5 Best Annual Dividend Stocks To Buy Now

1. News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS)

Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 48

Annual Dividend Payout: $0.20

Topping the list of best annual dividend stocks is News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS), which had made $0.10 semi-annual dividend payments since 2016. Despite a payout ratio of less than 17%, the diversified entertainment and media company appears to be in no hurry to raise its payouts to shareholders, which currently yield 1.17%.

The company has been attempting to shed slower-growing assets like its streaming division, and it’s possible it may consider unloading its book publishing division HarperCollins. Should moves like that materialize and the company feels it’s in a stronger financial position, it may decide to revisit its dividend policy, but until then potential investors shouldn’t expect anything on that front.

News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS) tops the list in terms of popularity among hedge funds, though ownership of the stock is down by 40% since 2013. Value investor Donald Yacktman’s Yacktman Asset Management owns the most substantial stake in NWS as of June 30, holding 16.5 million shares worth $256 million.

L1 Capital is also bullish on News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS), believing the company’s collection of assets are being mispriced by the market, as revealed in the fund’s Q2 2022 investor letter:

“News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWS) (Long -26%) shares fell over the quarter despite reporting third quarter results in line with consensus expectations. The decline was primarily driven by a softening in investor sentiment towards News Corp’s Digital Real Estate assets against a backdrop of rising interest rates in both Australia and the U.S., with REA Group shares down 17% during the quarter. While concerns over property market drivers are likely to continue in the near term, we see both REA Group and Move as being well positioned to structurally improve their businesses through this period. We continue to believe the News Corp assets are materially under-valued and remain supportive of ongoing initiatives to unlock value across the Group.”

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