There's no shortage of high-yield stocks on the market, and it's not difficult to find them, but which ones better reflect your investing outlook? If you share my opinion, the outlook remains positive for energy prices, and the U.S. housing market will recover in time. Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) and (NYSE: WHR) are great buys right now. However, despite being an exciting investing proposition in its own right, 3M (NYSE: MMM) is not the stock high-yield investors should be buying. Here's why.

Devon Energy pays a fixed-plus-variable dividend, using the remaining free cash flow after the fixed dividend (currently $0.22 a quarter) is paid and share buybacks are completed.

It's a flexible strategy. When management feels its stock is undervalued, it prioritizes share buybacks. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2023, management retired 5.2 million shares for $234 million, paid a fixed dividend of $0.20 per share for $127 million, and paid a variable dividend of $0.22 per share using $140 million.

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Source Fool.com