10 Best-Performing UK Dividend Stocks for the Quarter

To
find
the
quarter’s
10
best-performing
income-focused
stocks,
we
screened
the

Morningstar
UK
index
–
which
measures
the
performance
of
the
UK’s
broad
regional
markets,
targeting
the
top
97%
of
stocks
by
market
capitalisation
–
for
companies
with
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
at
least
1.5%,
excluding
real
estate
investment
trusts.

The
Best-Performing
UK
Dividend
Stocks
of
Q1
2024

1.
Spirent
Communications
(SPT)
2.
4imprint
Group
(FOUR)
3.
Virgin
Money
UK
(VMUK)
4.
Beazley
Group
(BEZ)
5.
DS
Smith
(SMDS)
6.
Bank
of
Georgia
Group
(BGEO)
7.
Clarksons
(CKN)
8.
NatWest
Group
(NWG)
9.
Barclays
(BARC)
10.
Just
Group 
(JUST)

How
Have
Dividend
Stocks
Performed?

The

Morningstar
UK
Dividend
Yield
Focus
index,
which
tracks
the
performance
of
high-quality,
dividend-paying
stocks
listed
in
the
UK,
rose
2.7%
over
the
past
month
and
6.4%
over
the
past
year.

The
overall
UK
stock
market,
as
measured
by
the

Morningstar
UK
index,
has
gained
3.5%
on
the
quarter
and
8.3%
on
the
year.

Yields
and
Metrics
for
Q1’s
Best-Performing
Dividend
Stocks

Spirent
Communications
Software
infrastructure
firm
Spirent
Communications
rose
62.2%
in
the
first
quarter
and
gained
16.6%
over
the
past
12
months.
Trading
at
£2
per
share,
its
stock
has
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
3.13%.
Spirent
Communications
pays
investors
an
annual
dividend
of
8p
per
share.
The
stock,
which
has
no
economic
moat,
is
currently
trading
near
its
quantitative
fair
value
estimate
of
£2.43
per
share,
leaving
it
with
a
quantitative
Morningstar
Rating
of
3
stars.

4imprint
Group

Advertising
agency
4imprint
Group
rose
38.7%
in
the
first
quarter
and
gained
37.9%
over
the
past
12
months.
At
£63.40
per
share,
its
stock
has
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
2.65%
and
an
annual
dividend
of
£1.63
per
share.
The
stock,
which
has
a
narrow
economic
moat,
is
moderately
overvalued,
trading
20%
above
its
quantitative
fair
value
estimate
of
£53.03
per
share.
It
has
a
quantitative
Morningstar
Rating
of
2
stars.

Virgin
Money
UK

The
bank
Virgin
Money
gained
31.3%
in
the
first
quarter
and
rose
50.2%
over
the
past
12
months.
The
stock’s
£2.14
price
gives
it
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
2.48%.
Virgin
Money
pays
investors
an
annual
dividend
of
11p
per
share.
With
a
fair
value
estimate
of
£2.56
per
share
and
no
economic
moat,
the
stock
is
fairly
valued
and
has
a
Morningstar
Rating
of
3
stars.

You
can
read
more
about
Morningstar’s
view
on
Nationwide’s
recent
bid
to
acquire
Virgin
Money
in
this
article.

Beazley

Specialty
insurance
firm
Beazley
rose
30.2%
in
the
first
quarter
and
gained
13.8%
over
the
past
12
months.
Trading
at
£6.66
per
share,
Beazley
stock
has
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
2.13%
and
an
annual
dividend
of
17p
per
share.
The
stock,
which
has
a
narrow
economic
moat,
is
trading
near
its
quantitative
fair
value
estimate
of
£7.07
per
share.
It
has
a
quantitative
Morningstar
Rating
of
3
stars.

DS
Smith

Packaging
and
containers
company
DS
Smith
gained
29.1%
in
the
first
quarter
and
rose
31.9%
over
the
past
12
months.
Trading
at
£3.97
per
share,
its
forward
dividend
yield
is
4.54%.
DS
Smith
pays
investors
18p
per
share
annually.
The
stock,
which
has
no
economic
moat,
is
trading
near
its
quantitative
fair
value
estimate
of
£3.93
per
share.
It
has
a
quantitative
Morningstar
Rating
of
3
stars.

Bank
of
Georgia
Group

Bank
of
Georgia
gained
27%
in
the
first
quarter
and
rose
93.4%
over
the
past
12
months.
At
£50.50
per
share,
Bank
of
Georgia
stock
has
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
5.3%
and
an
annual
dividend
of
£8.87
per
share.
The
stock,
which
has
no
economic
moat,
is
trading
near
its
quantitative
fair
value
estimate
of
£49.88
per
share.
It
has
a
quantitative
Morningstar
Rating
of
3
stars.

Clarksons

Marine
shipping
firm
Clarksons
rose
26.7%
in
the
first
quarter
and
gained
32.8%
over
the
past
12
months.
Trading
at
£40.10
per
share,
Clarksons
stock
has
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
2.54%
and
an
annual
dividend
of
93p
per
share.
The
stock,
which
has
a
narrow
economic
moat,
is
trading
near
its
quantitative
fair
value
estimate
of
£39.52
per
share.
It
has
a
quantitative
Morningstar
Rating
of
3
stars.

NatWest
Group

NatWest
rose
26.3%
in
the
first
quarter
and
gained
7.2%
over
the
past
12
months.
Trading
at
£2.65
per
share,
the
banking
stock
has
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
6.4%
and
pays
investors
an
annual
dividend
of
16p
per
share.
The
stock,
which
has
no
economic
moat,
is
currently
trading
near
its
fair
value
estimate
of
£3.36
per
share,
leaving
it
with
a
Morningstar
Rating
of
3
stars.

Barclays

Barclays
gained
22.6%
in
the
first
quarter
and
rose
31.1%
over
the
past
12
months.
The
stock’s
£1.83
price
gives
it
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
4.37%.
Barclays
pays
investors
an
annual
dividend
of
8p
per
share.
With
a
fair
value
estimate
of
£2.29
per
share
and
no
economic
moat,
the
bank
is
fairly
valued
and
has
a
Morningstar
Rating
of
3
stars.

Just
Group

Specialty
insurance
firm
Just
Group
rose
22.5%
in
the
first
quarter
and
gained
24.6%
over
the
past
12
months.
At
£1.05
per
share,
Just
Group
has
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
1.98%
and
an
annual
dividend
of
2p
per
share.
The
stock,
which
has
no
economic
moat,
is
trading
near
its
quantitative
fair
value
estimate
of
£1.18
per
share.
It
has
a
quantitative
Morningstar
Rating
of
3
stars.

What
is
the
Morningstar
UK
Index?

The
Morningstar
UK
index
measures
the
performance
of
the
UK’s
broad
regional
markets,
targeting
the
top
97%
of
stocks
by
market
capitalisation.
The
index
does
not
incorporate
environmental,
social,
or
governance
criteria.

What
is
the
Morningstar
UK
Dividend
Yield
Focus
Index?

The
Morningstar
UK
Dividend
Yield
Focus
index
captures
the
performance
of
a
portfolio
of
high-quality,
dividend-paying
securities.

It’s
a
subset
of
the
Morningstar
UK
index
(which
represents
97%
of
the
equity
market
capitalisation)
that
includes
only
stocks
that
pay
dividends.
The
stocks
are
screened
for
economic
moat
and
financial
strength
compared
to
others
in
their
sector.
Real
estate
investment
trusts
are
excluded.

The
25
highest-yielding
stocks
are
included
in
the
index,
weighted
by
the
dollar
value
of
the
dividends.
See
the
full
rulebook

here.

The
Best
Dividend
Stock
Leaders:
More
Ideas
to
Consider

Investors
who
would
like
to
uncover
more
top-performing
or
cheap
dividend
stocks
to
research
further
can
do
the
following: 

•
Review
the
full
list
of
Dividend
stocks
included
in
the

Morningstar
UK
Dividend
Yield
Focus
index.
Those
dividend
stocks
with
Morningstar
Ratings
of
4
or
5
stars
are
undervalued,
according
to
our
metrics.

•
Read
our
monthly
analysis
of
the
latest
dividend
moves

among
the
top
FTSE
100
dividend
payers.

•
Use
our

Morningstar
Screener
tool
to
find
the
best
dividend
stocks
according
to
your
specific
criteria.
You
can
search
for
stocks
based
on
their
dividend
yields,
valuation
measures
such
as
price/earnings,
and
more.

•
Use

Morningstar
Portfolio
Manager
to
build
a
watchlist
of
the
best
dividend
stocks
and
create
a
view
that
allows
you
to
easily
follow
the
valuations,
ratings,
and
dividend
yields
of
the
stocks
in
your
list.

When
it
comes
to
buying
stocks,
it’s
more
than
just
dividends.
Read

here
how
valuations
and
competitive
advantages
–
known
as
economic
moats
–
matter
when
it
comes
to
a
stock’s
potential
for
outperformance.

Companies
that
are
not
formally
covered
by
a
Morningstar
analyst
have
quantitative
ratings.
These
companies
are
statistically
matched
to
analyst-rated
companies,
allowing
our
models
to
calculate
a
quantitative
moat,
fair
value,
and
uncertainty
rating.

This
article
was
compiled
by
Bella
Albrecht,
edited
by
Lauren
Solberg,
and
reviewed
by
Sunniva
Kolostyak.

As
part
of
our
mission
to
put
more
information
into
the
hands
of
investors,
this
article
was
compiled
from
Morningstar’s
data
and
independent
research
using
automation
technology.
The
original
article
was
written
by
Morningstar
reporters
and
editors.
This
updated
version
was
reviewed
by
an
editor.

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