What are we looking for?
Yield and income growth in the U.S. market.
With the S&P 500 yielding only 1.6 per cent, the U.S. index is disappointing for investors looking for income at the moment. On the other hand, we believe it is difficult to completely ignore the U.S. market because of its size and growth potential.
Today, we will look for stocks that are yielding at least 3.2 per cent, double the yield of the S&P 500, and that have demonstrated solid dividend growth in recent years.
The screen
We screened U.S. stocks focusing on the following criteria:
- Market capitalization higher than US$1-billion;
- Dividend yield higher than 3.2 per cent;
- Three-year dividend growth higher than 5 per cent. The threshold may seem low, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced many companies to limit their dividend hikes over the period;
- An Inovestor SP score higher than 65. The score mainly considers risk-adjusted return on capital, earnings-per-share growth and free cash flow per share. The score varies between zero and 100. A score of 65 implies a high-performing company;
- Three-month SP score increase of more than 2 per cent. To achieve 2 per cent, the company would need, for example, a current SP score of at least 51 if it was previously 50;
For informational purposes, we have also included price-earnings ratios, and one-year price return. Please note that some ratios may be shown as of end of previous quarter.
More about Inovestor
Inovestor for Advisors is a fundamental-analysis research platform specializing in the economic value-added approach. With Inovestor, advisers can quickly identify attractive investment opportunities, outsource their stock picking by using model portfolios, and easily communicate investment decisions with clients through client-friendly reports.
What we found
Sabine Royalty Trust SBR-N collects royalties based on oil and gas prices and has the highest dividend yield on our list at 10.2 per cent. It’s also the only one in the past year to have achieved a positive price return – a solid 74.6-per-cent increase.
Non-prime lender OneMain Holdings Inc. OMF-N has an impressive three-year dividend growth of 56.1 per cent, the highest on our list, combined with a solid 8.8-per-cent dividend yield. Moreover, the company’s P/E ratio stands at an attractive 6.4. With high inflation and interest rates, the current environment is challenging for indebted consumers. However, the robust labour market still offers some support and could limit the damage from defaults. The stock jumped 10.6 per cent after their results on Feb. 7.
M.D.C. Holdings Inc., MDC-N a new home construction company, has the highest SP score on our list at 77 and the highest SP score change of 20.3 per cent. As new home construction slows, the market may have overreacted owing to fears of a housing collapse caused by rising interest rates. The current P/E of 4.8 reflects the pessimism and cyclical nature of the industry. The stock rose 1.3 per cent on Jan. 31 after their earnings report.
Investors are advised to do further research before investing in any of the companies listed in the accompanying table.
Anthony Ménard, CFA, is vice-president of data management at Inovestor.
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Anthony Ménard, CFA