By The Numbers
MOST SHARED
- Garlic Price Rises Surpass Gold, Stocks in China
- New-Home Sales Jump 6.2% To Highest Level in Over Year
- S&P Stocks Trading at New 52-Week Highs
- Where Do Pardoned Turkeys Go?
- The Executive Job Search
- Judge Erases Couple's $525,000 Mortgage Payment
- Salvation Army's Kettles Now Credit Card-Ready
- US Plans to Reduce Emissions By 17% Within Next Ten Years
- US Mint to Suspend American Eagle Gold 1-Ounce Coins
- Consumer Mood Improves, But Anxiety Over Personal Finances
RSS FEED
Text Size 
This morning on Squawk on the Street, Erin Burnett interviewed Joe Keating, Chief Investment Officer of RBC Bank's Private Asset Management about dividend plays. Mr. Keating advised CNBC viewers to look for solid stocks with good dividends. Some of his recommendations include Consumer Staples, Utilities, Telecoms and Healthcare stocks.
Here are some of the highest yielding stocks on the S&P.
S&P 500 Dividend Breakdown by Sector
 |
A breakdown of the S&P 500 by sector also shows that telecommunications, utilities, and consumer staples companies, as depicted on the table to the left, have on average the highest dividend yields. Currently, the utilities sector has the highest number of companies paying a dividend, with 94% of its components offering such payouts, while the telecoms have the highest average yield of 8.7%.
As investors debate whether a 36.02% gain for the S&P 500 [.SPX Loading... ()
] since its March 9th low is sustainable, dividends could serve to help minimize any potential pullbacks.Impact of the Rally
The markets rebound from their March lows has pushed yields down further (Yield = Dividends / Price. As prices rise, yields fall). Since mid March, for example, the percent of stocks with dividends yielding less than 2% has jumped 30%. As displayed on the chart below, approximately 56% of companies in the S&P 500 have yields less than 4%, with fewer companies driving up the overall average. Also note that approximately a quarter of all the companies within the S&P 500 do not pay a dividend.
The following chart portrays the distribution of all the companies in the S&P 500, according to their corresponding dividend yields.
 |
The tables on the next few pages depict some of the companies in the S&P 500 with dividend yields north of 3%. The yields on these companies are based on the most recent data from Thomson Reuters. Note that dividends are not guaranteed, as has been the case with various companies in the past six months, either raising or halting dividend payouts.
As always, keep in mind that the information should help you generate ideas, but there is more homework to be done, especially with stocks paying dividend yields above 7%.
- For nearly three decades, these on-call experts have been dishing advice on how to – and not to – cook turkey.
- Eric Schmidt pledges to create a virtual copy of the Iraq National Museum at Google’s expense.
- Bill Griffeth is taking a leave of absence from CNBC and Power Lunch for a year. Here's a message from Bill.
- More shoppers than ever plan to comparison-shop this season. Who will benefit?
- It may be the most unusual guide to business you'll read.
- How can you get out of debt and back on the road to recovery? Follow these ten steps.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes