In this article, we will take a look at some of the best dividend stocks with over 7% yield according to hedge funds. Though TC Energy Corporation (NYSE:TRP) ranks 7th on our list of the 10 Best Dividend Stocks with 7+% Yield, we have analyzed the stock in detail.

High dividend yields are attractive. They show the potential income an investor can earn from dividends compared to the stock’s price. That said, financial experts have always advised investors to stay away from yield traps, as high yields often signal financial trouble. This is possibly true, but not certain. Various reports have shown how dividend stocks outperformed other asset classes over the years. Newton Investment Management published a report on the subject and revealed that high-yielding dividend stocks outperformed the broader market during high inflationary periods from 1940 to 2021. The report also showed that investment portfolios with high-yield dividend stocks outperformed those with low or zero-dividend stocks in terms of value-weighted performance. High-yield portfolios surpassed the performance of low-yield ones by 199 basis points and zero-yield portfolios by 330 basis points.

That said, high yields should fall within a certain range. For example, analysts generally consider yields between 3% to 7% to be healthy. The health of dividend stocks is generally determined by their cash flow generation and dividend growth over time. Investors prefer stocks that don’t just offer high yields but also maintain or consistently increase their payouts, rather than cutting them frequently. Some of the best dividend stocks like Altria Group, Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., and British American Tobacco p.l.c. boast above-average dividend yields but these companies also hold strong dividend growth streaks.

An American finance company, MSCI also published a detailed report on the historical superior returns of high-yielding stocks. The report mentioned that the high dividend yield strategy excelled in total return and showed lower volatility over the 20 years ending in 2019. It surpassed the basic yield selection by over 100 basis points annually and had 1.3 percentage points less volatility. This approach proved especially resilient during times of economic and market stress, such as the Global Financial Crisis.

While high-dividend stocks are very popular, our research indicates that combining high yields with dividend growth can lead to better returns over time. The High Dividend Growth Index, which tracks the performance of companies with at least five consecutive years of dividend growth with an average yield of 3%, delivered an annual average return of 11.94% from 2010 to 2022, compared with an 11.88% return of the broader market. The index’s dividend growth also exceeded the US long-term inflation rate at 13.8%. The index is up by 4.54% this year so far and its 12-month return came in at 16.4%, as of the close of May 28.

Apart from regular investors, elite money managers are also piling into high-yielding dividend stocks.

Our Methodology:

For this list, we scanned Insider Monkey’s database of 920 hedge funds as of Q1 2024 and picked dividend stocks that have yields above 7%, as of May 28. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of hedge fund investors having stakes in them. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).

TC Energy Corporation (NYSE:TRP)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 23

Dividend Yield as of May 28: 7.32%

TC Energy Corporation (NYSE:TRP) is a natural gas company, based in Canada. The company operates one of the largest networks of natural gas pipelines in North America. It currently offers a quarterly dividend of C$0.96 per share, having it raised by 3.2% in February this year. Through this increase, the company stretched its dividend growth streak to 24 years, which makes TRP one of the best dividend stocks on our list. The stock has a dividend yield of 7.32%, as of May 28.

With a share price of $37.53 as of May 28, TC Energy Corporation (NYSE:TRP) has a trailing twelve-month P/E ratio of around 19.6, which indicates that it is currently trading below its historical valuation. The stock’s current valuation provides an opportunity for investors to gain additional returns from price appreciation over the next few years. In addition, as pipeline companies operate under long-term contracts, they are much less impacted by short-term changes in oil and gas prices or conditions of the broader market. This shows that TC Energy Corporation (NYSE:TRP) offers a certain level of protection against economic volatility. In the first quarter of 2024, the company achieved record deliveries on its natural gas pipeline systems.

Insider Monkey’s database of Q1 2024 indicated that 23 hedge funds held stakes in TC Energy Corporation (NYSE:TRP), up from 19 a quarter earlier. These stakes are worth nearly $115 million in total. Paul Marshall And Ian Wace remain bullish on the stock during the quarter, increasing their stake in the company by 929%.

Overall, TRP ranks 7th among the best dividend stocks with over 7% dividend yield. You can visit 10 Best Dividend Stocks with over 7% Yield to see other very high dividend yield stocks that are on hedge funds’ radar. While we acknowledge the potential of high dividend stocks, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as Microsoft but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 12 Most Undervalued Penny Stocks to Buy Now and 12 Best Up and Coming Stocks To Buy According to Hedge Funds

Disclosure. None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.