We recently compiled a list of the 12 Best 5% Dividend Stocks To Buy According To Hedge Funds. In this article, we are going to take a look at where United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) stands against the other dividend stocks.
Dividend investors have often debated the balance between high yields and dividend growth. Analysts tend to favor companies with robust dividend growth, advising investors to avoid the yield traps. However, many studies suggest that high dividend yields aren’t necessarily a negative factor.
An example of this is a report from Newton Investment Management, which found that high-yield dividend stocks outperformed the broader market during periods of high inflation between 1940 and 2021. The report also showed that portfolios with high-yield dividend stocks performed better than those with low or no dividends, with high-yield portfolios exceeding low-yield ones by 199 basis points and zero-yield portfolios by 330 basis points. While the findings are insightful, the report lacks details on the specific market conditions during these periods, offering only a general overview of high-yield stock performance. Analysts have closely studied how dividend stocks fare during market volatility, given the heightened need for consistent income. As a result, they recommend considering high-yield stocks only if these companies also demonstrate a solid track record of dividend growth.
Also read: 10 Best Dividend Stocks Yielding at Least 7% According to Analysts
This is a common challenge for investors, who often believe that companies with strong dividend growth don’t offer high yields. However, this isn’t necessarily the case. Many companies provide above-average dividend yields while also maintaining solid records of dividend growth. In fact, dividend yield plays an important role in sustaining dividend growth. For example, the Dividend Aristocrats Index, which includes companies that have increased their dividends for 25 consecutive years, has managed to maintain a high yield without sacrificing growth. Over the 26 years ending in 2023, the index consistently outperformed its benchmark while maintaining yields between 2% and 2.9%. On average, the index yielded 2.5%, notably higher than the market average of 1.8%, as reported by S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Analysts typically recommend targeting dividend yields between 3% and 6%, as this range tends to offer the best balance of potential for both dividend growth and stock price appreciation. A report from Nuveen highlighted that global companies with moderate dividend yields (ranging from 0% to 3%) generally show stronger earnings growth, profitability, and profit margins compared to those with higher yields or no dividends at all. These factors also help reduce risk, particularly in times of market volatility.
Another study by Wellington Management highlighted the historical outperformance of high-yield stocks. The report analyzed dividend-paying stocks in the broader market index from 1930 to 2019 and grouped them into five categories based on their dividend yields. The top 20% of dividend payers performed the best, followed by the moderate dividend group, both surpassing the broader market in multiple periods. However, the lower dividend groups showed less consistent performance and generally underperformed the index. Given this, we will now take a look at some of the best dividend stocks with over 5% yield.
Our Methodology:
For this list, we scanned Insider Monkey’s database of 900 hedge funds as of the third quarter of 2024 and picked 12 dividend stocks that have yields above 5%, as of February 5. These companies have strong histories of paying dividends to shareholders. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of hedge funds’ sentiment toward 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).
A warehouse filled with boxes of parcels, symbolizing the companies reliable logistics services.
United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 43
Dividend Yield as of February 5: 5.83%
United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) is a Georgia-based shipping and supply chain management company offering its consumers various related services. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the company posted revenue of $25.3 billion, which showed a 1.54% growth from the same period last year. The company has reached a preliminary agreement with its largest customer to reduce its volume by over 50% by the second half of 2026. In addition, starting January 1, 2025, it will handle 100% of its UPS SurePost product in-house. As part of these changes, the company is reorganizing its US network and launching multi-year “efficiency reimagined” initiatives, aiming to achieve about $1.0 billion in savings through a comprehensive process redesign.
In addition to delivering strong earnings, United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) is focusing on growing its healthcare logistics services with the goal of becoming a global leader in this area. In January 2025, it successfully acquired Frigo-Trans and its subsidiary BPL, enhancing UPS’s capacity to provide complete temperature-controlled logistics solutions, particularly in Europe.
Artisan Partners highlighted the company’s strengths in its Q3 2024 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:
“We made no new purchases in Q3. Instead, our purchase activity was focused on adding to a few of our existing names that remain cheap, such as Dollar General and United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS). When we initiated our position in UPS in late 2023, shares were under pressure due to concerns about its new labor contract diverting volumes and driving up costs, as well as the continued normalization of volumes following COVID-related gains. We welcomed the market’s short-term focus as it provided us an opportunity to purchase UPS at an undemanding valuation of less than 11X our view of normalized earnings. UPS is a good transport operation that easily earns its cost of capital, generates significant free cash, has a wide economic moat, has a strong financial profile and pays an attractive dividend—now yielding 4.8%. More recently, the stock has been weak because profits came in weaker than expected. UPS’ customers traded down to the lower yielding ground segment, which negatively impacted overall pricing and margins. These shifts are common and occur in both directions, but what is important, in our view, is the long-term trend of volume growth remains intact. Nevertheless, investors have lost patience with UPS after a string of earnings disappointments.”
United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) is popular among income investors because of its strong dividend history and stable balance sheet. In FY24, the company generated $10.1 billion in operating cash flow and its free cash flow amounted to $6.3 billion. Moreover, the company returned $5.9 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. This cash position enabled it to raise its payouts for 22 consecutive years, which makes UPS one of the best dividend stocks on our list. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.83%, as of February 5.
Insider Monkey’s database of Q3 2024 indicated that 43 hedge funds owned stakes in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS), compared with 44 in the previous quarter. These stakes have a total value of over $1.66 billion.
Overall UPS ranks 3rd on our list of the best dividend stocks with over 5% yield. While we acknowledge the potential for UPS as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some 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 UPS but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
