Top 10 Global Dividend Stocks for March

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Investors looking to diversify their income-generating portfolio should have a look at 10 global stocks that look attractive in the current market based on their respective dividend scores.

These came up on Fintel’s Dividend Yield and Quality Leaderboard. Using a combination of current dividend yield and dividend growth, the leaderboard generates a score that ranks companies from 0 to 100, with 100 being the most desirable. The formula also incorporates the dividend payout ratio in the calculation.

As well, income-seeking investors are finding that the Fintel’s new Dividend Capture Strategy tool provides a real-time look at upcoming payouts and generates a handy list of the best capture candidates. The tool highlights stocks with upcoming dividends filtered by date which can facilitate  buy, collect and sell opportunities in US equity markets.

From a geographical perspective, the list features a few European stocks but is dominated currently by Asian stocks from Singapore, India, Hong Kong and Australia.

On a sector view, freight and resources companies continue to dominate the list with tailwinds that were driven by the pandemic.

Malaysian-based management consulting company Axington Inc (SG:42U) currently holds the highest spot on the leaderboard with a dividend score of 99.576.

The company currently has a negative cash from operations payout ratio of 16.84 but is paying a 39.74% dividend yield after paying out a significant entitlement of 13.93 cents in August 2022. Axington is currently suspended from trading on the SGX until it acquires a new revenue generating business and reported a cash balance of $1.07 million at the end of January.

Indian multinational mining company Vedanta Ltd (IN:VEDL) has the second-highest dividend score of 99.45. The company currently offers a 29.1% dividend yield which has ticked up this year as shares have fallen 24.7%.

Vedanta is screened highly on the list not only for its significant yield but also due to the high three-year dividend growth rate of 19.8%. The company reported third quarter results at the end of January with sales flat over the year at Rs 33,691 crore ($4.12 billion). Vedanta also declared an interim dividend of Rs 12.50 per share.

German-listed investment bank mwb fairtrade Wertpapierhandelsbank AG (DE:MWB) has the third-highest dividend score of 99.41 based on a dividend yield of 26.02%. Fairtrade offers a strong dividend yield after the share price dropped by 55% over the last year and also the 27% dividend growth rate on a three-year view.

Singapore-based firm Samudera Shipping Line Ltd (SG:S56) is still among the top 10 but has fallen three notches to the fourth spot with a dividend score of 99.32.

The Greek-based shipping company Star Bulk Carriers Corp (US:SBLK) is fifth on the leaderboard with a dividend score of 99.25. Star Bulk has a running yield of 22.25% based on the $5.10 per share in dividends that have been paid over the last year. The company has a three-year growth rate of 24.5% with the yield being also aided by a 23.6% share price decline fueled by a shipping industry cooling down from significant pandemic-led volumes.

Last month the company reported fourth-quarter results with voyage revenues falling from $500 million in 2021 to $295 million in 2022. For the full year, sales were broadly flat around $1.4 billion. The company still declared a 60-cent quarterly dividend with the results.

German marine surface protection solutions company Muehlhan AG (DE:M4N) is at number six on the list with a 99.19 score. The 50 million euro ($52.7 million) small cap company has a 6.5% three-year dividend growth rate which has boosted the yield to 30%.

China Hanking Holdings (HK:3788) features again on the list, in seventh place, with a score of 99.10 after falling three spots since the beginning of the year. The Chinese iron ore and nickel miner has a 23.4% dividend yield with a three-year dividend growth rate of 6.5%.

Morgan Stanley’s listed India Investment Fund (US:IIF) has the eighth-highest score of 99.07 with a dividend yield of 19.7%. The distributions paid by the fund have a three-year growth rate of 142% as the fund paid out around $5 per share to holders in December.

French IT and digital transformation company Sword Group (FR:SWP)  has the ninth-highest score of 98.92 with a three-year dividend growth rate of 7.3%. The company is currently yielding 21.2% to inventors after paying a 10 euro per share dividend in 2022.

Rounding out the top 10 dividend scorers is Australian coal miner Terracom Ltd (AU:TER) with a 98.75 dividend score. The coal miner benefitted from skyrocketing energy prices in 2022 as a result of the Ukraine and has a cash from operations payout ratio of 0.26 equating to a 19.7% dividend yield. The stock has a three-year dividend growth rate of 6.5%.

This article originally appeared on Fintel

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