Yields have plummeted in the fourth quarter

After Treasury yields soared to over 5% for the 10-year note and the 30-year-long bond, many on Wall Street urged investors to grab the once-in-20-year debt. While those that did are happy, those yields are currently much lower and could stay there as rate hikes are close to being over.

5 Stocks now comprise 26% of the S&P 500 index, an event that hasn’t happened since 1964

With the Magnificent 7 leading the charge, that move has started to dry up as shareholders sold the mega-tech leaders in 15 of the last 17 trading sessions, and these were long sales and not short-selling.

Now is the time to grab Ultra-High dividend stocks

With the shift to lower rates, investors will return to dividend-paying stocks as they may be the best place to look for passive income and total return gains in 2024.

We screened out a 24/7 Wall St. Ultra-High dividend research database looking for companies that offer dependable big dividends and can provide outstanding total return potential.

Alliance Resource Partners

This company is a leader in the thermal coal business, offers solid diversity, and a massive 14.14% yield. Alliance Resource Partners L.P. (NASDAQ: ARLP), a diversified natural resource company, produces and markets coal primarily to utilities and industrial users in the United States.

The company operates through four segments:

• Illinois Basin Coal Operations,
• Appalachia Coal Operations,
• Oil and Gas Royalties, and
• Coal Royalties as it produces a range of thermal and metallurgical coal with sulfur and heat contents

The company operates seven underground mining complexes in

• Illinois
• Indiana
• Kentucky
• Maryland
• Pennsylvania
• West Virginia

In addition, it leases land and operates a coal loading terminal on the Ohio River at Mt. Vernon, Indiana; and buys and resells coal, as well as owns mineral and royalty interests in approximately 1.5 million gross acres of oil and gas-producing regions primarily in the Permian, Anadarko, and Williston Basins.

The company offers various mining technology products and services, including:

• Data networks
• Communication and tracking systems
• Mining proximity detection systems
• Industrial collision avoidance systems
• Data and analytics software

Arbor Realty Trust

This company trades at a ridiculous 6.9 times trailing earnings and pays a massive 13.08% dividend. Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE: ABR) invests in a diversified portfolio of structured finance assets in the multifamily, single-family rental, and commercial real estate markets in the United States.

The company operates in two segments:

• Structured Business
• Agency Business

Arbor Realty Trust primarily invests in bridge and mezzanine loans, including junior participating interests in first mortgages and preferred and direct equity, as well as real estate-related joint ventures, actual estate-related notes, and various mortgage-related securities.

The company offers bridge financing products to borrowers who seek short-term capital to be used in an acquisition of property; f

• Financing by making preferred equity investments in entities that directly or indirectly own real property
• Mezzanine financing in the form of loans that are subordinate to a conventional first mortgage loan and senior to the borrower’s equity in a transaction
• Junior participation financing in the form of a junior participating interest in the senior debt
• Financing products to borrowers who are looking to acquire conventional, workforce, and affordable single-family housing
• Underwrites, originates, sells, and services multifamily mortgage loans through conduit/commercial mortgage-backed securities programs

Berry Corporation

While off the radar, trading at just 12 times earnings and posting a stunning 14.24% dividend, this could be a huge winner. Berry Corporation (NYSE: BRY) is an independent upstream energy company that develops and produces conventional oil reserves in the western United States.

It operates through

• Exploration and Production (E&P) and
• Well Servicing and Abandonment (CJWS) segments.

The E&P segment develops and produces onshore, low geologic risk, and long-lived conventional oil and gas reserves in California and Utah.

CJWS provides healthy site services in California to oil and natural gas production companies with a focus on

• Well servicing,
• Well-abandonment services
• Water logistics
• Rig-based and coiled tubing-based healthy maintenance and workover services
• Completion services,
• Fluid management services
• Fishing and rental services
• Ancillary oilfield services

Dynex Capital

A hefty 13.41% dividend is a passive income champion for more aggressive investors. Dynex Capital, Inc. (NYSE: DX) is a mortgage real estate investment trust that invests in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) on a leveraged basis in the United States.

It invests in agency and non-agency MBS consisting of residential MBS, commercial MBS (CMBS), and CMBS interest-only securities.

Agency MBS has a guarantee of principal payment by an agency of the U.S. government or a U.S. government-sponsored entity, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Non-agency MBS has no such guarantee of payment

Highwoods Properties

Trading just above a 52-week low, this company pays a stellar 9.65% dividend and has enormous upside potential. Highwood Properties, Inc. (NYSE: HIW) is a fully integrated office real estate investment trust publicly traded (NYSE: HIW).

The company owns, develops, acquires, leases, and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of

• Atlanta
• Charlotte
• Dallas
• Nashville
• Orlando
• Raleigh
• Richmond
• Tampa

Highwoods Properties’ biggest customers include the U.S. Government, financial services firms, industrial supply retailers, and healthcare companies.

Civitas Resources

Trading at a cheap 7.4 times trailing earnings with a 9.67% dividend could be a total return gem for 2024. Civitas Resources Inc. (NYSE: CIVI) is an exploration and production company focused on the acquisition, development, and production of oil and natural gas in the Rocky Mountain region, primarily in the Wattenberg Field of the Denver-Julesburg Basin of Colorado.

In October, Civitas signed an agreement with Vencer Energy to acquire oil-producing assets in the Midland Basin of West Texas for a total consideration of approximately $2.1 billion, subject to customary terms, conditions, and closing price adjustments. The Acquisition is expected to close in January 2024, effective January 1, 2024.

Altria

This maker of tobacco products offers value investors a great entry point now and a rich 9.48% dividend. Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) manufactures and sells smokable and oral tobacco products in the United States through its subsidiaries.

The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand;

• Cigars and pipe tobacco, principally under the Black & Mild brand
• Moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands
• on! Oral nicotine pouches

It sells its tobacco products primarily to wholesalers, including distributors and large retail organizations, such as chain stores.

Altria owns over 10% of Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD), the world’s largest brewer.

Mach Natural Resources

This recent IPO is trading below the initial price and will pay a gigantic 16.33% dividend. Mach Natural Resources (NYSE: MNR) is an independent upstream oil and gas company focused on the acquisition, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves in the Anadarko Basin region of Western Oklahoma, Southern Kansas, and the panhandle of Texas.

The analysts at Raymond James noted that the company is led by Tom Ward, Co-Founder of Chesapeake Energy; Mach is another entrant into the E&P MLP space. MNR is a pure-play operator in the Anadarko Basin, leveraging its strong position (1 million net acres) to become the primary consolidator in the region.

Mach’s midstream position and lower base decline (~20%) allow the company to target a lower reinvestment rate (~30%) relative to the overall industry.

Starwood Property Trust

This is a high-yielding company run by real estate legend Barry Sternlicht that offers big-time total return potential and a 9.76% dividend. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: STWD) operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Commercial and Residential Lending, Infrastructure Lending, Property, and Investing and Servicing segments.

The Commercial and Residential Lending segment

• Originates
• Acquires
• Finances
• Manages commercial first mortgages
• Non-agency residential mortgages
• Subordinated mortgages
• Mezzanine loans
• Preferred Equity
• Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS)
• Residential mortgage-backed securities
• Real estate and real estate-related debt investments, including distressed or non-performing loans

The Infrastructure lending segment originates, acquires, finances, and manages infrastructure debt investments.

The Property segment primarily develops and manages equity interests in stabilized commercial real estate properties, such as multifamily properties and commercial properties subject to net leases, that are held for investment.

The Investing and Servicing segment

• Manages and works out problem assets
• Acquires and contains unrated, investment grade, and non-investment grade rated CMBS comprising subordinated interests of securitization and re-securitization transactions
• Originates conduit loans for the primary purpose of selling these loans into securitization transactions
• Acquires commercial real estate assets that include properties received from CMBS trusts

FS KKR

This is a well-known name on Wall Street, offers a solid entry point at current levels, and pays a massive 14.01% dividend. FS KKR Capital Corp. (NASDAQ: FSK) is a business development company specializing in investments in debt securities. It seeks to purchase interests in loans through secondary market transactions or directly from the target companies as primary market investments.

The company also seeks to invest in

• First-lien senior secured loans
• Second-lien secured loans
• Subordinated loans
• Mezzanine loans.

In connection with the debt investments, the firm also receives equity interests such as warrants or options as additional consideration. It also seeks to purchase minority interests in common or preferred equity in our target companies, either in conjunction with one of the debt investments or through a co-investment with a financial sponsor.

The fund may invest in corporate bonds and similar debt securities opportunistically.  It aims to invest in small and middle-market companies in the United States.

The fund seeks to invest in firms with annual revenue between $10 million to $2.5 billion. It aims to exit from securities by selling them in a privately negotiated over-the-counter market.

 

 

 

 

 

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