An Analysis Of The Top Performing Dividend Stocks

The markets are forward looking by nature.
But to correctly understand the future, we must first comprehend what is going on now.
I take time to identify the top performing dividend stocks and sort them into several themes.
Written by Sam Kovacs
Introduction: A bit of context
We can all agree that 2020 has been a different type of year. The Covid-19 pandemic and the various restrictions which have came as a consequence have reshaped life for most of us. Each and every one of us is feeling it in one way or another. I have been stuck in Bali, where I was on holiday when lockdowns went into effect around the globe.
As our lives have been flipped upside down, so have the markets. Many struggle to comprehend the movements of the market, which dropped dramatically, only to bounce back and recoup close to half of its losses. The chart below shows the performance of the S&P 500 SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA: SPY).

Source: mad-dividends.com
You can attempt to read tea leaves all you want, but the market will always surprise you in its response. I personally think we’re far from being out of the woods, and that the upcoming wave of 1st quarter earnings announcements will send the market lower. But this remains speculation, which is highly subjective.
If you’re looking for something objective, you can look at what has happened, to become more aware of the current situation.
I run many such simulations, asking a question, then formulating that question in a way which a machine can answer my question.
For instance, as a dividend investor, understanding which dividend stocks have performed best will help me understand the current mentality of the crowd.
I might ask a question such as “Which are the dividend stocks which have performed best in recent times?”.
Source: Open Domain
Now asking this to Siri, Cortana or Google would produce an underwhelming response. We need to be a little more creative to get some answers.
We might... Read more