S&P's Top Dividend Stocks Have This in Common

Hundreds of the stocks in the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC ) pay a dividend, making the index a treasure trove for dividend investors searching for smart investing ideas. But when it comes to the highest-yielding stocks in the S&P, you'll find that all three of the top picks share a common trait: they're all in the same industry.

Rural telecoms lead the list. Left to top the dividend-paying list of stocks are well-known stocks from the rural telecom industry. Windstream (NASDAQ: WIN) is the highest-yielding of the bunch. No. 2 yielding Frontier Communications (NASDAQ: FTR ) hasn't been as lucky, having sustained two separate dividend cuts since 2010 that together have lopped 60% off its quarterly payout. Taking third place is CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL ) , which yields just 6.5% after having cut its dividend by about 25% early this year.

Source: Motley Fool

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