The following list contains the top paying dividend stock for each industry using Edgar’s industry classification. I applied a filter to eliminate any company with a market capitalization below $500 million. While this is a somewhat arbitrary level, the goal is to avoid small capitalization stocks. It should also be noted that a few industries did not have any companies that paid dividends. This included jewelry and photography.
Dividends ranged from a low of 0% for jewelry (0.4% for textiles) to highs of over 15% for real estate operations or REITs.
| Ticker | Name | Industry | Market Cap ($ Millions) | Dividend Yield |
| HHS | Harte-Hanks, Inc. | Advertising | 529 | 3.9% |
| LMT | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Aerospace & Defense | 28,301 | 3.7% |
| CZZ | Cosan Limited | Agriculture Crops | 2,160 | 2.1% |
| UPS | United Parcel Service, Inc. | Air Courriers | 72,763 | 2.8% |
| RYAAY | Ryanair Holdings plc | Airlines | 8,539 | 12.2% |
| TAP | Molson Coors Brewing Company | Alcoholic Beverages | 7,423 | 2.8% |
| VFC | V.F. Corporation | Apparel | 12,154 | 2.3% |
| ELUXY.PK | Elextrolux | Appliance & Tools | 7,657 | 3.5% |
| PHG | Koninklijke Philips Electronics, N.V. | Audio Video Equipment | 24,073 | 3.4% |
| Volvo | Auto & Truck Manufacturing | 35,736 | 2.0% | |
| GPC | Genuine Parts Company | Auto & Truck Parts | 8,744 | 3.2% |
| AZN | Astrazeneca PLC | Biotechnology & Drugs | 71,973 | 7.2% |
| SJR | Shaw Communications Inc. | Broadcasting & Cable TV | 9,410 | 4.0% |
| CODI | Compass Diversified Holdings | Business Services | 775 | 8.7% |
| THO | Thor Industries, Inc. | Campers & RV Vehicles | 1,613 | 1.4% |
| ASCA | Ameristar Casinos, Inc. | Casino & Gaming | 770 | 1.8% |
| TNH | Terra Nitrogen Company, L.P. | Chemical Manufacturing | 2,564 | 14.0% |
| SHLM | A. Schulman, Inc. | Chemicals: Plastics & Rubber | 787 | 2.4% |
| PVR | Penn Virginia Resource Partners LP | Coal Mining | 1,913 | 7.1% |
| NOK | Nokia Corporation | Communications Equipment | 23,668 | 6.5% |
| PT | Portugal Telecom SGPS, S.A . | Communications Services | 8,540 | 17.7% |
| HPQ | Hewlett-Packard Company | Computer Hardware | 75,644 | 1.3% |
| JKHY | Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. | Computer Networking Equipment | 2,633 | 1.4% |
| CAJ | Canon, Inc. | Computer Peripherals | 58,598 | 3.0% |
| ELNK | EarthLink, Inc. | Computer Services | 860 | 2.6% |
| STX | Seagate Technology. | Computer Storage Devices | 6,967 | 4.4% |
| TYC | Tyco International, Ltd. (Switzerland) | Conglomerate | 23,302 | 2.0% |
| VMC | Vulcan Materials Company | Construction - Raw Materials | 5,107 | 2.5% |
| MAS | Masco Corporation | Construction - Supplies & Fixtures | 4,394 | 2.4% |
| DE | Deere & Company | Construction & Agricultural Equipment | 35,608 | 1.9% |
| MDC | M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. | Construction Services | 1,196 | 4.0% |
| GE | General Electric Company | Consumer Financial Services | 201,928 | 3.2% |
| IP | International Paper Company | Containers & Packaging | 13,061 | 3.5% |
| AT | Atlantic Power Corporation | Electric Utilities | 1,060 | 7.1% |
| MOLX | Molex Incorporated | Electronic Instruments & Control | 4,576 | 3.1% |
| CSL | Carlisle Companies Incorporated | Fabricated: Plastics & Rubber | 3,035 | 1.4% |
| CALM | Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. | Fish & Livestock | 775 | 5.8% |
| BGS | B&G Foods Holdings Corp. | Food Manufacturing | 1,014 | 4.0% |
| NKE | Nike, Inc. | Footware | 43,497 | 1.4% |
| WY | Weyerhaeuser Company | Forestry & Wood Products | 11,930 | 2.7% |
| LEG | Leggett & Platt, Incorporated | Furniture & Fixtures | 3,538 | 4.4% |
| NEM | Newmont Mining Corporation (Holding Company) | Gold and Silver Mining | 26,819 | 1.5% |
| VIVO | Meridian Bioscience Inc. | Health Equipment | 1,011 | 3.1% |
| NHC | National HealthCare Corporation | Healthcare Facilities | 673 | 2.5% |
| IHG | Intercontinental Hotels Group | Hotels & Motels | 6,145 | 2.2% |
| AFL | Aflac Incorporated | Insurance (Accident & Health) | 21,725 | 2.6% |
| SLF | Sun Life Financial Incorporated | Insurance (Life) | 17,641 | 4.7% |
| AJG | Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. | Insurance (Miscellaneous) | 3,198 | 4.6% |
| OB | OneBeacon Insurance Group, Ltd. | Insurance (Property) | 1,242 | 6.4% |
| BBEP | BreitBurn Energy Partners, L.P. | Integrated Oil | 1,165 | 8.5% |
| PVD | Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones-Provida, S.A. | Investment Services | 1,598 | 7.2% |
| TX | Ternium S.A. | Iron & Steel | 6,112 | 4.9% |
| GSK | GlaxoSmithKline PLC | Major Drugs | 111,656 | 4.9% |
| SCCO | Southern Peru Copper Corporation | Metals | 27,804 | 6.9% |
| WSO | Watsco, Inc. | Miscellaneous Capital Goods | 2,235 | 3.4% |
| SJT | San Juan Basin Royalty Trust | Miscellaneous Financial Services | 1,136 | 6.1% |
| PAC | Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico, S.A. de C.V. | Miscellaneous Transportation | 1,954 | 5.5% |
| NKA | Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC | Natural Gas | 575 | 8.2% |
| DPS | Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc | Non-alcoholic Beverages | 9,461 | 3.0% |
| CMP | Compass Minerals Intl Inc | Non-metallic mining | 2,853 | 2.1% |
| XRX | Xerox Corporation | Office Equipment | 14,811 | 1.6% |
| DLX | Deluxe Corporation | Office Supplies | 1,337 | 3.9% |
| ENP | Encore Energy Partners LP | Oil Production | 987 | 9.0% |
| TLP | Transmontaigne Partners L.P. | Oil Well Services & Equipment | 509 | 6.9% |
| SEOAY.PK | STORA ENSO CORP | Paper and Pulp | 8,239 | 2.7% |
| KMB | Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Personal & Household Products | 26,134 | 4.2% |
| STON | StoneMor Partners L.P. | Personal Services | 543 | 8.3% |
| RRD | R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company | Printing | 4,156 | 5.2% |
| SID | National Steel Corporation | Product Fabrication | 18,370 | 5.1% |
| TRI | Thomson Reuters Corp | Publishing | 31,240 | 3.3% |
| GSH | Guangshen Railway Company Limited | Railroads | 3,000 | 2.9% |
| ARR | Armour Residential | Real Estate Operations | 520 | 19.2% |
| TRK | Speedway Motorsports, Inc. | Recreational Activities | 599 | 2.8% |
| MAT | Mattel, Inc. | Recreational Products | 9,701 | 3.3% |
| TAL | TAL International Group, Inc. | Rental & Leasing | 1,164 | 5.7% |
| MCD | McDonald's Corporation | Restaurants | 88,858 | 2.9% |
| AEO | American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. | Retail (Apparel) | 2,516 | 3.4% |
| WMT | Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. | Retail (Department) | 185,400 | 2.7% |
| WAG | Walgreen Company | Retail (Drug Stores) | 39,118 | 1.6% |
| HD | Home Depot, Inc. (The) | Retail (Furnishings) | 58,260 | 2.7% |
| SVU | SuperValu Inc. | Retail (Grocery) | 1,994 | 3.7% |
| UNTD | United Online, Inc. | Retail (Specialty) | 554 | 6.4% |
| BBY | Best Buy Co., Inc. | Retail (Technology) | 12,532 | 1.9% |
| STRA | Strayer Education, Inc. | Schools | 1,606 | 3.1% |
| LDR | Landauer, Inc. | Scientific Instruments | 593 | 3.5% |
| DBD | Diebold, Incorporated | Security Services and Products | 2,068 | 3.5% |
| TSM | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited | Semiconductors | 65,915 | 6.2% |
| MSFT | Microsoft Corporation | Software & Programming | 219,505 | 2.5% |
| IFSIA | Interface, Inc. | Textiles - non apparel | 1,301 | 0.4% |
| CTB | Cooper Tire & Rubber Company | Tires | 1,225 | 2.1% |
| MO | Altria Group | Tobacco | 55,684 | 5.7% |
| KNX | Knight Transportation, Inc. | Trucking | 1,429 | 1.4% |
| WM | Waste Management, Inc. | Waste Management Services | 17,839 | 3.6% |
| NMM | Navios Maritime Partners LP | Water Transportation | 854 | 9.3% |
| CWT | California Water Service Group Holding | Water Utilites | 780 | 3.3% |
Source: Data provided by Zacks.com services and downloaded on July 6, 2011. Classifications provided by EDGAR Online’s I-Metrix Professional, XBRL-enabled application
This list is a good starting place for an investor looking to diversify across different industries while obtaining a good dividend yield. However, it is important to recognize that this is simply a yield chasing list.
The comparison of stocks to MLPs is not valid since MLPs carry different tax implications. Furthermore, any foreign stocks that appear on this list might have tax withholding implications that could impact their effective after tax yield. It should also be noted that many foreign companies pay irregular dividends.
Zacks.com uses an annualized calculation (as opposed to a trailing twelve months) based upon the most recent dividend which causes distortion for some companies. Southern Peru Copper Corp. (SCCO) is one such example - the trailing twelve month calculation is around 6.1% which is still quite impressive. However, the stock is down substantially from the beginning of the year.
The other challenge with a list like this is that it does not comment on the sustainability of the dividend. For example, Nokia (NOK) has a surging dividend yield due to a rapidly declining stock price. Will NOK be able to sustain its dividend despite a challenging marketplace for its products?
In order to help provide some perspective, the following table shows each ticker with its recent closing price as well as the 52 week highs and lows. A stock trading near the 52 week low and far from the 52 week high might be posting a high dividend yield based on historical results that will not be repeated and are already reflected in the stock's price.
52 Week Trading Range
Source: Data provided by Zacks.com services and downloaded on July 6, 2011 Ticker Recent Price (July 5, 2011) Low High % Recent from Low % Percent from low relative to high HHS 8.30 7.62 13.56 8% 11% LMT 80.97 68.04 82.27 16% 91% CZZ 12.39 9.85 14.57 21% 54% UPS 73.78 56.76 76.47 23% 86% RYAAY 28.66 26.58 33.09 7% 32% TAP 45.06 42.18 50.93 6% 33% VFC 111.10 69.91 111.41 37% 99% ELUXY 49.57 38.51 58.65 22% 55% PHG 25.41 23.36 33.90 8% 19% VOLVY 17.63 11.02 19.64 37% 77% GPC 55.58 39.44 55.90 29% 98% AZN 51.08 45.40 53.50 11% 70% SJR 22.82 18.42 22.97 19% 97% CODI 16.59 13.13 18.50 21% 64% THO 28.89 23.24 37.71 20% 39% ASCA 23.91 13.77 23.91 42% 100% TNH 138.60 67.80 141.88 51% 96% SHLM 25.51 17.05 25.57 33% 99% PVR 26.95 20.89 29.00 22% 75% NOK 6.32 5.85 11.73 7% 8% PT 9.75 9.53 15.24 2% 4% HPQ 36.47 34.26 48.99 6% 15% JKHY 30.50 23.48 33.99 23% 67% CAJ 47.70 37.17 52.26 22% 70% ELNK 7.82 7.41 9.27 5% 22% STX 16.20 10.14 18.22 37% 75% TYC 49.69 34.43 52.33 31% 85% VMC 39.56 35.70 47.38 10% 33% MAS 12.27 10.05 14.77 18% 47% DE 84.84 54.50 99.24 36% 68% MDC 25.29 24.18 31.80 4% 15% GE 19.04 13.88 21.52 27% 68% IP 29.87 19.88 32.86 33% 77% AT 15.47 12.43 15.85 20% 89% MOLX 26.00 17.65 28.22 32% 79% CSL 49.58 28.05 50.55 43% 96% CALM 32.48 26.74 33.93 18% 80% BGS 21.16 10.32 21.17 51% 100% NKE 91.74 67.21 92.30 27% 98% WY 22.15 6.70 25.20 70% 84% LEG 24.76 19.01 26.37 23% 78% NEM 54.37 50.39 64.94 7% 27% VIVO 24.66 16.79 24.71 32% 99% NHC 48.64 33.78 49.57 31% 94% IHG 21.17 15.24 23.28 28% 74% AFL 46.45 43.12 59.28 7% 21% SLF 30.51 22.77 34.42 25% 66% AJG 28.65 24.29 31.62 15% 59% OB 13.15 12.63 16.26 4% 14% BBEP 19.73 14.45 23.07 27% 61% PVD 72.35 42.27 86.91 42% 67% TX 30.49 28.46 43.26 7% 14% GSK 43.26 33.78 43.74 22% 95% SCCO 32.71 26.44 49.59 19% 27% WSO 67.89 51.35 72.76 24% 77% SJT 24.38 21.48 27.67 12% 47% PAC 40.97 28.18 42.72 31% 88% WWE 9.64 9.13 16.55 5% 7% NKA 17.02 16.25 22.09 5% 13% DPS 42.74 33.73 42.74 21% 100% CMP 86.80 70.68 97.61 19% 60% XRX 10.57 7.91 12.01 25% 65% DLX 26.00 16.73 28.12 36% 81% ENP 21.69 17.04 25.29 21% 56% TLP 35.22 29.78 40.00 15% 53% SEOAY 10.57 7.24 12.48 32% 64% KMB 66.52 60.19 68.43 10% 77% STON 28.10 20.39 33.20 27% 60% RRD 20.03 14.96 21.34 25% 79% SID 12.60 11.81 18.33 6% 12% TRI 37.37 34.03 41.95 9% 42% GSH 21.13 16.76 22.26 21% 79% ARR 7.50 6.12 8.08 18% 70% TRK 14.40 12.93 16.48 10% 41% MAT 27.91 20.66 27.99 26% 99% TAL 34.87 21.14 38.29 39% 80% MCD 85.64 66.11 85.65 23% 100% AEO 12.91 11.79 17.36 9% 20% WMT 53.39 48.00 57.57 10% 56% WAG 42.73 26.36 45.18 38% 87% HD 36.59 27.07 38.48 26% 83% SVU 9.40 7.23 12.40 23% 42% UNTD 6.25 4.82 7.46 23% 54% BBY 32.24 28.15 44.86 13% 24% STRA 131.17 116.20 239.51 11% 12% LDR 62.98 55.42 68.74 12% 57% DBD 31.67 25.94 36.94 18% 52% TSM 12.72 9.40 13.88 26% 74% MSFT 26.03 23.27 28.87 11% 49% IFSIA 19.88 10.50 19.88 47% 100% CTB 19.72 16.19 26.98 18% 33% MO 26.60 20.31 28.06 24% 81% KNX 17.12 15.85 22.18 7% 20% WM 37.62 31.73 39.61 16% 75% NMM 18.41 15.23 21.38 17% 52% CWT 18.67 17.03 19.19 9% 76%
The above chart shows that approximately one third of the listed stocks are trading within 15% of their 52 week low. Furthermore, in several cases, the stock is substantially off of its 52 week high. For example, Strayer Education (STRA) is almost down 50% from its high.
I also looked at the relative distance of the stock from the 52 week low and the 52 week high. In this case, the smaller the number, the closer to the low (with a value of 0% for a stock at the 52 week low) and the higher the number the closer to the 52 week high.
Conclusion
Chasing dividend yields can prove to be challenging and requires additional work than just looking for a high yield. Mathematically, yield is simply some accounting for the dividend divided by price. A yield might be climbing simply because the stock price is falling.
The above lists also show that many of the industry dividend leaders are very common stocks including Nike (NKE), Wal-Mart (WMT) and McDonald's (MCD). These companies represent well known brands with consistent track records and market leading positions.
Disclosure: I am long GSK.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and shall not be construed to constitute investment advice. Nothing contained herein shall constitute a solicitation, recommendation or endorsement to buy or sell any security.
