Market Direction and Stock Trends

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Top 20 Highest Yielding Stocks in the S&P 500

December was a rough month for investors, with the major exchanges putting up losses not seen since the 1930s. While this solidified concerns of a bear market, it also drove investors into more defensive stocks with sizable market caps and big dividends.

Short-term interest rates have risen in 2018 as well, after having risen in 2017, but long-term rates remain lower than many strategists would have expected. Those Treasury rates also still look quite low by historical standards beyond the past decade. In 2019, more investors are worried that interest rates are going to keep rising this year.

For reference, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was just 2.708% on Thursday, with the 30-year Treasury’s long bond yielding 3.015%. Ultimately this means that the top 20 yielding stocks in the S&P 500 are all paying way better dividends than both the 10-year Treasury and 30-year Treasury.

It’s worth noting that dividend yields change all the time and as of Wednesday’s closing prices, these are the highest yielding stocks in the S&P 500.

CenturyLink Inc. (NYSE: CTL) normally boasts a strong dividend as one of the larger companies within the telecom industry. In this case, CenturyLink leads the S&P 500 as the highest yielding stock in the index. Shares were recently trading at $16.17, in a 52-week range of $13.97 to $24.20. The stock has a market cap of $17.4 billion and a dividend yield of 13.4%.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) historically has paid a decent dividend as one of the biggest automakers in the nation. However, this rank is more the result of shares dropping by more than one-third in the past year. Ford stock currently yields 6.9%. Shares were trading at $8.72, in a 52-week range of $7.41 to $13.48. The market cap is $34.4 billion.

Kimco Realty Corp. (NYSE: KIM) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that is one of the largest owners and operators of open-air shopping centers in North America. Shares were trading at $15.74, in a 52-week range of $13.16 to $17.96. The market cap is $6.6 billion and the dividend yield is 7.1%.

Iron Mountain Inc. (NYSE: IRM) operates a storage and information management business, which stores and protects billions of valued assets, including critical business information, highly sensitive data and cultural and historical artifacts. The firm has more than 1,400 facilities in over 50 countries that serve over 225,000 different organizations. Iron Mountain boasts a dividend yield of 7.1%. Shares were trading at $34.42, in a 52-week range of $30.22 to $37.11. The market cap is $9.8 billion.

Invesco Ltd. (NYSE: IVZ) is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm provides its services to retail clients, institutional clients, public entities, corporations, unions and many more. Shares were trading at $17.32, in a 52-week range of $15.38 to $38.43. The $7.1 billion market cap comes with a dividend yield of 6.9%.

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) is one of the largest tobacco firms in North America. It historically has been known as a defensive play due to the nature of its products. It currently yields 6.7%. Shares were trading at $67.91, in a 52-week range of $64.67 to $111.25. The market cap is $106.4 billion.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) is another sizable tobacco firm, although it takes a backseat to Philip Morris in terms of market cap and yield. Shares were trading at $49.66, in a 52-week range of $46.49 to $71.86. Altria’s market cap is $93.1 billion and its dividend yield is 6.4%.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is the second largest U.S. telecom, and with that comes a historically high yield, which this industry has had for years. AT&T boasts a dividend yield of 6.8%. Shares were trading at $30.10, in a 52-week range of $26.80 to $39.29. The market cap is $218.7 billion.

Macerich Co. (NYSE: MAC) is another REIT and it primarily focuses on regional malls and shopping centers throughout the United States. The company currently owns 52 million square feet of real estate, consisting mainly of interests in 48 regional shopping centers. Shares were trading at $46.46, in a 52-week range of $40.90 to $69.73. The market cap is $7.0 billion. The dividend yield is 6.5%.

Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) is a data storage firm that manufactures and distributes hard disk drives, solid-state drives and much more. While it might be strange to see a tech firm yielding this much, shares of Seagate have dropped over 33% in just the past six months alone, pumping up the yield. The stock currently yields 6.3%. Shares were trading at $40.14, in a 52-week range of $35.38 to $62.70. The market cap is $11.5 billion.

Navient Corp. (NASDAQ: NAVI) provides asset management and business processing services to education, health care and government clients. The firm holds the portfolio of education loans, as well as the portfolio of private education loans, and it originates private education refinance loans. Shares were trading at $10.39. The 52-week range is $8.23 to $15.02, the market cap is $2.7 billion and the dividend yield is 6.2%.

ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE) is a sizable natural gas firm that owns natural gas gathering pipelines and processing plants in the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions. Of all the companies on this list, this is the only one that had a solid performance in the past 52 weeks. The stock boasts a dividend yield of 5.7%. Shares traded at $59.73, in a 52-week range of $50.26 to $71.99. The market cap is $24.6 billion.

Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) is one of the world’s largest private owners of timberlands. The firm owns or controls 12.4 million acres of timberlands in the United States and manages additional timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. Shares were trading at $23.70. The 52-week range is $20.52 to $38.39, and the market cap is $17.8 billion. It has a dividend yield of 5.7%.

PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL) is a utility holding company that delivers electricity and natural gas in the United States and the United Kingdom. In terms of utilities, this industry historically has been very defensive, with high dividends. It currently yields 5.6%. Shares were trading at $29.29, in a 52-week range of $25.30 to $32.46. PPL has a market cap of $21.1 billion.

Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) primarily engages in drilling oil and gas wells for exploration and production companies. The company operates through U.S. Land, Offshore, and International Land segments. Shares were trading at $53.51, in a 52-week range of $44.56 to $75.02. The market cap is $5.8 billion, and the dividend yield is 5.3%.

Kraft-Heinz Co. (NASDAQ: KHC) is one of the larger food and beverage firms in the United States. With a sizeable portfolio of brands, this firm acts as a defensive haven, and it can afford to pay investors a high dividend. Kraft-Heinz boasts a dividend yield of 5.5%. Shares were trading at $45.13, within a 52-week range of $41.60 to $80.67. The market cap is $55.0 billion.

Nielsen Holdings PLC (NYSE: NLSN) operates as an information and measurement company. The company provides media and marketing information, analytics and manufacturer and retailer expertise about what and where consumers buy, read, watch and listen to. Shares were trading at $25.67, in a 52-week range of $20.53 to $39.25. The market cap is $9.1 billion and the dividend yield is 5.5%.

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Williams Companies Inc. (NYSE: WMB) operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It owns and operates multiple natural gas pipeline systems extending throughout North America. The stock currently yields 5.4%. Shares were trading at $25.15, in a 52-week range of $20.36 to $33.67. Its market cap is $30.4 billion.

Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) is another REIT making the list. The firm owns over 1,400 properties in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, including seniors housing communities, medical office buildings, life science and innovation centers, among other properties. Shares were traded at $58.22, in a 52-week range of $46.55 to $65.70. The $20.9 billion market cap is matched by a dividend yield of 5.4%.

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) develops, manufactures and sells data storage devices and solutions worldwide. Of all the companies on this list, this one has seen its stock drop the most, down 54% in the past 52-weeks. It boasts a dividend yield of 5.0%, and shares were trading at $39.79. The 52-week range is $33.83 to $106.96. The market cap is $11.5 billion.

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