Need Income? These 3 High-Yield Dividend Stocks Are Leading the Market

If you're looking for income, turning to your investment portfolio is a natural choice. Lately, that's been a tough assignment, because many sources of investment income have almost completely dried up. Looking for top yields from bank CDs and bonds is an exercise in futility right now. Instead, the natural place to look for income right now is from dividend-paying stocks . It's important to be careful, though, because high-yield dividend payers can often bring some unexpected risks.

With that in mind, here are the three top-yielding dividend stocks in the S&P 500, along with a closer look at whether their respective business models can keep them moving higher. At the top of the list is Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN). The name might not be familiar to you because it has changed several times in recent years, but Lumen incorporates the businesses that used to be known as CenturyLink and Level 3 Communications. ONEOK (NYSE: OKE) had a dividend yield in the double digits for much of 2020, but as the oil market has started to recover, a rising stock price has knocked the yield lower. Nevertheless, with a yield of 8.2%, ONEOK still numbers among top S&P dividend payers. Lastly, Altria Group (NYSE: MO) has been the most consistent dividend performer on this list.

Source: The Times and Democrat

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