Dividend danger zone
Just because a stock has a high yield doesn't mean it's a good buy, Bespoke Investment Group's Paul Hickey told CNBC's "Fast Money" traders.
More than half of S&P 500 components are delivering a dividend yield above the 10-year Treasury yield of 1.84 percent. However, the stocks with the highest yields are some of the worst performers over the last year.
Transocean, the S&P 500 stock with the highest dividend yield of 19 percent, has fallen 66 percent since January 2013. Other double-digit dividend payers such as Ensco, Noble and Diamond Offshore also dropping 45 percent, 44 percent and 41 percent, respectively. Energy stocks have been hit particularly hard in recent months as the price of oil has fallen.
"You want to look at stocks that have above average yields and also have consistently raised those dividend yields even in the worst of times," Hickey said Wednesday.
Three stocks that are attractive to Hickey are Best Buy, Pepsico and Sysco.
"There are other companies that fit the criteria but like I said earlier, you don't want to be a pig with yield," Hickey said. "You want to look at stocks that consistently raise it but have other factors working."