Best-Performing UK Dividend Stocks

To
find
the
month’s
top
10
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%,
excluding
real
estate
investment
trusts.

The
Best-Performing
UK
Dividend
Stocks
of
January
2024

1.
4imprint
Group
(FOUR)
2.
QinetiQ
(QQ.)
3.
Clarksons
(CKN)
4.
Next
Fifteen
Communications
Group
(NFG)
5.
GSK
(GSK)
6.
Hikma
Pharmaceuticals
(HIK)
7.
Plus500
(PLUS)
8.
Bellway
(BWY)
9.
Bytes
Technology
Group
(BYIT)
10.
Bodycote
(BOY)

How
Have
Dividend
Stocks
Performed
Over
the
Past
Year?

In
the
12
months
leading
up
to
January
31,
the Morningstar
UK
Dividend
Yield
Focus index,
which
tracks
the
performance
of
high-quality,
dividend-paying
stocks
listed
in
the
UK,
rose
4.8%.

Morningstar
UK
vs.
Morningstar
UK
Dividend
Yield
Focus
Indices

Source:
Morningstar
Direct,
February
1,
2024

The
dividend
yield
focus
index
outperformed
the
overall
UK
stock
market,
which
gained
1.8%
over
the
12-month
period
as
measured
by
the Morningstar
UK index.

Yields
and
Metrics
for
the
Best-Performing
Income
Players

4imprint
Group

Advertising
agency
company
4imprint
Group
rose
19.7%
in
January
to
end
the
last
12
months
up
26.3%.
Trading
at
£54.70
per
share,
its
stock
has
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
2.74%.
4imprint
Group
pays
investors
an
annual
dividend
of
204p
per
share.
The
narrow-moat
stock
is
currently
trading
near
its
quantitative
fair
value
estimate
of
£49.02
per
share.

QinetiQ

Aerospace
and
defense
firm
QinetiQ
rose
16.8%
in
January,
leaving
it
up
0.9%
over
the
past
year.
At
358p
per
share,
its
stock
has
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
2.21%,
and
an
annual
dividend
of
12p
per
share.
The
no-moat
stock
is
moderately
undervalued,
trading
6%
below
its
quantitative
fair
value
estimate
of
379p
per
share.

Clarksons

Marine
shipping
company
Clarksons
gained
12.2%
in
January
to
end
the
last
12
months
up
18.5%.
The
stock’s
£35.50
price
gives
it
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
2.65%.
Clarksons
pays
investors
an
annual
dividend
of
120p
per
share.
With
a
quantitative
fair
value
estimate
of
£35.76
per
share,
the
narrow-moat
stock
is
fairly
valued.

Next
Fifteen
Communications
Group

Advertising
agency
firm
Next
Fifteen
Communications
Group
rose
10.0%
in
January,
leaving
it
down
7.2%
over
the
past
year.
Trading
at
915p
per
share,
Next
Fifteen
Communications
Group
stock
has
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
1.62%
and
an
annual
dividend
of
20p
per
share.
The
no-moat
stock
is
trading
near
its
quantitative
fair
value
estimate
of
£11.06
per
share.

GSK
Drug
manufacturer
GSK
gained
8.1%
in
January
to
end
the
last
12
months
up
14.1%.
Trading
at
£15.68
per
share,
its
forward
dividend
yield
is
4.08%.
GSK
pays
investors
64p
per
share
annually.
The
wide-moat
stock
is
trading
at
a
29%
discount
to
its
fair
value
estimate
of
£2,200
per
share,
leaving
it
significantly
undervalued.

Hikma
Pharmaceuticals

Drug
manufacturer
Hikma
Pharmaceuticals
gained
8.0%
in
January,
leaving
it
up
15.9%
over
the
past
year.
At
£19.32
per
share,
Hikma
Pharmaceuticals
stock
has
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
2.56%
and
an
annual
dividend
of
80p
per
share.
The
no-moat
stock
is
moderately
undervalued,
trading
12%
below
its
quantitative
fair
value
estimate
of
£21.98
per
share.

Plus500

Capital
markets
company
Plus500
rose
7.6%
in
January
to
end
the
last
12
months
up
0.9%.
Trading
at
£17.90
per
share,
Plus500
stock
has
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
2.81%
and
an
annual
dividend
of
240p
per
share.
The
narrow-moat
stock
is
trading
near
its
quantitative
fair
value
estimate
of
£18.08
per
share.

Bellway

Residential
construction
firm
Bellway
rose
7.5%
in
January,
leaving
it
up
36.9%
over
the
past
year.
Trading
at
£27.60
per
share,
Bellway
stock
has
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
5.07%
and
pays
investors
an
annual
dividend
of
380p
per
share.
The
no-moat
stock
is
currently
trading
at
a
26%
discount
to
its
fair
value
estimate
of
£34.66
per
share,
leaving
it
moderately
undervalued.

Bytes
Technology
Group

Software
company
Bytes
Technology
Group
gained
7.3%
in
January
to
end
the
last
12
months
up
73.6%.
The
stock’s
656p
price
gives
it
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
1.19%.
Bytes
Technology
Group
pays
investors
an
annual
dividend
of
12p
per
share.
With
a
quantitative
fair
value
estimate
of
539p
per
share,
the
narrow-moat
stock
is
significantly
overvalued,
trading
at
a
22%
premium.

Bodycote

Specialty
industrial
machinery
company
Bodycote
rose
7.2%
in
January,
leaving
it
up
1.2%
over
the
past
year.
At
638p
per
share,
Bodycote
has
a
forward
dividend
yield
of
3.39%
and
an
annual
dividend
of
28p
per
share.
The
no-moat
stock
is
trading
near
its
quantitative
fair
value
estimate
of
672p
per
share.

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.

This
article
was
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
Sunniva
Kolostyak.

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.

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