Dividend-paying stocks are attractive to many investors. That’s because dividends are cash or shares of stock that a company pays to its shareholders periodically. Some companies have paid regular dividends without fail for decades, even for over a century. That means owning certain stocks can result in a steady source of income.
How do you find companies that pay dividends? Investors can check out financial news sites for dividend details. Many stock brokerages offer their customers screening tools to help them find information on dividend-paying companies. Investors can also find dividend information on the Security and Exchange Commission’s website, through specialty providers, and through stock exchanges.
Read on to learn more about finding the companies known for paying dividends to shareholders.
Key Takeaways
- Dividend-paying stocks provide cash payments or shares to investors and are a popular investment choice for income-seeking investors.
- Financial news sites and apps offer free resources to research companies’ dividend yields and amounts.
- Brokerage accounts often include tools and screeners to help investors find dividend-paying stocks.
- The SEC’s EDGAR system allows investors to access public companies’ official filings, including dividend reports.
- Stock exchanges like NASDAQ and NYSE provide tools to track dividend history and yields for listed companies.
Discover Dividend-Paying Stocks Through Financial News Sites and Apps
You can find many options available on the Internet—such as financial news sites and aggregators—that provide top-notch data, tools, and analysis for investors. Whether getting a quote on an individual stock to finding specific information about a company’s current dividend yield or checking out a screener to find out the highest-paying dividends in an industry, you can quickly use these (often) free resources to track down the information you need.
Sites like CNBC, Morningstar, The Wall Street Journal, and Google Finance are all great resources available for researching dividend data. On most platforms, you can use the stock search tool to enter the company name or ticker symbol that you’re researching. You’ll be taken to a page that includes that company’s stock chart, company profile, and fundamental data. Here you’ll see if the company pays dividends. You’ll find information about the dividend yield, the amount of dividend paid for the year, and dividends per share.
Use Your Brokerage to Identify Dividend Stocks
Many stock brokerages provide online research and pricing information to their customers. Similar to the news sites, investors can easily find information on dividend amounts and payout dates, as well as other types of peer comparisons and screeners. An additional benefit for users of online accounts provided by a broker is the ability to tie into any current (or past) holdings from portfolios that are dividend-payers and generate additional types of personalized reports and analysis.
Leverage SEC Filings for Dividend Information
All publicly-traded companies are required by law to report on Form 1099 all dividends they have paid to investors during the previous tax year on a quarterly and annual basis. As a result, you can research these filings on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s website using their EDGAR system. You can also quickly research a company’s financial information and operations by reviewing reports filed on Forms 10-K and 10-Q.
Tap Into Specialty Providers for Comprehensive Dividend Data
There are a number of dividend-focused specialty resources available online for getting comprehensive information on dividends. Some of these sites are free, some have paid subscription content, and some have a combination of free and paid content. With these specialty providers, you might have access to a calendar of upcoming ex-dividend dates, as well as screeners, tools, and rankings. One such specialty provider is the Value Line Investment Survey. It provides a number of services to help investors select dividend stocks.
Utilize Stock Exchange Resources to Track Dividend-Paying Stocks
Tools and resources are also provided from the stock exchanges themselves to keep investors up-to-date with dividend data for the companies they list. The NASDAQ provides a dividend calendar, history tool, and screeners on the highest-yielding stocks. Meanwhile, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) provides a historical database to research ex-dividend dates by a selected date range.
The Bottom Line
Investors seeking dividend-paying stocks can utilize a variety of resources, including financial news sites, brokerage accounts, SEC filings, specialty providers, and stock exchange tools.
For example, financial news sites such as Investopedia, CNBC, and Morningstar offer comprehensive data and tools for analyzing dividend stocks. Brokerage accounts often provide screener tools and personalized reports for identifying and analyzing dividend-paying stocks. The SEC’s EDGAR system allows investors to access mandatory filings like Form 1099, 10-K, and 10-Q for detailed dividend information. Specialty providers may offer advanced screeners and calendars for tracking ex-dividend dates and high-yield stocks. Stock exchanges like NASDAQ and NYSE provide resources for researching dividend history and schedules.