How to Find Stocks That Pay Dividends? (Beginner’s Investor Guide)
Finding dividend stock is easy, but only if you know how.
This article will help you in your search to find dividend-paying stocks.
“Dividend is the sweet nectar that makes up the honey. Without it, investing can be quite dry.”
Different stocks pay their dividend differently, but most companies pay their dividend in cash on a quarterly or half-yearly basis.
Here we have listed a few resources which can help you in your search for dividend-paying stocks.
Let’s go!
1. Financial News Sites or Handphone App
Ease of Use: 4/5
Availability: Membership or Free Service
You can find much good information on any company from financial news sites and apps available on the web today.
Best of all, these resources are usually free of charge.
Financial news sites get you information on different financial metrics, dividend payout ratio, dividend yield, or even information on the most recent stock split.
For those investors who are more advanced, they might want to signup to the paid area, where the site will be given more data for you to research on the different companies.
Most financial news sites do have a stock screener to help you find dividend-paying stocks. Some sites may require you to be a member to access the tool, while other sites provide this service for free.
Examples of the financial sites with stocks screener:
- Yahoo Finance Screener (Free – Recommended)
- CNBC Screener (Free)
- Morningstar Screener (Free)
- Morningstar Screener (Membership)
- The Wall Street Journal (Free)
- MSN Money (Free)
2. Brokerage Account
Ease of Use: 4/5
Availability: Membership Service
Every investor should have a brokerage account. If you don’t, probably it is time for you to apply for one. Because here is how you buy or sell a certain stock.
Most established brokerage will have their own unique platform, where you can do your research on different stocks.
Information provided for each of these brokerage firms varies, and some brokerage firms require you to pay an extra fee to gain access to their ‘tools’ for screening for dividend-paying stocks.
Many establish brokerage firms allow you to screen for dividend-paying stocks for free.
Examples of brokerage firms:
3. Securities and Exchange Commission
Ease of Use: 1/5
Availability: Free Service
All publicly traded companies are required by law to report all dividends paid to their shareholders.
These companies will report how much dividend is paid for the previous year during their annual report. You can look up their reports to find the quarterly reports or annual reports.
You can search these filings using the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission website with 2 simple steps.
- Click on the ‘filing’ section
- Then do a quick search of each company you are interested in.
Although this way of finding dividend-paying stock is one of the slowest, it is the most reliable, as all information reported is audited for accuracy.
Bonus. Stock Exchange
Ease of Use: 4/5
Availability: Free Service
Best for the last. The stock exchange is basically the best place for you to do your research to find which of the stocks actually pays a dividend.
Not only all the tools you find here are mostly free, the data are highly reliable. Simply great investing tools and resources all in one place.
With lots of resources for your investing needs, the stock exchange keeps investors like you up-to-date with all the data on the dividend.
Some stock exchanges even keep historical data on all the ex-dividend dates and how much dividend is paid to their shareholders during each period.
While others give the investor 10 years’ worth of data for free!
This is exceptionally useful for dividend investors who want to find good stock with a growing dividend.
But, do note that some stock exchanges do have a stock screener, while others may not have this functionality.
Examples of Stock Exchange:
My Takeaway
There are many ways to find dividend-paying stocks, but each has its pros and cons. Some require a membership fee, others are free but require extra care to ensure the accuracy of the data.
4 ways to find dividend-paying stocks for dividend investors:
- Financial News Site and Apps
- Brokerage Account
- Securities and Exchange Commission
- Stock Exchange
I personally like to use financial news sites together with stock exchanges when finding dividend-paying stocks.
Financial News Site allows quick access to stock screener and data from stock exchange can be used to check for accuracy.
How about you? Which resource do you like to use most?
The only way to get better in investing is to read more.
Warren Buffett read approx 500 pages a day.
Knowledge on investment can be learned from books or articles like this one. Reading can only make you wiser and smarter so that you too may be able to make the right decision in your investment.
Will Durant Said:
“Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.”
Read Also: How to Prepare for Market Crash
- 73 Singapore SGX-Listed ETFs Dividend Distribution Frequency (Monthly to Annually)
- Dividend Investing Singapore: Complete Beginners Investor Guide
- 41 Singapore REITs (S-REITs) Dividend Distribution Frequency
- Best Undervalued Stocks in Singapore That Pays High Dividend in 2024 (Updated)
- Cash Management Account vs Brokerage Account: What is the Difference?
Join 900+ BUDDIES who are growing their wealth with our weekly Income Newsletter
Antony C. is a dividend investor with over 15+ years of investing experience. He’s also the book author of “Start Small, Dream Big“, certified PMP® holder and founder of IncomeBuddies.com (IB). At IB, he share his personal journey and expertise on growing passive income through dividend investing and building online business. Antony has been featured in global news outlet including Yahoo Finance, Nasdaq and Non Fiction Author Association (NFAA).
