The world's greatest investors forged their own paths to achieve success. Warren Buffett used one-time textile manufacturer Berkshire Hathaway as a vehicle to build a huge conglomerate of diversified businesses. Ken Griffin formed hedge fund Citadel and employed multiple investing strategies to make a lot of money.
But these two billionaire investors have some things in common. As a case in point, Buffett and Griffin both own these two high-yield dividend stocks.
Chevron
Chevron(NYSE: CVX) ranks as the fifth-largest position in Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway portfolio. After adding to its stake in the oil and gas giant, Berkshire now owns 6.8% of Chevron.
Griffin's Citadel Advisors Holdings owns many more stocks than Berkshire does. No single position makes up more than 3% of the total portfolio. Chevron is in the group, though, with Citadel owning 3 million shares. Griffin more than doubled Citadel's stake in the oil stock in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Chevron has been a favorite for income investors for years. That's still the case -- and for good reason. Chevron's dividend yield currently stands at nearly 4.3%. The company has increased its dividend for an impressive 37 consecutive years.
Last year, Chevron returned more cash to shareholders via dividends and stock buybacks than in any year in the company's long history. It also produced more oil and natural gas than ever before with over 3.1 million barrels of oil equivalents per day.
Kraft Heinz
Kraft Heinz(NASDAQ: KHC) exists in its current form largely as a result of Buffett's efforts. In 2015, he was involved in the merger of H.J. Heinz Company with Kraft Foods. Today, Kraft Heinz is the seventh-largest position in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio. Berkshire owns 26.8% of the food company.
Griffin isn't nearly as heavily invested in Kraft Heinz but owns a bigger position now than in the past. In Q4, his Citadel hedge fund increased its stake in Kraft Heinz by more than 400%. Citadel's nearly 8 million shares of the food stock was worth almost $295 million at the end of 2023.
Kraft Heinz's dividend yield of close to 4.5% is even juicier than Chevron's. However, the company can't boast about a great track record of dividend hikes. Kraft Heinz slashed its dividend in 2019 and hasn't increased it since then.
In 2023's Q4, Kraft Heinz's net sales fell 7.1% year over year. This decline was partly the result of an extra reporting week in the prior-year period. The food industry did face some headwinds, though, as consumers tightened their purse strings because of higher prices.
Should you own these high-yield dividend stocks, too?
Neither Chevron nor Kraft Heinz will be very appealing to growth investors. However, I think that both of these stocks could be attractive to income and value investors.
Even though Kraft Heinz hasn't increased its dividend in recent years, income investors should like its high yield. Value investors will appreciate that the stock trades at only 11.8 times forward earnings.
As previously mentioned, Chevron's dividend yield is a little lower than Kraft Heinz's yield. But with the company likely to continue increasing its dividend payout, it could end up paying investors greater income over the long run. Like Kraft Heinz, Chevron is attractively valued with a forward-earnings multiple of 11.8.
If I had to choose one of these high-yield dividend stocks, it would be Chevron. My prediction is that oil prices will rise in the not-too-distant future, boosting Chevron's share price. Buffett and Griffin seem to be quite optimistic about Chevron as well, with both billionaire investors increasing their positions in the stock in Q4.
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Keith Speights has positions in Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway and Chevron. The Motley Fool recommends Kraft Heinz. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
