2022 has been a miserable time for the FTSE 250. Its fallen 14% in the year to date and a similar amount in one year as worries over the UK economy have ballooned.
The good news, however, is that many high-dividend stocks have seen their yields shoot further through the roof. Here are two top income stocks I’d buy to boost my income.
Foresight Solar Fund
I think Foresight Solar Fund’s (LSE: FSFL) an ideal stock for investors seeking a reliable second income.
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The company’s dividend yield sits at 5.7% for 2022. This is more than double the FTSE 250 average of 2.8%.
The essential nature of Foresight Solar’s operations — it owns a portfolio of solar farms in Britain, Australia and Spain — means that profits here remain stable even during tough times. This gives it the financial strength and the confidence to pay big dividends year after year.
Electricity is an essential commodity, after all. But I also like Foresight Solar because green energy is becoming a white-hot growth sector as the fight against climate change intensifies. The International Energy Agency thinks solar power generation alone will rise by an average of 24% every year between now and 2030.
Creating electricity using the sun isn’t as reliable as using fossil fuels. Cloudy periods can smack power generation levels and this can have a big knock-on effect on earnings. Still, it’s my opinion that the long-term benefits of owning this stock outweigh the temporary trouble adverse weather may cause to profits.
And besides, I think this danger is more than priced into Foresight Solar’s rock-bottom valuation. Today the renewable energy stock trades on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 6.5 times.
Bank of Georgia Group
Bank of Georgia (LSE: BGEO) might not have the investor recognition of popular dividend stocks like Lloyds or Barclays. But I believe the brighter economic outlook in the Eurasian country makes it a better buy for passive income.
There’s also the fact the bank’s dividend yields soar past those of the FTSE 100 banks. For 2022, its yield sits at a mighty 8.4%.
The main threat facing the Georgian economy — and by extension this emerging market bank — is a long war between Russia and Ukraine. Indeed, the Asian Development Bank thinks this will cause the country’s GDP growth to fall to 3.5% in 2022 from 10.6% last year.
But the long-term outlook here remains robust. Personal wealth levels are tipped to grow strongly as the economy picks up momentum (GDP growth is expected to rise to 5% next year). So demand for financial services should also keep improving. It’s worth remembering that Bank of Georgia’s profits soared 57% between 2017 and 2021.
Today it trades on a P/E ratio of just 3.5 times. I think that this, combined with its high dividend yield, makes it a brilliant value stock to buy.
