You’re our first priority.
Every time.

NerdWallet, Inc. is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. Its articles, interactive tools and other content are provided to you for free, as self-help tools and for informational purposes only. They are not intended to provide investment advice. NerdWallet does not and cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information in regard to your individual circumstances. Examples are hypothetical, and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific investment issues. Our estimates are based on past market performance, and past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.

We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are objective, independent, straightforward — and free.

So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services. Here is a list of our partners.

7 High-Dividend Stocks With Yields Over 6% (March 2026)

Dividend stocks can be a great choice for investors looking for passive income and portfolio stability. Here's what to look for when evaluating dividend stocks and how to invest in them.

Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.

The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.

How is this page expert verified?

NerdWallet's content is fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness and relevance. It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure the information is as clear and complete as possible.

Chris Davis

Managing Editor

---

12 years of experience

Expertise

• Brokerage accounts
• stock market
• cryptocurrency

Chris Davis is a Managing Editor on the Investing team. As a writer, he covered the stock market, investing strategies and investment accounts, and as a spokesperson, he appeared on NBC Bay Area and was quoted in Forbes, Apartment Therapy, Martha Stewart and Lifewire, among others. His work has appeared in The Associated Press, The Washington Post, MSN, Yahoo Finance, MarketWatch, Newsday and TheStreet.

Published in

Managing Editor

Chris Davis is a Managing Editor on the Investing team. As a writer, he covered the stock market, investing strategies and investment accounts, and as a spokesperson, he appeared on NBC Bay Area and was quoted in Forbes, Apartment Therapy, Martha Stewart and Lifewire, among others. His work has appeared in The Associated Press, The Washington Post, MSN, Yahoo Finance, MarketWatch, Newsday and TheStreet.

Michael Randall

Certified Financial Planner®

---

Michael Randall, CFA, CFP®, EA is the Owner and Financial Planner at Oak Summit Wealth Management, a fee-only fiduciary firm based in San Diego, California. He brings more than a decade of experience helping clients with comprehensive financial planning across investments, taxes, and estate strategies. Michael earned his degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, where he also volunteers as an alumni ambassador.

---

At NerdWallet, our content goes through a rigorous editorial review process. We have such confidence in our accurate and useful content that we let outside experts inspect our work.

Certified Financial Planner®

Arielle O'Shea

Head of Content, Investing & Taxes

---

19 years of experience

Expertise

• Retirement planning
• investment management
• investment accounts

Arielle O’Shea leads the investing and taxes team at NerdWallet. She has covered personal finance and investing for nearly 20 years, and was a senior writer and spokesperson at NerdWallet before becoming an editor. Previously, she was a researcher and reporter for leading personal finance journalist and author Jean Chatzky, a role that included developing financial education programs, interviewing subject matter experts and helping to produce television and radio segments. Arielle has appeared on the "Today" show, NBC News and ABC's "World News Tonight," and has been quoted in national publications including The New York Times, MarketWatch and Bloomberg News. She is based in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Published in

Head of Content, Investing & Taxes

Arielle O’Shea leads the investing and taxes team at NerdWallet. She has covered personal finance and investing for nearly 20 years, and was a senior writer and spokesperson at NerdWallet before becoming an editor. Previously, she was a researcher and reporter for leading personal finance journalist and author Jean Chatzky, a role that included developing financial education programs, interviewing subject matter experts and helping to produce television and radio segments. Arielle has appeared on the "Today" show, NBC News and ABC's "World News Tonight," and has been quoted in national publications including The New York Times, MarketWatch and Bloomberg News. She is based in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Sam Taube

Lead Writer

---

9 years of experience

Expertise

• Stocks
• ETFs
• economic news

Sam Taube writes about investing for NerdWallet. He has covered investing and financial news since earning his economics degree from the University of Maryland in 2016. Sam has previously written for Investopedia, Benzinga, Seeking Alpha, Wealth Daily and Investment U, and has worked as an editor for Investment U, Wealth Daily and Haven Investment Letter. He is based in Brooklyn, New York.

Published in

Lead Writer

Sam Taube writes about investing for NerdWallet. He has covered investing and financial news since earning his economics degree from the University of Maryland in 2016. Sam has previously written for Investopedia, Benzinga, Seeking Alpha, Wealth Daily and Investment U, and has worked as an editor for Investment U, Wealth Daily and Haven Investment Letter. He is based in Brooklyn, New York.

When the stock market is rocky, investors may want to consider stable investments that offer a regular stream of income. Dividend stocks often provide both. Below is our screen of dividend stocks that includes only U.S.-based stocks in the S&P 500 and Russell 2000, with payout ratios below 100% and positive 5-year dividend growth rates, ordered by yield.

Top 7 high-dividend stocks

The best high-dividend stock is currently Virtus Investment Partners Inc (VRTS), which has a forward dividend yield of 7.61%.

Ticker

Company

Dividend Yield

VRTS

Virtus Investment Partners Inc

7.60%

ETD

Ethan Allen Interiors, Inc

6.89%

VICI

VICI Properties Inc

6.75%

HPQ

HP Inc

6.54%

GIS

General Mills, Inc

6.53%

UVV

Universal Corp

6.34%

BBY

Best Buy Co. Inc

6.24%

1. Virtus Investment Partners Inc (VRTS)

The highest-yielding dividend stock in this screen is Virtus Investment Partners Inc (VRTS), which currently yields 7.60%. It has a payout ratio of 46.56%, and when we ran this screen, the stock was trading at $129.94.

2. Ethan Allen Interiors, Inc (ETD)

Forward P/E: 12.92

Dividend Yield: 6.89%

Payout Ratio: 77.50%

Price: $22.61

3. VICI Properties Inc (VICI)

Forward P/E: 9.36

Dividend Yield: 6.75%

Payout Ratio: 67.58%

Price: $27.20

4. HP Inc (HPQ)

Forward P/E: 6.19

Dividend Yield: 6.54%

Payout Ratio: 43.62%

Price: $18.36

5. General Mills, Inc (GIS)

Forward P/E: 11.38

Dividend Yield: 6.53%

Payout Ratio: 58.56%

Price: $37.43

6. Universal Corp (UVV)

Forward P/E: 11.73

Dividend Yield: 6.34%

Payout Ratio: 85.66%

Price: $51.60

7. Best Buy Co. Inc (BBY)

Forward P/E: 9.04

Dividend Yield: 6.24%

Payout Ratio: 75.40%

Price: $63.70

Source: Finviz. Stock data is current as of Mar. 23, 2026 and is intended for informational purposes only.

Dividend stocks are shares of companies that regularly pay investors a portion of the company's revenue. Some dividend stocks pay out annually, semi-annually or quarterly, while others are monthly dividend stocks. This provides a regular stream of passive income to investors. Here's more about dividends and how they work.

The best dividend stocks are from well-established companies and increase their payouts over time. But a high dividend yield can indicate many things, and not all of them are good. A falling stock price can actually increase dividend yields. Sometimes, companies overspend to pay high dividends and end up going into debt. The companies that overspend may eventually have to cut their dividends if they become unsustainable.

Your personal investment needs will likely determine which dividend stocks are right for you. For example, if you own lots of energy stocks, and you want to add some dividend-paying stocks, you may want to ensure that you're not adding even more energy stocks to your portfolio. The ideal portfolio varies from person to person, based on individual goals and timelines.

If you're looking for dividend stocks that likely won't cut their dividends, you might want to check out the dividend aristocrats. This is a group stocks listed on the S&P 500 that have increased their dividends every year for at least 25 years.

Brokerage firms

on Charles Schwab's website

on E*TRADE's website

on Vanguard's website

on Fidelity's website

Dividend stocks vs. dividend funds

There are two main ways to invest in dividend stocks: Through funds — such as index funds or exchange-traded funds — that hold dividend stocks, or by purchasing individual dividend stocks.

Dividend funds offer investors access to a selection of dividend stocks within a single investment. That means with just one transaction, you can own a portfolio of dividend stocks. The fund will then pay you dividends on a regular basis, which you can take as income or reinvest. Dividend funds offer the benefit of instant diversification — if one stock held by the fund cuts or suspends its dividend, you can still rely on income from the others.

In general, a good rule of thumb is to invest the bulk of your portfolio in index funds or ETFs, for the above reasons. But investing in individual dividend stocks with a small portion of your portfolio can be beneficial.

Although it requires more work on the part of the investor — in the form of research into each stock to ensure it fits into your overall portfolio — investors who choose individual dividend stocks are able to build a custom portfolio that may offer a higher yield than a dividend fund. Expenses can also be lower with dividend stocks, since ETFs and index funds charge an annual expense ratio.

» Learn more about dividend ETFs

How to invest in dividend stocks

Building a portfolio of individual dividend stocks takes time and effort, but for many investors it's worth it. Here’s how to buy a dividend stock:

1. Open a brokerage account if you don't have one

If you want to invest in dividend stocks, you'll need to have a brokerage account to do so. Brokerage accounts are free to open (though you'll have to deposit enough money to buy the stocks). It typically takes about 15 minutes to set up a brokerage account, and the process is very similar to opening a bank account. Once your account is open, you can fund it by transferring money from a bank account or another brokerage account. You can also purchase dividend stocks within a retirement account like an IRA — and in some cases, it may be advantageous from a tax perspective to do so.

» Check out our roundup of the best online brokerages for dividend investing

That's because dividends in taxable brokerage accounts cause taxes to be realized in the year the dividends are paid out, even if you reinvest them. This is unlike stocks that do not pay dividends; in those cases, taxation primarily occurs when the stock is sold. In tax-advantaged accounts like IRAs, taxes on investment income are deferred or sidestepped completely. But for investors with taxable accounts, especially those in high income tax brackets, dividend stocks might not be as tax efficient as other options. If you're not sure, it may make sense to consult a financial or tax advisor.

» Learn how dividends are taxed

2. Research your options

You may already have a stock in mind, such as one of the aforementioned dividend aristocrats. But if you don't, you can look for stocks that pay dividends on your online broker's website. You can also check out free stock screeners.

To look under the hood of a dividend stock, start by comparing the dividend yields of its peers. If a company’s dividend yield is much higher than that of similar companies, it could be a red flag. At the very least, it’s worth additional research into the company and the safety of the dividend. A too-high dividend yield can indicate the payout is unsustainable. It can also indicate that investors are selling the stock, driving down its share price and increasing the dividend yield as a result.

Then look at the stock’s payout ratio, which tells you how much of the company’s income is going toward dividends. A payout ratio that is too high — generally above 80%, though it can vary by industry — means the company is putting a large percentage of its income into paying dividends. In some cases dividend payout ratios can top 100%, meaning the company may be going into debt to pay out dividends.

» Estimate your dividend stock returns with our dividend calculator.

3. Decide how many shares you want to buy

This might be an easy answer based on how much money you have to invest. But if you have a larger pot of money to divvy up, you’ll need to determine what portion of your portfolio goes into each stock. For example, if you’re buying 5 stocks, you could put 20% of your portfolio in each. However, if the stock is riskier, you might want to buy less of it and put more of your money toward safer choices. For help, work with a financial advisor or use an asset allocation calculator, which is often available through your brokerage account.

Once you've selected your stocks and placed trades to buy them, you can elect to reinvest the dividends instead of taking them as cash. This can be a good way to boost your portfolio's overall investment return, especially if you don't need the income from the dividend stocks in your portfolio.

Dividends typically increase the return of a stock or dividend fund by a few percentage points. For example, the historical total annual return (which includes dividends) of the S&P 500 has been, on average, about two percentage points higher than the index's annual change in value.

And that difference can really add up: A $5,000 investment that grows at 6% annually for 20 years could become over $16,000. Bump that return up to 8% annually to include dividends, and that $5,000 could grow to over $24,000.

4. Check the ex-dividend date.

Many companies pay dividends quarterly, some only pay them annually or semi-annually, while a few others are monthly dividend stocks.

But you generally won’t receive a dividend if you only buy the stock on the date it’s paid out. To receive a dividend payment, you must own the stock before the ex-dividend date, which is usually weeks before the payment date.

ON THIS PAGE

ON THIS PAGE