On the face of it, the stock market is simple: the more people buy a stock, the higher its price goes. Supply and demand, cause and effect, nothing a 10th-grade Economics didn’t cover. Of course, the higher the stock goes, the lower the yield.

The mechanics and (unsurprisingly) psychology behind market movements can be surprisingly complex and are dictated by many factors. 

One factor that affects stock performance is analyst coverage. The more analysts cover a company, the more exposure it has, and the more likely it is to be put on an investor’s radar. That could lead to potential buy opportunities in the future. 

Let’s do some contrarian thinking now. Analysts' coverage is all good, but what about stocks not well-covered by Wall Street? Better yet, what about prime companies that lack coverage or are unpopular? Are you missing out on great opportunities because you didn’t know these stocks existed? 

Let’s find out, using these three overlooked, high-yield companies. 

How I Came Up With The Following Stocks

To get my list, I used Barchart’s Stock Screener feature and entered the following filters: 

• Dividend Payout Ratio: 1% to 50%. The dividend payout ratio indicates how much the company pays out of its earnings for dividends. A healthy range is ~30% to 50%, so I’m limiting the results to below 50%. This is a good measure of how sustainable a company’s dividend payouts are; there have been instances where investors invested in high-yield companies when their earnings weren’t enough to cover the dividends and either borrowed money or depleted their cash reserves to keep up appearances. I want to avoid that here.
• Current Analyst Rating: 4.5 to 5 (Strong Buy).
• Annual Dividend Yield: 5% or more.
• Number of Analysts: 4 (Low) to 12 (Medium). Here is where the ‘overlooked’ context comes in. Many investors (including me) who use this filter typically start at medium (8-12) and above. This time, I’m setting it to low and medium but avoiding the very low category since it is possible to get stocks that have only one coverage with that option. 

Now that the filters are in place, I ran the search and got ten results. I arranged them from highest to lowest yields, and now I’ll discuss the top three, as shown below: 

Seanergy Maritime Holdings (SHIP)

Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. is an international shipping company specializing in owning and operating dry bulk vessels, primarily Capesize ships—the largest in their class. Seanergy operates 19 vessels with an aggregate cargo capacity of 3.4 million dwt (deadweight tonnage), carrying commodities like iron ore, coal, or grains across global trade routes. 

Seanergy Maritime pays 26 cents quarterly, totaling $1.04 annually. This reflects an impressive 13.4% yield based on current prices. The Q3 2024 report indicated a 61-cent EPS, a vast improvement over Q2 2023’s dismal 28-cent loss. 

Source: Barchart.com 

Diligent investors might notice that SHIP’s dividend payout has fluctuated over the past few years, but they might be happy to learn that the company updated its dividend policy in Q2 2024. Seanergy Maritime now distributes 50% of its operating cash flow after debt service as dividends, shown in their last two payouts at 25 and 26 cents, respectively. 

Rithm Capital Corp (RITM)

No list of high-yielding dividend stocks is complete without a REIT. Our second stock, Rithm Capital Corp, is focused on managing and investing in assets within the real estate and financial services sectors.

Previously Fortress Investment Group, Rithm has been operating since 2013 and has expanded from investing in mortgage servicing rights (MSR) to more diverse opportunities like residential and consumer loans, commercial real estate, and more through various subsidiaries like Newrez, Genesis, and Sculptor. 

Rithm Capital pays 25 cents per share quarterly or $1.00 annually in dividends, which translates to a 9% yield at the current trading price. Meanwhile, the company maintained a 54-cent EAD (earnings available for distribution) in Q3 2024, covering its quarterly payouts. The REIT has also been consistent with its payout schedule at 25 cents since the tail-end of 2021, so, with all things being equal, you can expect the high yields to keep coming. 

Copa Holdings S.A. (CPA)

Copa Holdings S.A. is the parent company of Copa Airlines and Wingo, which provide air transportation services in North and South America. The company is committed to “keeping our operating costs low” to boost profitability. It has also been consistently recognized as one of the best on-time flight operators in the Americas—a big draw for flyers worldwide. 

Source: Barchart.com 

After the company halted its dividend payments in 2020, it restarted payouts at the end of 2023. Its current annual dividend is $6.44 ($1.61 quarterly), reflecting a 7.18% yield. Meanwhile, its Q3 2024 EPS stands at $3.50, comfortably covering its dividend. 

Final Thoughts

I’m very much of the opinion that safe and sustainable investing practices are the best way to build wealth—but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have fun occasionally. These overlooked dividend stocks might not have extensive Wall Street coverage, but the opportunities they offer are hard to ignore. However, due diligence is always a requirement when researching investments.

On the date of publication, Rick Orford did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.