With higher yield comes higher risk. But this doesn’t mean I should automatically discard any stock with a dividend yield above the FTSE 100 average. With us now stepping into Q2, I’m looking for ways to increase my potential for income into the summer.
Here are two stocks that I’ve got on my radar to consider buying.
Helping out the needy
First up is Civitas Social Housing (LSE:CSH). This is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The share price is down 40% over the past year, which is one factor pushing the dividend yield up to 10.89%.
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The business is focused on investing in social housing projects in the UK. It has a portfolio of 697 properties, with over 4,500 tenants. It looks for opportunities in the newly constructed space, as well as renovated properties and existing properties that have been repurposed.
As a REIT, it has a mandate to pay out a set amount of profits as income (derived from rental payments). This gives me confidence that dividends in some form will always be paid.
The fall in the share price reflects concern around property market valuations over the past year. Further, the business will find it more expensive to take on more debt to purchase property going forward due to higher interest rates.
I accept the risk, but note the strong financials reported in the half-year update. I also like the ESG focus and benefit to society that the company advocates through social housing provisions.
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Investing in the future
The second company is Digital 9 Infrastructure (LSE:DGI9). The FTSE 250 firm only went public in 2021, but currently offers one of the highest yields in the index, at 9.10%. However, the share price has fallen 39% over the past year.
As the name suggests, the business invests in digital infrastructure projects. In practical terms, this means things like data centres and subsea fibre systems.
Given the way the world is going, digital continues rule and prosper. I can only see demand for these projects rising in the future, with Digital 9 well-placed to benefit from providing capital and reaping returns.
Of course, a concern is the steep fall in the share price. In the annual report, the business flagged up challenges including high inflation, high interest rates and the departure of key personnel in the investment team.
Yet with both high-yield stocks, the fall in the share price helps to elevate the yield. This goes back to the first sentence, that higher yield does mean higher risk.
Both stocks are on my watchlist for April. I do see myself buying the shares at some point. However, I’m going to see if they continue to fall in the next couple of weeks before making a decision… buy, or continue to watch and wait.
