To calculate the earnings on investment or shares, the dividend yield is often used. It is also called the dividend-ratio of a share. The formula is the dividend per share divided by the price per share. Another way to calculate it is by dividing the company’s total annual dividend payments by its market capitalization.
Traditionally, investors are in favor of a higher dividend yield as it shows a stock is underprice or the company is facing difficult times so the future dividend will not be as high as some of them in the past. Three stocks with high dividend yields right now are Vodafone Group Plc (NASDAQ:VOD), GlaxoSmithKline Plc (NYSE:GSK), and Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY).
Vodafone Group Plc (NASDAQ:VOD) has a dividend yield of 4.60%. It first started to pay yield in 2006. Its dividend growth rate has been calculated for the past five years and it is at 7.05%. In the last trading session, the stock traded between the ranges of $36.30-$36.54. Its market capitalization at the last close was at $97.37 million.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc (NYSE:GSK) first had its dividend yield back in 2001. It has been, since then, having small increases, particularly as recorded since 2004. The dividend yield right now for this year is 6.00%. It has a dividend growth rate (as measured over a five-year span) of 5.26%.
For Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY), it had its first dividend yield in 1997. Over the past four years, it has regularly seen dividend payments. The payout ratio is currently at 150.00%. A fall of -14.82% is the measured rate of its 5-year dividend decline. For market value, this stock stands at $9.26B. If an investor looks at the stock over its last 52 weeks, one would see it traded at ranges that were between $9.17 and $11.95.