Dividend stocks offer investors a way to supplement their returns while also offsetting the effect of inflation. And with many of them down in price recently, now could be an opportune time for investors to secure some good buys.
A couple of income-generating stocks that are near their 52-week lows are Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG -0.09%) and Intel (INTC 0.64%). Not only do they offer some attractive payouts, but there's a growth angle to each of these stocks as well.
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1. Scotts Miracle-Gro
Scotts is a gardening company that has also expanded its presence into the cannabis sector. Through its subsidiary, Hawthorne Gardening, it offers hydroponic growing equipment that cannabis producers use. And this year, it has expanded that business through the acquisition of Luxx Lighting for $215 million, which "bolsters a lighting portfolio that is now several times larger and more diverse than our nearest competitor." Lighting is a key part of growing cannabis indoors, and Luxx has products that were designed in collaboration with cannabis cultivators.
Although Scotts isn't entirely a marijuana stock, it has followed the path of many; over the past 12 months, shares of Scotts have fallen more than 40% while the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF has crashed close to 60%. The company released its most recent earnings numbers this month, and going up against some tough comparables from a year ago, net sales of $566 million were down 24% for the period ending Jan. 1. Hawthorne suffered the largest decline, falling by 38%, while the U.S. Consumer Segment, which includes Scotts' conventional gardening products, declined by a more modest 16%.
Seasonally, the first quarter of the year isn't normally Scotts' best, and so its quarterly loss of $50 million for the period shouldn't be a huge concern for investors. In the trailing 12 months, it has posted a profit of $438 million, for a profit margin of more than 9%.
Its payout margin is around 33%, and very sustainable with plenty of room for increases. Last year, the company raised its payouts by 6.5%, and in 2020, on strong results, even issued a special dividend of $5 per share. The stock's current yield of 1.9% is above the S&P 500 average of 1.3, and if you buy and hold, you'll likely be collecting much more over time on your initial investment.
Scotts is a company that doesn't hesitate to reward its shareholders and could be an excellent long-term investment, especially as the cannabis industry continues to grow and more producers enter it.
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2. Intel
It's not often that you find tech companies that pay high dividend yields, but Intel falls into that category. Its 3.2% yield is higher than what you'll get with Scotts, and this year, its quarterly dividend of $0.365 is 5% higher than the $0.3475 it was paying last year.
In 12 months, its shares have fallen by 29%. The company's revenue in 2021 totaled $79 billion and rose by just 1% year over year, while its net income fell by 5% to $19.9 billion. But for an income investor, it was still a strong year. Intel reported $30 billion in cash from its operating activities, and spent just $5.6 billion of that on dividends, and another $2.4 billion on share buybacks.
That gives the chipmaker plenty of room to continue not just increasing dividend payments, but also investing into its own growth, which it has been doing. Earlier this month, Intel announced a $5.4 billion acquisition of Tower Semiconductor, a move that will increase its production capabilities to help meet what CEO Pat Gelsinger says is "an era of unprecedented demand for semiconductors." Intel expects the deal to close in 12 months.
There may be short-term pain still ahead for Intel investors, as the company says that in 2022, its revenue may only hit $76 billion, less than what it generated this past year. However, Gelsinger estimates that the semiconductor market may be worth $1 trillion by 2030, and the company is "doubling down on innovation, driving even deeper collaboration with our customers and partners" so that by 2026, its year-over-year revenue growth will be between 10% and 12%.
Now, with Intel trading near its 52-week low, may be a good time to not only cash in on a great dividend yield but a company that is planning for much more growth in the not-too-distant future.
