Dividend Stocks Sitting Out the Rally

The market is off to a quick start this year. We're just a month into 2013, and already the S&P 500 is up more than 5%. Hundreds of stocks are testing all-time highs. The bad news for dividend seekers in this kind of an environment is that solid yields are even harder to come by. But a few dividend stocks have been left out of this year's rally, and still yield better than 2%. Here's a look at some high-yielders that have gotten cheaper relative to the market in 2013.

Aflac, which boasts one of the lowest payout ratios around. The company distributed $464 million to shareholders through the first nine months of 2012, while booking 2.3 billion in net earnings. But that doesn't mean the insurance giant is being cheap with its investors. Aflac is a Dividend Aristocrat, and the company has raised its payout for 30 consecutive years. It is slated to report fourth-quarter earnings next week, when analysts think it will show a slight profit increase on a 9% boost in sales. The weaker yen might crimp results this quarter, but investors can be confident that Aflac will stay conservative with its payout ratio while aiming to keep boosting that dividend.

Source: Motley Fool

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