By Ian Salisbury

Income investors are always reaching for yield. The trick is to avoid reaching too far -- especially in a slowing economy and a stock market that looks increasingly volatile.

Stocks like Ford Motor, Conagra, and T. Rowe Price may be just what investors are looking for. Those three names are among the highest-yielding stocks in the S&P 500 that still boast healthy looking profits to cover coming payout obligations.

While the S&P 500 hit a record high last week, investors seem to be getting nervous. On Tuesday, the index tumbled 1.2%, a move widely attributed to jitters over runaway AI spending. In a volatile environment, income investors want to be sure dividend payments look solid.

To help find stocks with fat yields that still look safe, we used FactSet to screen for the highest yielding companies in the S&P 500 that still had dividend payout ratios below 60% -- meaning their dividends should eat up more than 60% of their net income.

A 60% payout ratio isn't ideal -- the market median is around 40%. But it is below the 70% to 80% threshold that traditionally signals a red flag. Given the S&P 500's dividend yield is at a historic low of just above 1%, investors need to make some trade offs if they want to find stocks yielding 4%, a level that's competitive with Treasury notes.

At the top of our screen is Ford, with an enticing-looking payout of nearly 8%. Can investors count on it? While some Wall Street analysts raised doubts earlier this year, it doesn't look like it's in imminent peril -- amounting only to about half of Ford's annual profit, according to FactSet.

Like many auto makers, Ford has been struggling with inflation, tariffs, and overly aggressive bets on the electric vehicle market. But things have been looking up recently. Shares jumped 12% after the auto maker reported better-than-expected third quarter earnings last month, saying it planned to increase production of its popular F-series pickup trucks next year.

Conagra, maker of packaged food brands such as Reddi-wip and Hebrew National, is another consumer company that's been struggling with inflation and tariff-related headwinds. Shares, which yield 6.3%, are down more than 30% so far this year.

The company has forecast earnings to slump next year, before returning to growth in 2027. Still, at 58%, its dividend payout ratio looks reasonable. On the company's October conference call CEO Sean Connolly said, "We expect to maintain our $1.40 annual dividend rate."

T. Rowe Price is another storied company facing headwinds, in its case, the popularity of exchange-traded funds. Still the mutual fund firm, the subject of a recent Barron's feature , boasts a yield of 4.4% and payout ratio just above 50%.

10 High-Yield Dividend Payers with Solid Payout Ratios

Ford / F

Market cap: $52 billion

Dividend Yield: 7.9%

Payout ratio: 53%

Conagra Brands / CAG

Market cap: $8.3 billion

Dividend Yield: 6.3%

Payout ratio: 58%

AES Corp. / AES

Market cap: $9.7 billion

Dividend Yield: $5.4%

Payout ratio: 29%

Diamondback Energy / FANG

Market cap: $41 billion

Dividend Yield: 5.1%

Payout ratio: 53%

General Mills / GIS

Market cap: $25 billion

Dividend Yield: 4.5%

Payout ratio: 59%

Devon Energy / DVN

Market cap: $21 billion

Dividend Yield: 4.4%

Payout ratio: 32%

T. Rowe Price / TROW

Market cap: $22 billion

Dividend Yield: 4.4%

Payout ratio: 54%

APA Corp. / APA

Market cap: $8 billion

Dividend Yield: 4.3%

Payout ratio: 44%

Regions Financial / RF

Market cap: $22 billion

Dividend Yield: 4.2%

Payout ratio: 51%

U.S. Bancorp / USB

Market cap: $73 billion

Dividend Yield: 4.1%

Payout ratio: 52%

Source: FactSet

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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November 04, 2025 14:17 ET (19:17 GMT)

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