The 25 Top Yielding Dividend Stocks

Dividend investing is popular again. Investors have taken to heart Jeremy Siegel's studies, which show that higher-yielding stocks tend to offer greater returns over time than low- or no-yield stocks.

The top-paying dividend stocks can be very tantalizing. So long as a stock yielding 15% doesn't lose value, you'll make 15% in one year! In more cases than not, however, an astronomical yield is a bad sign for a stock. Since dividend yields and stock prices move in opposite directions, a high yield usually means investors have begun to worry about the business and driven down its stock price.

However, certain types of companies, such as REITs, have to pay out most of their income as dividends, so their yields will be higher than "normal." Dividends are not guaranteed; you need to make sure that a business is generating enough cash to pay its dividend, or your investment could be disastrous.

I ran a screen for the highest-paying regular dividend stocks; the only limitations I've set this time is that the dividend stocks must have a market cap greater than $500 million, must be primarily listed in the U.S. (no American depositary receipts), and must be corporations (no REITs , BDCs , LPs, MLPs, or LLCs).

Here are the 25 highest-yielding stocks the screen produced:

Source: S&P Capital IQ as of Dec. 3, 2013.

Note that these stocks are a good place to start your research, but they're not formal recommendations.

I covered Windstream in October. Nothing has changed about the company's debt situation. As I wrote then, "Investing in Windstream looks like picking up quarters in front of a steamroller; sooner or later you're going to get crushed." I would still pass on the stock.

I covered Ship Finance International last month and concluded:

Vector Group has an interesting assortment of assets that I covered in June, including the fourth-largest cigarette manufacturer, multiple real estate holdings, and a 50% stake in the largest residential real estate broker in New York. The company pays out well over 100% of its free cash flow by issuing debt and convertible debt. I'd pass on the company and look instead at Lorillard or my perennial favorite and longtime holding Phillip Morris International.

Foolish bottom line
Remember, these seemingly irresistible yields could be ticking time bombs, so do your own due diligence. Also make sure you diversify your picks across various sectors. As investors relearn every decade or so, you never want to put all your eggs in one basket -- no matter how tempting the dividends are.

Let us help you on your dividend hunt
Dividend stocks can make you rich. It's as simple as that. While they don't garner the notability of high-flying growth stocks, they're also less likely to crash and burn. And over the long term, the compounding effect of the quarterly payouts, as well as their growth, adds up faster than most investors imagine. With this in mind, our analysts sat down to identify the absolute best of the best when it comes to rock-solid dividend stocks, drawing up a list in this free report of nine that fit the bill. To discover the identities of these companies before the rest of the market catches on, you can download this valuable free report by simply clicking here now.

The article The 25 Top Yielding Dividend Stocks originally appeared on Fool.com.

Dan Dzombak owns shares of Philip Morris International and Frontier Communications. The Motley Fool owns shares of Denbury Resources, National Presto Industries, Philip Morris International, and Seaspan and also has options on Seaspan. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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