Dividend Win Wednesday: Six Names Yield 4–11% While Insiders Exit at Highs

This Week's Setup

Greed sits at 56 on the Fear & Greed index while the S&P 500 CAPE holds at 38.9, a valuation ceiling that has marked the outer boundary of sustainable multiples in prior cycles.

The dividend screen is surfacing eight names with FCF yields between 4.4% and 11.4%, drawdowns no wider than 18%, and six tickers showing insider Form 4 activity in the last 30 days.

Energy operators and a healthcare incumbent are trading near 52-week highs with payout ratios below 65%, while a gold miner is compounding at 30% ROIC and a midstream MLP is yielding 7.4%.

Quick Scan

The 8 Names

1. Novartis AG (NVS)

Dividend yield: 3.0% | Payout ratio: 64.7% | 52w drawdown: -6.4%

Free cash flow yield of 5.0% covers the 3.0% dividend by 1.7×, and the dividend has grown 7.2% annually over five years while revenue accelerated 9.6% year-over-year. Gross margin sits at 75.8%, ROIC at 16.0%, and interest coverage at 15.3×, a level that leaves room for capital deployment even as net debt stands at 1.75× EBITDA.

Analysts price the stock at $153.87, 3.6% below the current $159.54, and the normalized P/E of 22.9 trades near the upper end of the peer group despite the yield spread sitting 27 basis points below the 10-year Treasury. The 6.4% drawdown is the widest on this week's screen, and short interest is negligible at 0.2% of float, removing any technical squeeze dynamic.

The stock is trending up 0.1% over the trailing year, a pace that lags the S&P 500 and suggests institutional money is rotating toward growth names rather than accumulating this yield vehicle at current multiples.

2. ConocoPhillips (COP)

Dividend yield: 2.5% | Payout ratio: 51.3% | 52w drawdown: -2.8%

Free cash flow yield of 4.5% is running nearly double the 2.5% dividend, and the company is trading 2.8% off its 52-week high with a shareholder yield of 3.6% when you include buybacks. Revenue growth accelerated 7.7% year-over-year, ROIC is 13.5%, and net debt sits at just 0.73× EBITDA with interest coverage of 11.3×.

Insider Silvina Vatnick filed two Form 4s on July 27, and Ricardo Jaramillo Mejia filed another on August 24; all three transactions occurred within the last 30 days as the stock approached its high. Morgan Stanley set a new high price target for COP, and the consensus analyst target of $142.77 implies 8.1% upside from the current $132.11.

The earnings yield of 4.5% sits 18 basis points below the normalized 10-year average, and the P/E of 22.4 is elevated for an exploration and production name even as gross margin compressed to 25.1%. Short interest is 2.3% of float, in line with the sector median.

3. EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG)

Dividend yield: 2.8% | Payout ratio: 43.6% | 52w drawdown: -2.6%

Free cash flow yield of 4.4% covers the 2.8% dividend by 1.6×, and the company is trading 2.6% off its 52-week high with a shareholder yield of 3.5%. ROIC is 15.2%, interest coverage is 28.1×, and net debt sits at just 0.35× EBITDA, the lowest leverage ratio in this week's screen.

CEO Ezra Yacob sold shares on August 25, Christopher Gaut sold on August 4, and Charles Crisp sold on the same day; all three executives reduced positions as the stock traded near its high. The company announced that Yacob will speak at SUPER DUG, and Capital One downgraded the stock to Equal Weight with a $153 target, 3.5% above the current $147.91.

Revenue declined 3.4% year-over-year, the only contraction among the eight names this week, and the normalized P/E of 14.6 is compressing as earnings growth slows. Short interest is 3.4% of float, the highest among the energy operators on this screen.

4. Newmont Corporation (NEM)

Dividend yield: 0.8% | Payout ratio: 15.7% | 52w drawdown: -0.9%

ROIC is 29.9%, the highest return on invested capital in this week's screen, and the company is generating 5.1% FCF yield while trading 0.9% off its 52-week high. Net debt is negative at -0.20× EBITDA, interest coverage is 50.5×, and revenue growth accelerated 21.3% year-over-year as gold prices moved higher.

Peter Toth sold shares on August 5, Mark Rodgers sold on July 29, and Brian Tabolt sold on the same day; all three insiders reduced positions as the stock reached a new high. The stock hit a 52-week high alongside RUM and MRK, and analysts price the shares at $142.82, 6.8% above the current $133.71.

The dividend yield of 0.8% is the lowest on this week's screen, and the payout ratio of 15.7% signals management is retaining most free cash flow for reinvestment rather than distribution. The shareholder yield of 2.0% is less than half the median of the group, and short interest is 1.8% of float.

5. The Cigna Group (CI)

Dividend yield: 2.2% | Payout ratio: 27.7% | 52w drawdown: -17.9%

Free cash flow yield of 11.4% is the highest on this week's screen, and the stock is trading 17.9% off its 52-week high with analysts pricing shares at $341.50, 22.7% above the current $278.24. Revenue growth accelerated 11.7% year-over-year, ROIC is 11.2%, and the shareholder yield is 5.0% when you include buybacks.

James Lee filed a Form 4 on August 3, and Nicole Jones filed two transactions on August 6 and August 20; all three filings occurred within the last 30 days as the stock traded in the drawdown zone. Cigna Healthcare announced it is connecting medical and supplemental benefits to help people manage unexpected health costs, and Zacks included the company in its managed-care industry outlook alongside UnitedHealth and Humana.

The P/E of 2.5 and earnings yield of 40.9% are statistical anomalies that suggest one-time items or accounting adjustments are distorting the trailing twelve-month calculation, and the normalized 10-year earnings yield of 36.2% confirms the current multiple is not sustainable. Net debt sits at 1.72× EBITDA, and interest coverage of 6.5× is the lowest among the healthcare names on this screen.