2 Top-Rated Dividend Stocks Yielding 8% – TipRanks Financial Blog

What to do, after a month of market crises and volatility? It looks like bank runs have been averted, but inflation remains high and the Fed is trying to tack a middle course between the risks of high prices and higher interest rates. While the market downturn that followed the failure of SVB has receded, it’s left behind a more volatile market that only underscores the uncertain circumstances facing us.

In short, what’s needed is some signal that will cut through the clutter and shine on the stocks that offer investors the best prospects for protection or gains. Fortunately, there are two signs that can help here, and both are relevant to current conditions.

First are high dividends. The high-yield dividend stocks have long been go-to defensive plays, attractive for their combination of a steady income stream with a return that can beat inflation. But the TipRanks Smart Score offers another indicator of a stock’s quality. The Smart Score algorithm tracks thousands of publicly traded equities, and rates them all according to 8 factors, all known as accurate predictors of future overperformance. Each stock is assigned a score, an aggregate of the 8 factors, on a simple scale of 1 to 10; the ‘Perfect 10’ stocks, of course, get the highest ratings.

So let’s get started looking at stocks that bring both benefits to the table: high dividend yields, of at least 8%, plus a ‘Perfect 10’ from the Smart Score. We’ve pulled up the data on two such names, using the TipRanks platform.

Plains GP Holdings (PAGP)

First up is a major player in the North American energy scene, Plains GP Holdings. Plains operates as a holding company, and owns both a controlling general partner interest and an indirect limited partner interest in Plains All America, one of North America’s largest midstream energy firms. The company’s asset network includes some 19,000 pipeline miles, 8,000 rail tanker and 2,500 tractor trailers for crude oil and natural gas products, and a maritime interest of 20 river transports and 50 barges. The network extends from northern Alberta along the Rocky Mountains and Mississippi River to the Gulf coast of Texas, and includes extensions to the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay regions.

PAGP stock trades on the NASDAQ, and the shares have underperformed vs. the index this year, with the company missing the forecasts on some important metrics in the latest quarterly readout. The recent 4Q22 results showed revenues of…