2 Stocks to Buy With Dividends Yielding More Than 3%

It's not a universal law of the stock market, but often, a high-yielding dividend can indicate a high-risk investment. Smart, income-seeking investors should always consider the underlying fundamentals of a business to ensure it can support its payouts, whatever the stock is yielding. And favoring dividend payers in unpredictable markets such as the one we're in is a smart strategy in itself. There's a lot to recommend companies that pay investors to own their shares, regardless of whether Wall Street fully recognizes the value of the business or whether or not its value appreciates.

At their current share prices, these two stocks pay dividends that yield over 3%, and should serve income investors well over the long haul. Right out of the gate, I'm going to seemingly break the rule I laid out above, because AT&T (NYSE:T) is a high-yielding stock that seems to present those high-risk features I warned of. If AT&T feels too risky for you, consider Realty Income (NYSE:O) -- a more safe, secure, and stable dividend payer with a yield of 4.2% annually at current share prices. The commercial real estate investment trust (REIT) focuses on triple-net leases, so its tenants are responsible for the sites' taxes, maintenance, and insurance.

Source: Motley Fool

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