Despite the seemingly endless stock-market carnage because of the coronavirus crisis, savvy investors can still possibly find safe havens amid the financial chaos.
Bank of America recently added wo new names to its “High Quality and Dividend Yield,” indicating there are still some stocks out there with quality balance sheets and higher-than-average dividends.
To make the list, companies must be rated neutral or buy by the bank’s analysts, have higher-than-average dividends and lower-than-average debt ratios, among other qualities, CNBC explained.
Railroad company Norfolk Southern (NSC) and PPG Industries (PPG) recently joined 14 other stocks on the list, as their dividend yields rose above the average. "Because dividend yield is calculated using share price, the yield can rise even if the dividend stays flat when stocks are falling," CNBC explained.
The list has several other industrial companies, including Honeywell (HON) and General Dynamics (GD). Health care companies Pfizer (PFE) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) also made the cut.
Currently, the average dividend yield is 2.8%, compared with 2.3% for the broader market.
However, not everyone on Wall Street is so optimistic.
Goldman Sachs recently said it expects S&P 500 dividends to fall by 25% in 2020 as certain large dividend-paying industries are particularly vulnerable to the economic shock of the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters explained.
“The record high level of net leverage for the median S&P 500 stock coupled with the ongoing credit market stress means many firms are unlikely to borrow to fund their dividend,” Goldman said in a note.
The U.S. investment bank said it expects a wave of dividends to be suspended, cut, and scrapped over the rest of the year.