savng.com

For companies whose main return is the dividend, we value the dividend stream itself. These are the names our engine routed to a Dividend Discount Model.

← All screeners

Market state today: Calm — the S&P 500 closed 1.8% below its 1-year high (as of 2026-09-11). Our rule, the same one used to split every backtest on this site: sell-off = 10% or more below the 1-year high, borderline from 5%, calm otherwise. A further 8.4% fall from here would put us in a sell-off. Since 2006 the market has been in a sell-off 16.6% of the time, across 13 episodes (red bands).

S&P 500 (SPY, adjusted) distance from its trailing 1-year high, weekly. Amber band: borderline (−5% to −10%). Red band: sell-off (below −10%). The dot is today. History to 2026-08-19 from the research database; today from the live feed.

Backtest · point in time · 8,702 entries in the study

Do dividend payers beat the market? The record

Screen tested: Dividend yield 2.0–12.0% at the filing date · bought the day of the annual report, held 12 months

Could be luck Buy every company that met this screen on the day it filed its annual report, hold 12 months: on average it beat the S&P 500 by +0.9 pts (2,386 entries, 334 companies, could be luck). 47% of entries beat the S&P; 13% beat it by 30 points or more; 23% trailed it by 20 points or more. Owning everything instead averaged +1.7 pts, so the screen's edge is −0.8 pts.

+0.9 ptsvs S&P, average

47%beat the S&P

13%up 30+ pts vs S&P

23%down 20+ pts vs S&P

+3.1 ptsvs small caps, 12 mo

−19.8 pts 2023worst year to buy ?

1.1luck check ?

Does the holding period matter?3 mo: +0.0 pts 49% beat6 mo: −0.8 pts 47% beat12 mo: +0.9 pts 47% beat24 mo: −0.6 pts 42% beat3 yr, per yr: −3.5 pts 36% beat

Market state at entry	Company-years	vs S&P 12 mo	vs small caps
Calm ◀ today	2,097	+1.4 pts t 1.7	+3.9 pts
Sell-off (S&P ≥10% off high)	289	−2.8 pts t -1.0	−2.1 pts

Sector (SEC group)	n	vs S&P 12 mo	3 yrs / yr
Industrials & manufacturing	704	+1.7 pts t 1.2	−4.4 pts
Utilities	262	−2.5 pts t -1.8	−3.1 pts
Energy	217	+1.8 pts t 0.5	−6.6 pts
Retail & consumer	179	+2.9 pts t 0.9	−0.7 pts
Tech hardware & semis	171	−0.4 pts t -0.1	−3.1 pts
Finance & real estate	144	+2.4 pts t 0.9	+1.8 pts
Other	132	+1.9 pts t 0.6	−3.1 pts
Services	106	−0.5 pts t -0.2	+0.1 pts
REITs	71	−5.0 pts t -1.7	−12.2 pts
Biotech & pharma	68	+9.2 pts t 0.9	−2.6 pts
Food, drink & tobacco	68	−5.6 pts t -2.0	−6.3 pts
Banks	56	−2.4 pts t -0.8	−9.6 pts

Holds up out of sample? Before 2017: +3.6 pts (n 979, t 3.5). From 2017: −1.0 pts (n 1,407, t -0.9). Flips sign between halves — treat as noise.

Year	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
vs S&P	+18 pts	+7 pts	+2 pts	+7 pts	+1 pts	−2 pts	+1 pts	+11 pts	+2 pts	+1 pts	−10 pts	+10 pts	+7 pts	+4 pts	−20 pts	−7 pts	+3 pts
n	4	48	103	151	175	155	158	185	156	149	157	182	138	136	162	172	155

Read the research behind this screen: Dividend yield: a modest, real edge — until it gets extreme → · Test your own combination in the Screen Lab →

Yield from the fiscal year's declared dividends per share ÷ price on the 10-K filing date. Financials included. Point-in-time: each entry is one company bought at the first close after its 10-K filing date, using only filings available that day, held 12 months; result = total return minus SPY over the same months (vs IWM for 12 months; 3-yr annualised). Survivorship-tilted universe; no costs; read spreads, not levels. Educational, hypothetical, before costs.

All sectors 6,499 Financial Services 1,914 Healthcare 1,120 Technology 1,078 Industrials 666 Consumer Cyclical 495 Basic Materials 335 Consumer Defensive 248 Communication Services 215 Utilities 183 Energy 165 Real Estate 80

255 stocks · page 1 of 5

Educational use only — not investment advice. "Undervalued / fairly valued / overvalued" and every risk score reflect our models vs. price, which can be wrong or based on stale or incomplete data. Always review the company's own financials and SEC filings, and consult a licensed advisor, before acting.

SWX

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc.

Dividend Stocks

Do dividend payers beat the market? The record