The 25 Top Yielding Dividend Stocks

Dividend investing is popular again. Investors have taken to heart Jeremy Siegel's studies, which show that higher-yielding stocks tend to offer greater returns over time than low- or no-yield stocks.

The top-paying dividend stocks can be very tantalizing. So long as a stock yielding 15% doesn't lose value, you'll make 15% in one year! In more cases than not, however, an astronomical yield is a bad sign for a stock. Since dividend yields and stock prices move in opposite directions, a high yield usually means investors have begun to worry about the business and driven down its stock price.

However, certain types of companies, such as REITs, have to pay out most of their income as dividends, so their yields will be higher than "normal." Dividends are not guaranteed; you need to make sure that a business is generating enough cash to pay its dividend, or your investment could be disastrous.

I ran a screen for the highest-paying regular dividend stocks; the only limitations I've set this time is that the dividend stocks must have a market cap greater than $500 million, must be primarily listed in the U.S. (no American depositary receipts), and must be corporations (no REITs , BDCs , LPs, MLPs, or LLCs).

Here are the 25 highest-yielding stocks the screen produced:

Rank

Company Name

Dividend Yield

Market Cap (Millions)

1	Windstream (NASDAQ: WIN  )	12.40%	$4,810.3
2	Vector Group	9.34%	$1,538.2
3	Ship Finance International (NYSE: SFL  )	9.31%	$1,563.0
4	Frontier Communications (NASDAQ: FTR  )	8.66%	$4,617.9
5	National Presto Industries	8.46%	$530.3
6	Consolidated Communications	8.14%	$763.3
7	Nordic American Tankers	7.96%	$596.3
8	Home Loan Servicing Solutions	7.74%	$1,651.9
9	CenturyLink	7.13%	$17,909.5
10	Werner Enterprises	7.06%	$1,745.6
11	FirstEnergy	6.75%	$13,625.9
12	First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ: FFBC  )	6.63%	$929.9
13	HollyFrontier	6.51%	$9,770.6
14	Costamare	6.35%	$1,273.1
15	New York Community Bancorp	6.05%	$7,292.0
16	Denbury Resources	5.97%	$6,233.6
17	PDL BioPharma	5.94%	$1,414.5
18	Oritani Financial	5.91%	$734.1
19	Seaspan (NYSE: SSW  )	5.86%	$1,458.4
20	Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE: DO  )	5.84%	$8,331.0
21	Pepco Holdings (NYSE: POM  )	5.70%	$4,735.4
22	Anixter International	5.64%	$2,887.4
23	R.R. Donnelley & Sons	5.55%	$3,403.2
24	Entergy (NYSE: ETR  )	5.33%	$11,105.7
25	OneBeacon Insurance Group	5.33%	$1,503.6

Source: S&P Capital IQ as of Dec. 3, 2013.

Note that these stocks are a good place to start your research, but they're not formal recommendations.

I covered Windstream in October. Nothing has changed about the company's debt situation. As I wrote then, "Investing in Windstream looks like picking up quarters in front of a steamroller; sooner or later you're going to get crushed." I would still pass on the stock.

I covered Ship Finance International last month and concluded:

Warren Buffett has made billions jumping over one-foot hurdles. Ship Finance International is certainly not a one-foot hurdle. There are easier-to-understand businesses out there [for which] you can wrap your head around the margin of safety, or lack thereof. I'd pass.

Vector Group has an interesting assortment of assets that I covered in June, including the fourth-largest cigarette manufacturer, multiple real estate holdings, and a 50% stake in the largest residential real estate broker in New York. The company pays out well over 100% of its free cash flow by issuing debt and convertible debt. I'd pass on the company and look instead at Lorillard or my perennial favorite and longtime holding Phillip Morris International.

Foolish bottom line
Remember, these seemingly irresistible yields could be ticking time bombs, so do your own due diligence. Also make sure you diversify your picks across various sectors. As investors relearn every decade or so, you never want to put all your eggs in one basket -- no matter how tempting the dividends are.

Let us help you on your dividend hunt
Dividend stocks can make you rich. It's as simple as that. While they don't garner the notability of high-flying growth stocks, they're also less likely to crash and burn. And over the long term, the compounding effect of the quarterly payouts, as well as their growth, adds up faster than most investors imagine. With this in mind, our analysts sat down to identify the absolute best of the best when it comes to rock-solid dividend stocks, drawing up a list in this free report of nine that fit the bill. To discover the identities of these companies before the rest of the market catches on, you can download this valuable free report by simply clicking here now.

On the Job: Bosses want your friends to keep yo…

Stress can mean different things to different people, but the American worker clearly has plenty.

Consider:

• Interruptions ruin our day. A survey by AtTask finds that 37% of workers say interruptions lead to "work hell."

• We work too much. Some 57% of workers put in more than 40 hours a week while 8% work more than 60 hours a week, the AtTask survey finds.

COLUMN: Do corporate wellness programs work?
STORY: Companies help workers get healthy

• Financial worries abound. "High" or "overwhelming" is how 19% of those surveyed by Financial Finesse describe their financial stress in the third quarter of this year, compared to 13% for the same time last year. 43% worry how the U.S. economy and the stock market will affect their financial future.

• We don't take enough downtime. A recent Expedia survey finds that while the average American worker gets 14 days of vacation time a year, they take only 10. That's two more unused vacation days than the previous year, Expedia reports.

"No one retires wishing they'd spent more time at their desk," says John Morrey, vice president and general manager of Expedia. "There are countless reasons that vacation days go unused — failure to plan, worry, forgetfulness, you name it."

Companies are beginning to become concerned with the workers who don't take better care of themselves. Stress increases health risks, unhealthy workers are less productive and engaged, and they drive up health-care costs, experts say.

Many workers know they need to take better care of themselves but find it difficult to start living healthier or maintaining healthy habits.

That's why more employers are encouraging healthier behavior. Workers aren't taking the necessary steps.

That can mean employers take the "carrot" approach and provide cash incentives for employees achieving certain health goals. Or, employers may adopt a "stick" approach, punishing workers with higher insurance deductibles if they are overweight or smo! ke.

Employers are using a carrot approach to workers' health -- and it doesn't just involve eating them.(Photo: Getty Images)

Other employers are looking for ways to encourage not just employees to become healthier but also their workers' families and network of friends. Wellness experts say an employee can become healthier more easily if his family also eats the right food or friends agree to exercise, too.

One program that takes this social approach to health is Keas, an employer health and engagement company.

Josh Stevens, Keas chief executive, says that his company offers a Facebook-like program that allows workers, their friends and families to communicate online about their exercise and diet. He contends that this socialization is key to driving good health since most workers already are operating under information overload and don't want to be inundated with health information from their employer.

But if a friend or family member talks about a fun way to exercise or brags about losing weight by eating healthier, that can help spur the employee into also adopting better habits, he says.

Many workplaces don't like workers using Facebook on the job, but the truth is that many employees rely on this connection to help them relieve the stress of their day. So, taking a "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" approach, he says employers can let workers enjoy the social aspect of online connections and learn ways to become healthier.

Workers are aware that they need to be healthier, and may be looking for the approach that works for them, Stevens says. His company's recent survey found that 86% of those surveyed believe that exercise boosts happiness.

As more employers understand that healthier emplo! yees help! drive bottom-line results, Stevens believes that more help will become available for workers who want to reduce stress and become healthier.

"In the past, employers looked at (wellness programs) as a sort of 'me too' program" and something they offered because the competition offered it, he says. "Now they see it as a strategic benefit."

Making healthy habits fun is what employers want for their workers.(Photo: Stewart Cohen, Getty Images)

Anita Bruzzese is author of 45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy ... and How to Avoid Them, www.45things.com. Twitter: @AnitaBruzzese.