[Editor’s note: “10 Cheap Dividend Stocks to Buy” was previously published in August 2019. It has since been updated to include the most relevant information available.]
Here’s a rundown of ten dividend stocks to buy while the market’s skepticism has made them too cheap to ignore. They may not be at their absolute bottom yet, but they’re far cheaper than they should be.Many of these names can not only be purchased at below-average valuation, but at above-average yields. Your return on these cheap stocks to buy is based on your entry price.
Cheap Dividend Stocks to Buy: Pfizer (PFE)
Dividend Yield: 3.96%
Forward Price-to-Earnings Ratio: 13
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) can be considered cheap for one simple reason. That is, it’s down nearly 16% year-to-date.
The most recent portion of that weakness stems from the decision to sell its “off-patent” Upjohn division to rival drugmaker Mylan (NASDAQ:MYL), though clearly investors were losing interest — and faith — in PFE stock well before that announcement was made late last month. The expiration of key patents on blockbuster drug Lyrica has also weighed on investors’ minds, as has a broad uncertainty over which piece of the healthcare market will bear the bulk of the burden for lowering costs.
The doubters may have overshot their target though. Pfizer is now yielding 3.96%, and trades at only 13 times its (pre-spinoff) 2020 earnings.
Chemours Co (CC)
Dividend Yield: 6%
Forward P/E: 4.2
The bulk of the recent weakness of Chemours Co’s (NYSE:CC) shares have demonstrated reflects a potential legal liability related to its manufacture of perfluorochemicals (PFAs) which are used to make, among other things, Teflon cookware.
The company’s woes go well beyond that one stumbling block, though. North America’s titanium dioxide market is also running into a headwind, hitting Chemours in where it hurts the most. Its revenue from titanium dioxide in its fiscal second-quarter fell 35% year-over-year.
The worst-case scenario may well be fully priced in, however. Although this year is set to be a tough one, analysts are modeling an 8% turnaround in next year’s revenue, prompting a sizeable recovery of this year’s likely large earnings decline. The stock’s yielding 6% in the meantime, on a dividend the company makes a point of paying if at all possible.
AES (AES)
Dividend Yield: 3.4%
Forward P/E: 11
The second-quarter report from utility name AES (NYSE:AES) was anything but thrilling. Not only did income of 26 cents per share fall short of the 27 cents per share analysts were expecting, but its revenue was down a little more than 2%.
The subsequent pullback added to an existing selloff. AES stock is now down nearly 14% from its March high, as the market seeks to right-price this otherwise reliable player in an unclear interest rate environment.
For the most part, investors are forgetting that while it’s not a high-growth vehicle, like most utility names, this one’s rather well shielded from economic ebbs and flows that could disrupt its dividend … a dividend that has not failed to grow in any year since 2013.
Molson Coors Brewing (TAP)
Dividend Yield: 4.1%
Forward P/E: 11
For a handful of reasons, Molson Coors Brewing (NYSE:TAP) has been unable to restore its former greatness. The name behind not just Coors and Molson, but brands like Blue Moon, Ice House and Miller, just hasn’t resonated with consumers like it did in the past. Beer drinkers are now opting for something else, particularly in the United States where it desperately needs to thrive.
The full extent of the headwind may have already done all the damage it could do though. Next year’s sales should essentially be flat, and the earnings decline is finally expected to abate; 2020’s projected income of $4.47 per share is only a tiny fraction better than this year’s likely bottom line of $4.44. But, that’s enough (and then some) to fund the dividend going forward.
The Carlyle Group (CG)
Dividend Yield: 5.6%
Forward P/E: 10.7
Technically speaking it’s not a stock. Nevertheless, The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) has earned a spot on a list of cheap dividend stocks to buy because the yield of 5.6% is well above the market’s average at this time.
The Carlyle Group is usually categorized as an asset management outfit, although that’s not quite what it does. The organization is a private equity and business-development player. It owns equity in, lends money to or outright owns smaller companies that may not otherwise be accessible to investors through a publicly-traded instrument.
It’s a structure that’s ideal for dividend payments. Inasmuch as its portfolio of companies don’t have public shareholders themselves, these businesses can be managed first and foremost with cash flow in mind.
Seagate Technology (STX)
Dividend Yield: 4.44%
Forward P/E: 10.6
Much like its peer Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), in 2018 Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) found itself to be a victim of a glut it helped create. With an exaggerated response to demand at the time, chip manufacturers ramped up their output of volatile memory (RAM) as well as data-storage drives that largely destroyed their pricing power.
That glut finally appears to be abating. Although just barely, prices for NAND and DRAM have stopped falling, and have begun logging higher highs.
Micron is certainly a bargain too, now that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Seagate Technology is the better dividend name, however, yielding 4.44% and priced at less than ten times next year’s expected earnings.
Cardinal Health (CAH)
Dividend Yield: 4%
Forward P/E: 9.1
Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) is a supplier of all sorts of solutions to the healthcare industry. From pharmaceuticals to surgical supplies to services that help hospitals better manage operations like billing and reimbursement, the well-established company keeps caregivers in action.
The non-cyclical nature of the business doesn’t mean the company doesn’t face competition and headwinds though. Indeed, CAH stock has been cut in half since its early 2015 high, reaching new multi-year lows last week. Its performance has been so bad, in fact, that frustrated shareholders are now prepping class-action suits.
In the midst of that frenzied doubt is when CAH stock could be most trade-worthy, however. It just topped its quarterly-earnings expectations, earning $1.11 versus estimates of only 93 cents. And the pros are calling for an earnings rebound this year.
AT&T (T)
Dividend Yield: 5.55%
Forward P/E:10
AT&T (NYSE:T) took its eye off the ball in 2016. Admittedly, the long-belabored effort to acquire Time Warner was distracting, but the telecom giant’s woes weren’t just related to that difficult deal. Its DirecTV acquisition has created more problems than profit, and the company seemingly became complacent with its position as the No. 2 wireless provider in the United States.
There’s a reason T stock is up about 25% from its late-December low, however, snapping out of a long-standing downtrend in the process. And Time Warner isn’t a core part of the bullish rationale. Investors are starting to realize what the advent of 5G could mean for the telecom market, and for AT&T in particular.
As Will Healy put it , “the 5G network that burdened the company for years may soon give AT&T a level of pricing power not seen since its days as a monopoly. Moreover, even if T stock stagnates in the near-term, investors can collect a generous, increasing dividend.”
Ryder System (R)
Dividend Yield: 4.1%
Forward P/E: 8.9
Most investors will recognize the name Ryder System (NYSE:R) as the company that rents moving vans and self-driven trucks to consumers, and that’s certainly a key part of its business. The company is so much more than that, however. Ryder also arranges for long-term corporate leases of heavy haulers, offers fleet maintenance services and will even manage the delivery aspect of a supply chain for its customers.
It’s anything but a recession-proof business. And, with the economy seemingly slowing down against a backdrop of never-ending tariff chatter, R stock doesn’t feel like the safest name to own.
With a yield of 4.1% and the equally good chance that the global economy is going to be rekindled by an eventual end to the tariff war though, Ryder System is arguably too cheap to pass up at less than nine times next year’s expected earnings.
Citigroup (C)
Dividend Yield: 2.9%
Forward P/E: 8.3
Finally, add Citigroup (NYSE:C) to your list of dividend stocks to buy sooner rather than later.
Yes, it certainly appears to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Lower interest rates make the business of lending money less profitable by compressing the spread between its costs of capital and what it’s able to charge borrowers.
The assumptions about the depth of the impact may be overblown though. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has cautioned that the FOMC reserves the right to ramp up rates again if it sees any hint of unchecked inflation. Additionally, the Fed does not expect to lower rates again this year or next year.
All the worst possible news may already be priced into C stock, and more.
As of this writing, James Brumley held a long position in AT&T. You can learn more about James at his site, jamesbrumley.com, or follow him on Twitter, at @jbrumley.