Top 10 High Yield Dividend Aristocrats by Yield

The S&P 500 High Yield Dividend Aristocrats are the 50 highest dividend-yielding stocks in the S&P Composite 1500 that have consistently increased dividends every year for at least 25 consecutive years. Many of the companies have above average dividend yields, price appreciation and dividend growth.

The top ten performing High Yield Dividend Aristocrats as measured by the average dividend yield for the last day of years 1997 and 2007 are listed in the following table.

Top 10 High Yield Dividend Aristocrats by Dividend Yield
Stock	Symbol	Total Return Annualized	Price Appreciation Annualized	Dividend Yield	Dividend Growth Annualized
Integrys Energy Group	TEG	14.20%	7.29%	6.91%	-1.94%
Consolidated Edison	ED	11.38%	4.57%	6.81%	-1.55%
Synovus Financial	SNV	6.73%	1.15%	5.58%	10.22%
WGL Holdings	WGL	7.75%	2.62%	5.13%	-1.00%
KeyCorp	KEY	3.41%	-1.66%	5.07%	3.01%
Vectren	VVC	8.73%	3.70%	5.03%	1.23%
Northwest Natural Gas	NWN	12.82%	7.88%	4.93%	-0.77%
Black Hills	BKH	14.01%	9.10%	4.91%	1.14%
American States Water	AWR	14.35%	9.51%	4.83%	-1.15%
Piedmont National Gas	PNY	11.36%	6.60%	4.76%	2.41%
Notes: For complete tables of Dividend Aristocrats data used in this analysis, see the working spreadsheet. All returns are annualized using the close for the last trading day of 1997 and 2007. The dividend yield is the average of the yield for the last day of 1997 and 2007. All 10-year annualized returns and dividend yields have been adjusted for inflation so they represent real values.

To no surprise, all ten companies are in the financial services or utilities (electric, natural gas or water utilities) sectors.

The dividend growth performance for the group is spotty with one-half of the stocks reporting negative real dividend growth from 1997 to 2007. However, total returns are excellent with the exception of KeyCorp, which is at only 3.41 percent.

These stocks are excellent candidates for a long-term dividend reinvestment portfolio.

Related Articles:

Dividend Aristocrats Can Soften the Blow of a Down Market
Dividend Aristocrats - A Few Truly Great Stocks
High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Offer Hefty Total Returns

Posted March 10, 2008.

Top 10 High Yield Dividend Aristocrats by Yield

Top 10 High Yield Dividend Aristocrats by Yield