These stocks sport big and safe dividends for this uncertain market

Published Wed, May 11 20221:33 PM EDT

As investors look to weather a rocky market, CNBC Pro found stocks with outsized and steady dividends that provide consistent income even as share prices struggle. Investors are facing turmoil in equity markets this year amid hot inflation, the Federal Reserve's rate hiking cycle, the war in Ukraine and global Covid outbreaks. The S & P 500 is down more than 15% in 2022. Some market strategists recommend dividend stocks as a way to get paid consistently. A dividend is a regular payout of a portion of a company's profits to its shareholders. "We see multiple reasons to stick with high dividend yielding stocks," Bank of America's Savita Subramanian said in a note to clients Wednesday. "Total return is paramount against a backdrop of low or negative equity price returns." Stocks with big and growing dividends are a way to protect again inflation, according to Subrmanian. Plus, "cash is king when the Fed is hiking rates," she said. A high dividend yield was the most resilient stock factor this year out of about 50 traits analyzed by Bank of America. CNBC Pro screened the S & P 500 for stocks with a dividend yield greater than 3%, higher than the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield. We also looked for stocks with a safe dividend, as measured by a dividend payout ratio under 50%. To find stocks with a rising dividend to keep pace with inflation, we searched for names with dividend growth of 25% over the last five years. Take a look at our list. (Source: FactSet. As of May 11, 2022). Financial stocks featuring prominently on the list. A number of regional banks as well as banking giants qualify as having high, growing dividends. Citigroup has one of the highest growing dividends of the names CNBC Pro found. The stock's dividend has surged 386% over the past five years. Citi's dividend yield of 4.2% is well above that of the benchmark 10-year note. Franklin Resources , parent company of investment firm Franklin Templeton, has the biggest dividend yield out of the cohort. The stock has a 4.6% dividend yield, with the dividend growing 56% in the past five years. Utility stock NRG Energy takes the top spot on the list for greatest five-year dividend growth at 453%. The energy provider's dividend yield is 3.2%. Other dividend stocks in CNBC Pro's screen include Best Buy , Whirlpool and Pfizer.

A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks past a Citibank branch in New York on Friday, April 10, 2020.

Bloomberg

As investors look to weather a rocky market, CNBC Pro found stocks with outsized and steady dividends that provide consistent income even as share prices struggle.