Look back the first half of 2012, the European debt crisis continues fermentation, from Greece, Italy to Spain, the whirlpool seems to be expanding bigger and bigger; the emerging markets such as China and India also did not perform as aggressively as expected; U.S. economy also came across obstacles on the way to recovery; regardless of the clouds gathering over the word’s economy, the S&P 500 index delivered a gain of more 8% year to date, surprising the suffering investors to some extent. Today we pick two high dividend stocks of the S&P 500 index which have rewarded investors with favorable amount of distributions, and with high recommendations of analysts.
Gannett Co Inc (GCI) yields at 3.80% and payouts at 31.00% on the basis of the closing price of $14.85 on July 2, 2012. GCI has been paying dividends since 1929, over the past 5 years, the company averagely paid out at 8.20%. Over the past 52 weeks, GCI stock traded between $8.28 and $15.90. GCI stock is priced modestly at a PEG ratio of 0.96, by comparison with its close competitors – The McClatchy Company (MNI) at 0.73, The New York Times Company (NYT) at 32.49 and the industry average of 0.86. According to the data provided by FactSet Research, the average target price of GCI is $17.22, representing 13.76% upward potential for the shares. The consensus analyst recommendation on GCI is “Overweight.”
CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) yields at 7.31% and payouts at 333.00% on the basis of the closing price of $39.66 on July 2, 2012. The high payout ratio means less potential for the company to grow its distribution in the future. CTL has been paying dividends since 1974, over the past 5 years, the company averagely paid out at 7.00%. Over the past 52 weeks, CTL stock traded between $31.16 and $41.32. CTL stock is priced modestly at a PEG ratio of 1.41, by comparison with its close competitors – AT&T, Inc. (T) at 1.59, Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) at 1.67 and the industry average of 1.65. According to the data provided by FactSet Research, the average target price of CTL is $44.17, representing 11.28% upward potential for the shares. The consensus analyst recommendation on CTL is “Overweight.”