92 annualized payout and a 5.93% yield, which is more than twice the company’s own five-year average of 2.84%. Additionally, the company has reduced its dividend payout ratio to just 22% compared to the 40% average ratio over the past five years. The low payout ratio instills confidence that the company should be able to support its current pace of annual dividend hikes for the near future.

7 High Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy Now: #2

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE:SIX)

Already delivering an industry-topping dividend yield, the Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is getting ready for a seasonal increase in business since the summer heat is approaching. The company currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.82, which is equivalent to a $3.28 annualized payout. SIX currently yields 6.25%, This yield is more than 40% above the company’s own 4.42% average yield over the past five years and more than triple the 1.97% average yield of the entire Services sector.

Additionally, with the highest yield in the Diversified Entertainment industry segment, Six Flags’ current yield is 430% higher than that segment’s 1.18% average yield, as well as nearly 150% above the 2.52% average yield of the segment’s only dividend-paying companies. After rising more than eight-fold over the previous eight years, the share price pulled back over the trailing 12-months to deliver a 12% total loss. However, even with the share price drop, the company has delivered a 4.7% total return over the past three years and more than a 60% return over the last five years.

7 High Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy Now: #1

Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE:CLDT)

The Chatham Lodging Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that invests in upscale premium-branded hotels. This REIT’s current $0.11 monthly dividend is equivalent to a $1.32 annual payout and a 6.61% yield, which is 10% higher than the REIT’s own 6.02% average dividend yield over the past five years. This REIT paid quarterly dividends since 2010 and switched to monthly payouts in 2013. Since introducing dividend distributions in 2010, this REIT nearly doubled its annual payout amount over the past nine years. This advancement pace corresponds to a 7.3% annual growth rate.

The company’s current 6.61% dividend yield outperformed the 3.05% simple average yield of the overall Financials sector by 117%, as well as the 3.57% average yield of the Hotel Industry REIT segment by 85%. Still recovering from the overall market correction in late-2018, the share price limited total returns to 5.53% over the past 12 months. Three-year returns were nearly 15% and five-year total returns were 21%.

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