5 Large Cap Dividend Stocks To Own
- March 13, 2009
- Dividend Stock Picks, Featured, High Yield Dividend Stocks
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Dividend investing seems to have become more challenging in the current market environment. Falling stock prices have created some very attractive dividend yields, but at the same time many companies are slashing their dividend payments in order to conserve cash.
At eDividendStocks.com we have uncovered five blue-chip stocks with very attractive dividend yields. In addition, these stocks are all very profitable companies with reasonable payout ratios.
GlaxoSmithKline (6.8% yield)
The company recently provided 2009 guidance numbers that were above Wall Street’s projections. However, shares have continued to slide pushing the dividend yield to almost 7%. With GSK’s solid earnings prospects, we would expect their dividend payment to be safe for the foreseeable future.
Kimberly Clark (5.3% yield)
While the company’s earnings are clearly expected to be negatively impacted by the economy in 2009, Wall Street still expects earnings of $4.15 per share. That should be encouraging to dividend investors as the company’s 5.3% yield only requires the company to pay out a little over half of their projected earnings.
Merck (6.3% yield)
The healthcare sector continues to be fairly resilient despite the economic recession. We continue to believe that Merck is one of the top dividend stocks in the market today. The stock has a dividend yield of over 6% and yet only pays out less than half their annual earnings in dividend payments. The real concern with Merck is potential issues with its acquisition of Schering-Plough.
Eli Lilly (6.5% yield)
The pharmaceutical company continues to grow earnings even if top-line growth appears to be slowing. Analysts are expecting the company to grow earnings by 3% in 2009 and earn $4.15 per share. That should make the company’s $1.96 dividend per share safe in the near term.
AFLAC (7.5% yield)
Investors have become increasingly concerned about the potential losses in AFLAC’s investment portfolio. However, given the fact that Wall Street is expecting the company to earn over $2 billion this year, paying out $500 million in dividends doesn’t seem unreasonable. As confidence returns to the markets, investors in this stock should benefit from both a strong dividend and share price appreciation.
