45 Dividend-Paying Stocks with Decent Balance Sheets

The recent market turmoil has left scores of dividend-paying companies trading at double-digit dividend yields. While many of those companies are in danger of lowering or eliminating their dividends, there are also some companies that appear capable of maintaining their large dividend payouts.

In the following table, we show the results of a screen for stocks that trade at a high dividend yield, have more cash than debt on their balance sheet and are expected to be profitable both this fiscal year and next. The screen results are sorted by dividend yield, based on the latest quarterly annualized dividend yield.

The screen results include wireless data service provider USA Mobility (Nasdaq: USMO), electronics manufacturer Nam Tai Electronics (NYSE: NTE), sports entertainment company World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE), leveraged buyout management firm Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX), and drug company Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), which recently represented the largest holding of famed value investor Bruce Berkowitz's Fairholme Fund (FAIRX).

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Disclosure: No positions

Comments

[BlueOkie:]

PFE cut dividend in half to buy Wyeth

May 05 09:26 AM

[jwkls:]

as a dividend play i do not agree about NTE since imho the dividend will be reduced or eliminated shortly since earnings will not support one. once the dividend is gone i will consider it as a value play because of the price/bv ratio. there are several other stocks listed which probably have unsustainable payouts-do your own due diligence.

May 05 09:30 AM

[oeagleo:]

A letter on the NTE Website states they will not pay dividends for 2009, so jwkls is correct. However, it may still turn out to be a value play, factoring in the current enchantment with the Chinese economy.

May 05 10:37 AM

[ebschor:]

I consider WWE a nice, safe bond. It's got a stable dividend, but no real capital appreciation. As they move into China, I think this may change. But, in the short-term, it's a nice 13% bond. It looks a bit strange with such a high rate but you must take note that the McMahon family takes a lower dividend payout than the general shareholder. I am personally long WWE.

May 05 10:41 AM

[Living4Divi...:]

You said it so yourself " many of those companies are in danger of lowering or eliminating their dividends " In fact (as others have pointed out) NTE and PFE already have cut their dividends - the yields displayed by the screener are incorrect. As I have said in other posts - making investment decisions based upon the results of a simple stock screen is hazardous to your wealth.

May 05 12:08 PM

[Living4Divi...:]

DGI - I agree with you 100%. PFE had tons of cash and good cash flow. They had plenty of cash in place to pay their dividend for three years. Then they screwed their investors to build their empire in their overpriced acquisition of Wyeth. Studies have shown that acquisitions are a misuse of shareholder money.

I dont trust PFE's CEO either.

On May 05 12:05 PM dividendgrowthinvestor wrote:

> How can anyone trust Pfizers CEO?

May 05 12:11 PM

[8 cows:]

why do you say this?


On May 05 12:05 PM dividendgrowthinvestor wrote:

> How can anyone trust Pfizers CEO?

May 05 07:43 PM

[Lightway:]

High yields are great, but also make sure to do some analysis on the sustainability of the yield itself. Unless it's a REIT, MLP, or particular bond ETF, (which are designed and usually required to pay out big yields) a double-digit yield can often be a warning sign of an impending cut.

This type of screen may be well suited for a dividend capture type strategy, where you pick the stock up, collect the dividend and capital appreciation, and then dump it, moving on to the next stock. Repeat and rinse. For me personally, dividend capture does not match my investing style or personality, but there are a few funds out there that do focus in this area.

May 05 08:45 PM

[Kee:]

I found this on Motley Fool comments. I think the comment is right on:

THE COMPANY IS EVAPORATING. It is poorly managed in a very tough industry. A DISASTER!!!!!

In the past year most of the management has resigned - CEO (Japanese), CFO and acting CFO. The founder Mr. Koo is back and he is so old he will drop dead any day now.

Rev / Workforce is near half of what it was - Ave Quarterly Rev for 2007 was around $200m; 2008 Ave was down to $150m but Q4 was $169M; now Q1 2009 down to $102 which is y-t-y down 31% and sequentially down close to 40%. TCA segment is hit but CECP seems to be evaporating down to $35M revenue which looks to be about half of what it was last quarter. Even the GP% which had gotten to over 14% is now down to 7% and the company is running at a loss. The company has to be hit further on margin when their expansion project - Wuxi comes on and I think the GP% will further deteriorate by 1-2% just for the additional depreciation. Looks like gone are the days of leading the industry in profitability.

WHAT A DISASTER!!!!!

They can't even execute a simple privatization of their HK listing at a significant price premium. It seems that not only did the company pick the wrong process (Tendor Offer (90% acceptance required) versus Scheme of Arrangements (only 75% acceptance required but not more than 10% negative)) but they designed / executed the tendor offer process very poorly. How embarrassing that the company announced that they "do not intend to extend the offer" signed by the chairman and reviewed thoroughly by the board (SFC states that this a clear reason why they did not allow the extension of time to get to the 90%) and now they continue to try to get an extension as per the Q1 '09 announcement.

THIS COMPANY IS DOOMED!!!!!
#
Report this Comment On May 13, 2009, at 11:41 AM, xjohnqx wrote:

Also, the company is attempting to hide in the face of extremely poor business results. There is total lack of transparency. At the end of 2008 the company stopped its quarterly conference calls. It is moving its Annual General Meeting from NY, USA to Vancouver, Canada. There is only one analyst that seems to cover the company. There is no place to ask questions outside of taking a trip to China and demanding an audience with management. The Board should be ashamed. I hope someone launches a class action lawsuit against the company to get some answers.



On May 05 10:37 AM oeagleo wrote:

> A letter on the NTE Website states they will not pay dividends for
> 2009, so jwkls is correct. However, it may still turn out to be a
> value play, factoring in the current enchantment with the Chinese
> economy.

May 13 01:23 PM

[socphd71:]

I'm writing this 3 weeks after the original post; obviously, many things could have changed. I looked up the first 30 stocks listed (those with yields of at least 10%) on Yahoo finance. My personal screen: Eliminate (1) all "royalty trusts," "limited partnerships," etc.; (2) all banks; (3) all stocks for which Yahoo lists a yield of 10% or less as of today; (4) overseas stocks for which Yahoo lists yield as "NA".

I'm left with 4 stocks out of the 30: BX (10.7%); NGPC (11.2%); WWE (12.2%) TICC (14.9%). I'm already long WWE so I have three more companies to research. Not a bad haul.

May 26 07:58 PM