With average prices on Wall Street’s major markets near all-time highs at the end of the first half of 2024, investors who may be looking for safety and income may focus on dividend stocks.
Although the universe is based on dividends companies are extensive, Seeking Alpha has compiled a list of the 10 best-performing dividend stocks for the investing community. The criteria used to construct the list were shares of companies included in the S&P 500 index (SP500) and offered a dividend yield of at least 4% or higher.
Top 10 S&P 500 stocks with a 4% dividend yield
No. 10: AT&T (T) +8.9%YTD.
No. 9: T.Rowe Price Group (TROW) +9.2% since the beginning of the year.
No. 8: Kinder Morgan (KMI) +11.4% since the beginning of the year.
No. 7: Prudential Financial (PRU) +13.1% since the beginning of the year.
No. 6: Altria Group (MO) +13.5% since the beginning of the year.
No. 5: Oneok Inc (OKE) +13.9% since the beginning of the year.
No. 4: Best Buy Co. (BBY) +16.1% since the beginning of the year.
No. 3: Hasbro (HAS) +20.2% since the beginning of the year.
No. 2: Williams Cos. (WMB) +21.1% since the beginning of the year.
No. 1: Diamondback Energy (FANG) +25.4% since the beginning of the year.
Dividend rates: T 6.12%, TROW 4.20%, KMI 5.85%, PRU 4.44%, MO 8.81%, OKE 4.98%, BBY 4.14%, HAS 4.61% , WMB 4.52% and FANG 4.46%.
Additionally, for investors looking for a more diversified approach to dividend investing, here are the six largest dividend exchange-traded funds on the market, along with each fund’s 2024 performance.
- Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Fund (VIG) +8.5% since the beginning of the year.
- Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF Index (VYM) +6.5% since the beginning of the year.
- Schwab American Dividend ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHD) +2.6% since the beginning of the year.
- iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:DGRO) +7.5% since the beginning of the year.
- SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (NYSEARCA:SDY) +2.7% since the beginning of the year.
- iShares Select Dividend ETF (NASDAQ:DVY) +2.9% since the beginning of the year.