Highest-Paying Dividend Stocks in the S&P 500

Nearly 75% of the stocks in the S&P 500 pay a dividend, and the dividend for many of them exceeds the yield on U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds (currently around 3.3%).

However, screening for the highest-paying dividend stocks in the S&P 500 reveals some even more impressive yields. In fact, several of these high-dividend stocks in the S&P 500 currently yield over 5%. And the top 10 highest-paying dividend stocks all yield above 7%.

Higher yields come with higher risks, though. Many of these stocks’ yields are so high because they’re struggling, and some may end up slashing their dividends. For example, depending on the screener you use, you may find First Republic (FRC) with a dividend yield of +30% as the highest-paying dividend stock of the S&P 500, but that company is no longer an S&P 500 constituent due to recent rebalancing following that bank’s failure. Read on to see which yields are still safe, and which you should stay away from.

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From highest yield (11.17%) to lowest yield (7.42%), here are the 10 highest-paying dividend stocks in the S&P 500 today:

The 10 Highest-Paying Dividend Stocks in the S&P 500

Here’s a closer look at each one of the top 10 highest-paying dividend stocks.

1. Pioneer Resources (PXD)

Dividend Yield 11.17%

Pioneer Resources is a Texas-based oil explorer that primarily operates in the Permian Basin, of which it is the largest acreage holder. Like most explorers last year, a combination of CapEx controls and windfall oil prices led to a surge in cash flow, which Pioneer returned to shareholders via $26 of dividends and big share buybacks (Management estimates a 12% “return yield” when including the effects of buybacks). The company also anticipates that its high-return locations and horizontal well-efficiency growth can sustain its development program for decades to come.

2. Coterra Energy (CTRA)

Dividend Yield 10.37%

Like Pioneer above, Coterra is a Texas-based explorer with operations in the Permian Basin, Marcellus Shale and Anadarko Basin. And, much like Pioneer, the company has kept capital expenditures in check allowing it to return 74% of third-quarter cash flow to shareholders in the form of a fixed plus variable dividend and stock buybacks. The company’s 80-cent fixed dividend represents a yield of only 3.2%, however excess cash flows in 2022 allowed them to return a total of $2.49 per share to investors, hence the elevated yield.

3. Devon Energy (DVN)

Dividend Yield 10.32%

Devon Energy is yet another energy explorer returning record cash flows to shareholders via a fixed plus variable dividend. The company generated $6 billion of free cash flow in 2022 alone and raised its dividend 11% in the fourth quarter. The firm has operations throughout the west but the bulk of its production is from the Delaware Basin. Like the other explorers, Devon is prioritizing lower costs and is actively hunting for bolt-on acquisitions that would bring immediate value to shareholders.

4. Newell Brands (NWL)

Dividend Yield 9.19%

Newell Brands (formerly Newell Rubbermaid) is a consumer goods company whose portfolio of brands includes Rubbermaid, Coleman, Sunbeam, Oster, Papermate and Yankee Candle among others. As with retailers and other consumer goods companies, Newell is struggling with a slowdown in consumer spending (or, at the least, a post-pandemic pivot in that spending from goods to services), reporting a 24% YOY decline in Q1 net sales. The results were at the low end of guidance, but the company reaffirmed full-year expectations of $8.4 to $8.6 billion.

5. Lincoln National (LNC)

Dividend Yield 8.78%

Lincoln National is a Fortune 200 American holding company, which operates multiple insurance and investment management businesses through subsidiary companies under the name Lincoln Financial Group. The company has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years, but a significant one-time loss in 2022 has dragged shares 70% lower to prices not seen since the pandemic sell-off. The company believes those concerns are behind it now and i guiding for a return to growth in the coming years.

6. KeyCorp (KEY)

Dividend Yield 8.60%

Based in Cleveland, Ohio, KeyCorp brands itself as one of the nation’s largest “bank-based financial services companies,” with $190 billion in assets (as of year-end 2022) and operations in 15 states. Unlike many smaller banks, KeyCorp actually reported deposit inflows in the first quarter of 2023, insulating it somewhat from the financial sector worries, but the bank expects rising deposit costs to drag down its net interest income by 1% - 3% this year. The company anticipates deposit stickiness due to its high percentage of business clients that use Key as their primary bank, but as we’ve seen in the past few months, there is still a lot of uncertainty here.

7. Altria (MO)

Dividend Yield 8.08%

Altria is well known as one of the world’s biggest producers of tobacco and other smoking-related products. The company is equally well known as being one of the most persistent high-dividend payers among U.S.-based, blue-chip companies, with a current annual dividend of $3.76 per share (this was raised from $3.60 per share in the second half of 2022). Indeed, Altria’s dividend payouts have nearly tripled in the last 10 years. And while some investors are concerned that Altria’s cigarette and tobacco business likely faces headwinds from consumers’ shifting preferences, its investments in increasingly popular vaping and cannabis products should ensure the company’s revenue growth going forward.

8. Comerica (CMA)

Dividend Yield 7.98%

This Dallas-based bank operates primarily in Texas, Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan but also has operations in 14 of the 15 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. as well as Canada and Mexico. The company increased its dividend in the first quarter by 4%, to $0.71 per share, which reflects their “record earnings, strong capital position and future growth potential,” said Curt Farmer, Comerica Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We view our competitive dividend yield as an important part of our value proposition for shareholders.” Like the other regional banks on this list, shares have taken a major hit (down 60%) in the last year due to broader concerns surrounding financial stocks.

9. Boston Property Group (BXP)

Dividend Yield 7.80%

Boston Properties, Inc. is a real estate investment trust that invests in premier workplaces in Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. The company boasts 194 properties totaling over 54 million square feet and prioritizes “premier” workplaces due to their more favorable vacancy rates. Even so, the company is guiding for a lower lease rate in 2023 due to the uneven recovery in commercial real estate as America resists heading back into the office. The dividend has remained stable for the last several years, but higher debt servicing costs and some near-term maturities present a drain on liquidity that could force the company to make cuts.

10. Diamondback Energy (FANG)

Dividend Yield 7.42%

Diamondback is an independent oil and natural gas company headquartered in Midland, Texas focused on the acquisition, development, exploration and exploitation of unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin in West Texas. In Q1, the company returned $2.64/share to shareholders through a combination of their base $0.80 (up 14% YOY) quarterly dividend and a variable dividend ($0.03) and buybacks. For 2023, the company expects to generate $3 billion of free cash flow at ~$75/bbl. oil and return $2.2 billion of that to shareholders through the increasingly popular fixed + variable payout. Even at $70/bbl. oil, Diamondback projects that it would offer a “return yield” (fixed + variable dividends and buybacks) above 7%.

There you have it: those are the 10 highest-paying dividend stocks in the S&P 500 today. If you want the best dividend stocks right now regardless of yield, I highly recommend subscribing to our Cabot Dividend Investor advisory, where chief analyst Tom Hutchinson has a portfolio full of dividend-paying stocks that offer generous yields and strong share price growth.

To learn more, click here.

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*This post has been updated from an original version, published in 2018.