Is Altria's 7.4%-Yielding Dividend Safe?
Dividend stocks can be alluring for investors, especially ones that offer high yields. As interest rates come down, stocks that offer high payouts can provide investors with a lot of incentive to just buy and hold and collect Dividend income.
But the risk that often comes with pursuing high yields is that they might not end up lasting. If a dividend proves to be unsustainable, a company may not have much option but to cut or suspend the dividend in the future. If that happens, then not only could your dividend income disappear, but the stock could suddenly go into a free fall.
Altria Group (NYSE: MO) is one of the highest-yielding stocks on the S 500, as it pays investors 7.4%. That's more than six times higher than the S average of 1.1%. It's an incredibly attractive yield, but the big question for investors is whether it's safe.
Source Fool.com
