10 Best FTSE Dividend Stocks To Buy Now

1. Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Dividend Yield as of January 3: 4.27%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 48

Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) ranks 1st on our list of the best FTSE dividend stocks. The London-based global energy and petrochemical giant has five business segments – Integrated Gas, Upstream, Marketing, Chemicals and Products, and Renewables and Energy Solutions. The company explores, extracts, and markets oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids, while also producing fuels, petrochemicals, and low-carbon products.

Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) is ramping up its investments in low-carbon energy, focusing on projects like expanding its e-mobility network across the EU, acquiring Nature Energy – Europe’s biggest biogas producer – and building two massive renewable hydrogen plants – a 100 MW facility in Germany and a 200 MW plant in the Netherlands. The company is also backing Northern Lights, the world’s first open-source carbon capture and storage (CCS) project under the North Sea. Between 2023 and 2025, Shell is planning to invest $10 to $15 billion in low-carbon solutions.

On December 19, Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) distributed a quarterly dividend of $0.344 per share and $0.688 per American Depositary Share (ADS). The company intends to raise its annual dividend by about 4%, pending board approval and plans to allocate 30-40% of its cash flow to shareholders via dividends and share repurchase programs.

Fisher Asset Management, Eagle Capital Management, and Orbis Investment Management are leading shareholders in the company. Insider Monkey’s database indicates that 48 hedge funds were bullish on Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL), compared to 49 in the prior quarter. 

Overall, Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) ranks first on our list of the best FTSE dividend stocks. While we acknowledge the potential of SHEL to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that certain AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SHEL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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