6 Good Dividend Stocks Yielding 5% or More

The average large-company stock yields about 2% these days. But many stocks pay quite a bit more — upward of 5% in some cases offering potential for both income and modest price gains.

Since a high yield can signal deep problems with a business, we screened for companies with the financial clout to maintain their dividends, along with good prospects to expand sales and profits. None of these are high-growth companies and a few are seeing sales decline in the near-term. But their dividends look secure and we like their long-range business outlooks.

Keep in mind that our six picks include foreign companies whose shares trade in the U.S., along with real-estate investment trusts (REITs) and master limited partnerships (MLPs). Foreign stocks pose currency risk related to their markets in Europe or elsewhere. REITs and MLPs tend to be sensitive to interest rates and could slump if rates climb sharply. Also, MLPs issue complex K-1 forms, rather than standard 1099s, so they can be a headache come tax time. Consult a tax planner before investing.

1. Symbol: BXMT

Share price: $27.25

Market capitalization: $2.6 billion

Price-earnings ratio: 10.5

Dividend yield: 9.2%

As a real estate financing company, Blackstone Mortgage Trust makes loans and buys debt issued by commercial property owners. Although the firm went public in 2013, it’s partially owned and run by Blackstone Group (BX), the world’s largest private-equity real estate firm with more than $340 billion under management.

For income seekers, Blackstone Mortgage looks appealing. As a real-estate investment trust, it’s required to shell out at least 90% of taxable income to shareholders, making it a big dividend payer. Furthermore, its $9.3 billion portfolio of loans spans a mix of high-quality commercial properties in North America and Europe, ranging from the Woolworth Building in New York City to Aldwych House in London.

2.Symbol: FUN

Share price: $57.96

Market capitalization: $3.2 billion

Price-earnings ratio: 17

Dividend yield: 5.8%

Ride the Intimidator 305 roller coaster and you’ll climb 305 feet before plunging at an 85-degree angle, gathering velocity at up to 90 miles per hour. Presumably, it’s best to eat lunch after jumping aboard. But kids love the ride, which is one of the most popular attractions at the Kings Dominion theme park near Richmond, Va.

Rides such as the Intimidator 305 also make Cedar Fair an attractive stock. The firm owns Kings Dominion and 10 other amusement parks in states such as Ohio, California and Pennsylvania, along with a big theme park (Canada’s Wonderland) outside Toronto. Cedar also operates three water parks and five hotels. These parks aren’t as expansive or well-known as Disneyland. But they rack up sales. Revenues are on track to hit $1.3 billion this year, up from $973 million in 2010.

3. Symbol: EPD

Share price: $28.90

Market capitalization: $60.4 billion

Price-earnings ratio: 21

Dividend yield: 5.5%

Tumbling oil prices sent shudders through “midstream” MLPs, which operate pipelines, processing plants and storage terminals for the energy industry. Enterprise Product Partners — one of the largest midstream MLPs — wasn’t immune to the downturn, seeing revenues plunge from $48 billion in 2014 to $27 billion in 2015. Analysts see sales dipping again in 2016 to $23.5 billion.

Yet Enterprise’s revenues are likely to embark on a new path upward. Oil prices have recovered sharply from lows hit earlier this year, helping stabilize domestic production. Enterprise has also invested heavily in new revenue streams. The firm aims to put $7.8 billion worth of new pipelines, storage terminals and processing plants into operation by the end of 2017. Those assets should help it generate enough income to maintain and hike its distributions for years.

4. Symbol: LHO

Share price: $23.23

Market capitalization: $2.6 billion

Price-earnings ratio: 19

Dividend yield: 7.7%

Hotel REITs such as LaSalle Hotel Properties face a wall of worry these days. Business and leisure travel spending may have peaked in this business cycle, and could start a long decline. Longer term, rising competition from home-rental sites such as Airbnb poses a threat to traditional hotel occupancy rates and sales.

Yet LaSalle’s stock, down 29% in the past year, looks like a solid long-term bet. The REIT owns 47 upscale hotels in major cities such as New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., along with resorts in Key West, Fla., and Del Mar, Calif. Sites such as Airbnb aren’t likely to siphon a large number of travelers from these properties. And LaSalle has renovated guestrooms at more than a dozen properties over the past two years, boosting “revenues per available room,” a key hotel REIT metric. Indeed, RevPAR edged up 2% in the first quarter and will climb 2.8% for the full 2016 calendar year, estimates Credit Suisse.

5. Symbol: NCMI

Share price: $14.89

Market capitalization: $929 million

Price-earnings ratio: 28

Dividend yield: 5.9%

Go to a movie and you’ll probably see a FirstLook pre-show that includes a mix of national and local ads, along with promos for upcoming films. National CineMedia produces those pre-shows for advertisers, reaching more than 20,000 screens across the U.S. The firm also sells 3-D advertising.

Cinema ad revenues are climbing steadily, topping $700 million in 2015, a 13.4% increase over 2014, according to the Cinema Advertising Council, an industry trade group. Advertisers are turning to movie screens to reach audiences in an increasingly fragmented media landscape. For National CineMedia, the upshot is likely to be steady sales gains. Wall Street estimates that the firm will take in $468 million in revenues in 2016, up from $394 million in 2014.

6. Symbol: RDS.A

Share price: $54.24

Market capitalization: $194.5 billion

Price-earnings ratio: 20

Dividend yield: 6.9%

With oil prices recovering from multi-year lows, hit in early 2016, sales are likely to pick up for Royal Dutch Shell. The largest European energy producer, the Anglo-Dutch firm will see revenues climb from $231.1 billion this year to $265.2 billion in 2017, according to Wall Street estimates. Net income, meanwhile, should more than double from an estimated $8 billion in 2016 to $18.1 billion in 2017.

Like other major producers, Shell’s prospects would dim if the rally in oil fades. But the supply glut that sent prices crashing appears to easing. Global demand seems to be picking up, meanwhile, leading to a market likely to be more tightly balanced between supply and demand, according to the International Energy Agency.