Investors looking to boost their income often turn to high-yielding dividend stocks. If they invest in quality stocks, they can generate recurring revenue. If they invest in quality stocks that are currently trading at depressed valuations related to the bear market, they can also benefit from the stock price appreciation that is likely to occur going forward.
Two stocks paying impressive yields at the moment that are also cheap buys are Viatris(VTRS 0.41%) andVerizon Communications(VZ -0.05%). Together, these two stocks can generate significant income for your portfolio next year, whether you're a retiree craving some recurring income or a long-term investor who wants the stability and consistency that safe dividend stocks can provide. If you have $50,000 available to put toward these two stocks, your investment will return at least $3,000 in dividend income in 2023.
Let's find out a bit more about these two dividend-paying stocks.
1. Viatris
Healthcare company Viatris was created in 2020 by combining Upjohn assets (spun off by Pfizer) with drugmaker Mylan. The new company specializes in branded and generic drugs. Although its sales were underwhelming this year, it was largely caused by unfavorable foreign exchange rates. In the third quarter, Viatris' revenue of $4.1 billion was down 10% year over year, but that decline was just 1% when looking strictly at its operating results and adjusting for foreign currency translations.
As a dividend investment, Viatris' stability can make for a good buy because its products are sold all over the world and are crucial for ongoing healthcare. Top-selling drug Lipitor helps to lower cholesterol and Norvasc helps lower blood pressure. They combined for $610 million in revenue last quarter and accounted for about 15% of the company's top line. They're solid pillars for Viatris, but at the same time, the company's portfolio is diverse enough that it isn't overly dependent on those two products.
Viatris currently pays an attractive dividend yield of 4.3%, which is more than double the S&P 500average of just 1.7%.If you were to invest $15,000 into Viatris, then next year, that could be enough to generate close to $650 in dividend income.
And there's room for the company to also increase its dividend as over the trailing 12 months, Viatris has generated free cash flow of $2.8 billion, which is more than enough to cover its dividend payments totaling $569 million during that time frame. While investors may be concerned about its debt (which totals $20 billion), the company has been paying that down and recently closed on the sale of its biosimilars portfolio, which gives Viatris an influx of $2 billion in cash.
In the longer run, Viatris plans to have a leading ophthalmology business, with the company recently announcing multiple acquisitions that are key to that and that it believes will add over $1 billion to its net sales by 2028.
With the stock trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 3 (based on analyst expectations), Viatris has the potential to generate some strong multiples expansion from its relatively low valuation today. The slow-growing stock is down 18% year to date, which is in line with the broader decline in the markets.
2. Verizon
The bulk of the investment I would make with $50,000 would be in telecom giant Verizon. While Viatris isn't overly risky, Verizon is an even safer buy in the long run. It's a leading telecom company in the U.S. and the business isn't doing as badly as the share price suggests; Verizon expects its wireless service revenue to grow between 8.5% and 9.5% this year. And the business itself remains highly profitable, with Verizon reporting net income of $19.3 billion over the past four quarters on revenue of $135.7 billion, for a profit margin of over 14%.
Shares of Verizon took a beating this year, falling 28% so far in 2022 and trading around their 52-week lows. Stronger results from its rivals made investors less bullish on Verizon's stock. The price drop pushed the telecom's dividend yield up to 6.8%. For opportunistic investors, that means there's an opening to take advantage of that high payout.
The dividend looks to be well supported by the company's financials as Verizon has reported free cash flow of $11 billion over the trailing 12 months, which is slightly more than the cash dividends it has paid out during that time. And its payout ratio based on net income is 56%, which is sustainable and even leaves room for future rate increases.
And the company has confidence in its dividend as in September, it announced an increase to the payout for the 16th consecutive year. In five years, Verizon's dividend has increased by 10.6%. While a large increase doesn't appear to be likely given the company's track record and the competition it faces, Verizon is still better than average with respect to dividend growth, noting that its streak of increases is the longest one in the U.S. telecom industry.
Investing $35,000 into the stock would result in annual dividend income of around $2,400. Together with the dividend from Viatris, that would push you over the $3,000 mark in dividend income next year.
At a forward P/E of less than 8, Verizon is another cheap stock to buy that could have plenty of upside for long-term investors.
David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Pfizer. The Motley Fool recommends Verizon Communications and Viatris. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
