The Best High-Yield Dividend Stocks to buy in December 2022.

Dividend stocks provide regular cash and stock payouts to their owners. Dividend stocks are purchased by income investors seeking cash flow, yet the finest dividend companies also provide long-term appreciation in addition to income.

The emphasis on dividend yields is one of the most important parts of investing in dividend stocks. Higher dividend yields are preferred by investors in order to increase returns on investments and diversify portfolios. Dividend yields of 3% to 6% are considered healthy because they demonstrate the respective company's sound financial condition. Furthermore, high yields are rewarding during economic downturns.

The analysis detailed how dividend players performed throughout each decade, beginning before World War I. Dividend distributions from corporations contributed significantly to total returns in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. During these decades, the average total return was roughly 10%.

However, when average total returns increased beginning in the 1960s, dividends' importance began to wane. Dividends were generally sidelined throughout the 1990s as firms prioritized expansion over shareholder rewards. According to the analysis, the market's median dividend yield was roughly 2.90% between 1960 and 2021. The yield peaked in the 1980s and fell to its lowest point in the 2000s. As the social media and ecommerce eras arrived after the 2010s, growth stocks became trendy once more.

Best Dividend Stocks to buy: December 2022

Company	Symbol	Yield
Chevron	(CVX)	3.1%
BlackRock, Inc.	(BLK)	3.2%
Exxon Mobil	(XOM)	3.3%
Extra Space Storage Inc.	(EXR)	3.5%
Packaging Corporation of America	(PKG)	3.6%
First American Corporation	(FAF)	3.7%
OGE Energy Corporation	(OGE)	4.21%
Avista Corporation	(AVA)	4.43%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.	(WBA)	4.65%
Medifast, Inc.	(MED)	5.47%
AT&T Inc.	(T)	5.86%
International Business Machines Corporation	(IBM)	4.5%
Verizon	(VZ)	6.8%
Iron Mountain Incorporated	(IRM)	4.8%
Kinder Morgan, Inc.	(KMI)	5.90%
Devon Energy Corporation	(DVN)	7.35%
Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P.	(MMP)	7.92%
Vale S.A.	(VALE)	9.26%
BHP Group Limited	(BHP)	11.09%
Arbor Realty Trust, Inc.	(ABR)	11.23%

Yield on dividends is a percentage number that represents a stock's yearly dividend payment divided by its current share price. Dividend yield tells investors how much a stock pays out in annual dividends in relation to its price.

Chevron Corporation's (CVX) Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of one dollar and forty-two cents ($1.42) per share on January 26, 2022, an increase of eight cents ($0.08) per share or nearly 6%. The dividend is payable to all holders of common stock listed on the corporation's transfer records. This hike puts Chevron on track to boost its annual dividend distribution per share for the 35th consecutive year in 2022.

Chevron is one of the world's major integrated energy businesses. We think that inexpensive, dependable, and cleaner energy is critical to establishing a more affluent and sustainable society. Chevron produces crude oil and natural gas, as well as transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals, and additives, and develops innovations that benefit our company and the industry. We are committed to reducing the carbon intensity of our operations and to growing lower-carbon enterprises alongside our existing business lines.

Blackrock, Inc. (BLK) is the world's largest asset manager and oversees the iShares exchange-traded fund family (ETFs). The corporation is situated in the United States, although it produces a large amount of its income abroad.

Over the previous five years, average dividend and EPS growth has been less than that of the other firms on our list. BLK shares have dropped 38% from their all-time high in November 2021, offering investors a higher dividend yield.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) is a component of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index, which includes companies that have paid a greater dividend for at least 25 years.

The stock of the No. 1 U.S. energy company is up 86% this year to $113, while oil prices, as measured by West Texas Intermediate, have rounded up to $77 a barrel after falling from a peak of more than $120 in June.

For much of the pandemic, beginning in 2020, the energy giant maintained its quarterly dividend at 87 cents per share in order to conserve money. In October of last year, it declared a quarterly dividend of 88 cents per share, an increase of one penny.

According to FactSet, Exxon stock, which yields 3.3%, has returned 81% this year through October 27, including dividends, compared to a negative 19% for the S&P 500.

Extra Space Storage (EXR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and manages over 2,000 storage facilities in the United States. EXR offers an excellent dividend yield and has achieved extremely good average payment growth over the previous five years.

Over the last five years, EXR has achieved average EPS growth of more than 16%. Dividend increases should be sustainable if this trend continues.

The share price has dropped nearly 25% from its peak in December 2021, but its performance in comparison to the S&P 500 has been among the best on the list, outperforming the benchmark index by an average of 9.6% each year over the previous decade.

Packaging Corporation (PKG) is one of the leading packaging manufacturers in the United States, specialising in corrugated materials and containerboard. PKG has a reasonable dividend yield and a strong five-year average dividend growth rate.

Shares are presently roughly 18% off their all-time highs, making the dividend yield appear slightly more advantageous today than it would have been in the spring. For the last decade, the stock has outperformed the S&P 500 by 7.5% on average.

First American Corporation (FAF) provides real estate insurance. Over the previous five years, the firm has provided an attractive dividend yield and a reasonable annualised average dividend growth rate.

First American Corporation has the lowest five-year average dividend growth rate of the stocks on our list, while the majority of the others have increased their payouts by 14% or more over the previous five years. However, it has maintained over 25% average annual improvements in profits per share (EPS) during the same time period—the strongest earnings growth rate of any stock on our list.

Over the previous decade, First American's share price growth has been 2.3% more than that of the S&P 500. That's a fantastic return, but it's slightly lower than the other stocks on the list.

OGE Energy Corporation (OGE) is a public utility located in Oklahoma that serves approximately 843,000 consumers. On September 27, the business increased its quarterly dividend by 1% to $0.4141 per share. This was the company's 15th straight year of straight dividend increases, making it one of the finest dividend stocks. As of November 22, the dividend yield on the stock was 4.21%.

The company reported $1.27 billion in sales in Q3 2022, a 46.9% increase over the same quarter last year. In addition, the corporation recorded a 1.2% increase in client growth over the previous year. Its net income for the quarter was $253 million, up from $223.8 million in Q3 2021.

Avista Corporation (AVA) is a Washington-based energy corporation that generates, transports, and distributes natural gas to customers. Mizuho boosted its price objective on the stock to $44 in September with a Buy rating, citing the company's fundamentals and balance sheet.

Avista Corporation issued a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share on November 3, matching its previous payment. The firm is one of the greatest dividend companies on our list since it has continuously raised its payments over the last 20 years. The stock offers a dividend yield of 4.43% as of November 22.

In Q3 2022, Avista Corporation reported a revenue of roughly $350 million, which showed a 21.9% growth from the same period last year. The company's operating cash flow for the quarter came in at over $4.4 million.

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) is one of the leading drugstore retail firms in the United States. The corporation produced $32.4 billion in revenue in the September quarter, exceeding Street projections by $280 million. The company's operational cash flow for the quarter was $85 million. Furthermore, the firm paid out more than $1.6 billion in dividends to stockholders, making it one of the finest dividend companies on our list.

The company has a 47-year track record of increasing dividends. As of November 22, the firm paid a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share and had a dividend yield of 4.65%. Cowen raised its price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. to $54 from $43 in November.

Medifast, Inc. (MED) is a multi-level marketing corporation established in Maryland that distributes weight reduction and health-related goods to its customers. DA Davidson put the company on its "high-conviction small cap ideas" list in September, indicating that the firm expects the company to grow in the next few years owing to its high yield and good financials.

Medifast, reported $390.4 million in sales and $36.2 million in net income in the third quarter of 2022. During the quarter, the business completed its $100 million Accelerated Share Repurchase program. It had about $69.7 million in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter, with no debt.

AT&T Inc. (T) is one of the major providers of mobile phones and related services in the United States. AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is one of the greatest dividend companies on our list since it has continuously raised its dividends for the past 23 years. As of November 22, the firm paid a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share, with a dividend yield of 5.86%.

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has paid quarterly dividends to its stockholders since March 10, 1973. The company has a relative dividend yield of 4.5% as of November 26, 2022. Last year, International Business Machines Corp.'s dividend yield was 9.8%.

International Business Machines Corp.'s dividend yield has averaged 4.8% each year over the last five years.

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) is a global telecommunications corporation based in the United States that offers cellular and internet services to its customers. For the previous 16 years, the firm has increased its dividends, making it one of the finest dividend stocks on our list. As of November 22, it paid a quarterly dividend of $0.6526 per share and had a dividend yield of 6.80%.

Verizon Communications Inc. reported $34.2 billion in sales in the third quarter of 2022, a 4% increase over the same period last year. The corporation earned $28.2 billion in revenue and $12.4 billion in free cash flow in the first nine months of the year.

Iron Mountain Incorporated (IRM) is a real estate investment trust that specialises in storage and data management.Iron Mountain reiterated its full-year expectations earlier this month, despite missing third-quarter sales estimates.

For the previous eleven years, the corporation has paid a dividend to shareholders on a steady basis. It announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6185 per share on February 24, the same as before. It also outperformed market expectations for revenue in the fourth quarter of 2021 by $10 million. The forecast for 2022 was also excellent, with revenues estimated to be around $5.275 billion, compared to $5 billion estimates.

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI) is an energy infrastructure corporation located in Texas that owns and operates oil and gas pipelines and terminals. Barclays maintained an Equal Weight recommendation on the shares with a $20 price target in October, emphasising the company's solid demand expectation.

Kinder Morgan, Inc. reported $5.18 billion in sales in the third quarter of 2022, a 35.6% increase over the same period the previous year. The company's distributable cash flow was over $1.1 billion, up from $1 billion the previous year. Its adjusted earnings were more than $575 million, up from $505 million in the third quarter of 2021. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2275 per share on October 19, the same as the previous payout. The firm is one of the greatest dividend companies on our list since it has continuously increased its dividends over the last five years. The company's shares have a 5.90% yield as of November 22.

Devon Energy Corporation (DVN) is an American energy corporation that specialises in hydrocarbon exploration. The company's sales in the third quarter of 2022 was $5.43 billion, representing a 56.5% increase over the same time the previous year. It earned $2.1 billion in operational cash flow, a 32% increase over the previous year. The cash flow for the quarter was $1.5 billion for the corporation.

Devon Energy Corporation is one of the greatest dividend companies on our list, having paid out monthly dividends to shareholders for the past 29 years. As of November 22, its current quarterly dividend is $1.35 per share, with a dividend yield of 7.35%.

Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. (MMP) is a firm established in Oklahoma that specialises in ammonia and petroleum pipelines in the Mid-Continent oil province. Following the company's third-quarter earnings, Barclays lifted its price objective on the stock to $55 with an Equal Weight rating in October.

The company reported $876 million in sales in the third quarter of 2022, up 37% from the same time the previous year. The company's free cash flow for the quarter was $273 million, up from $252 million the previous year. Its free cash flow was sufficient to meet its shareholder obligations.

Vale S.A. (VALE) of Brazil hiked its dividend in 2020 and 2021 but was compelled to reduce it this year as earnings fell. This year, the company's two semi-annual payments totaled $1.4115, a decrease from more than $2.50 the previous year. While investors feel anxious about the future of Vale's dividend, pushing VALE shares down by 25.8% since April 1 (and, ironically, making the stock's yield even more appealing), the firm remains dedicated to paying a substantial dividend even as its iron ore industry confronts challenges.

BHP Group (BHP), which principally produces copper, coal, and iron ore, has increased dividend payments in each of the previous two years after reducing dividends in 2020. In 2022, its semi-annual payouts reached $6.50, representing a dividend yield of more than 11%. The dividend is unlikely to continue at this level for long, with the yield expected to fall to approximately 5-6% in the future.

BHP Group, like other mining businesses, has been hurt by falling pricing and demand, notably in the company's powerful iron ore operations, which accounted for more than half of the company's record fiscal year 2022 EBITDA. The Chinese economy's performance in the future quarters will be critical to the company's success.

Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (ABR) is a real estate investment trust located in New York. It pays out at least 90% of its taxable income to shareholders.

Following a good third-quarter performance, the firm increased its quarterly dividend by a cent to $0.40 per share earlier in November. The company's EPS for the quarter was $0.56, above the $0.36 average forecast.

In mid-February, the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, a nearly 3% increase over the previous payout of $0.36. The firm's two business categories are structured loan origination and agency loan origination. Over the last five years, the company's shareholder return has been among the greatest in the real estate industry.

Dividends are great, but they aren't the only thing to think about when purchasing a stock. A dividend stock should ideally be financially stable and growing—consistent stability and growth indicate that the company's payout is long-term sustainable and likely to be increased on a regular basis.