S&P 500 Dividend Checks Worth More Than Buyback Proceeds
Dividend-paying stocks in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index are more in favor than the shares of companies most inclined to reward investors through stock buybacks. As the chart shows, a gauge of S&P 500 companies that have raised dividends for at least 25 consecutive years has beaten the broader index since July, while an index of companies repurchasing the highest percentage of their shares has trailed. Liz Ann Sonders, Charles Schwab & Co.’s chief investment strategist, cited a similar chart today in a Twitter posting.