Which were the top dividend paying FTSE stocks in Q2?

 Summary 

• UK companies reported a 51.2% rise in dividend payout during the second quarter of this year.

• Companies from the Mining, Banking and Oil sectors gave the biggest dividends payout.

• Rio Tinto Plc gave the highest dividends from mining, while HSBC Holdings Plc was the biggest dividends contributor from the banking sector.

UK companies reported a significant recovery in dividends payments during the second quarter of the year, up by 51.2% at £25.7 billion. Companies from almost every sector had given dividend payouts, when compared to last year. However, the highest dividends payout was given by the mining, banking and oil sector stocks, with two-third of the contribution coming from the first mining and banking sectors during the quarter. In the mining sector, Rio Tinto Plc gave the highest dividends payout, while HSBC Holdings Plc was the biggest dividends contributor from the banking sector.

UK companies once again started dividends payout after very low or insignificant payout last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, which reduced cash outflow from the companies to overcome the pandemic led uncertainty. According to the UK dividend monitor Link Group, the dividend payout growth is expected to be 24.4% for the rest of the year.

Let us look at some of the top dividend-paying stocks:

Rio Tinto Plc (LON: RIO)

The company operates in the exploration and processing of resources and is the second-largest metal and mining company globally that processes iron ore, copper, gold and diamonds. The company’s stock has a dual listing at the London Stock Exchange and the ASX 200 blue-chip index.

The company recently came up with second-quarter production results, in which iron ore shipments were down by 12% at 76.3 Mt, while the iron ore production also saw a drop of 9% at 75.9 Mt compared to the same quarter of 2020. Limited inventories due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions and the tight labour market was the key reason for the fall.

The company paid a total of 288.63p per share dividend, of which 221.86 was the final dividend, and 66.77 was the special dividend during the second quarter of 2021.

Rio Tinto Plc shares trade at GBX 6047, up by 2.04% on 26 July at 11.00 GMT+1, with a market cap of £97.38 billion.

HSBC Holdings Plc (LON: HSBA)

The banking and financial service provider has operations in over 64 countries and serves close to 40 million customers. It provides commercial and retail banking services as well as wealth management products.

The company paid a quarterly dividend of 10.79p per share on 29 April 2021 and will be declaring its next interim dividend on 2 August 2021 for the six months ended 30 June 2021.

HSBC holdings share trade at GBX 399.10, down by 0.62% on 26 July at 11.10 GMT+1, with a market cap of £81.36 billion.

Imperial Brands Plc (LON: IMB)

Along with its subsidiaries, the company manufactures and sells tobacco-related products; the company is also involved in the logistics business through its subsidiary Logista. It is the world’s largest producer of fine-cut tobacco.

The company generated £15,568 million in revenue, which was up by 6.1% in the six months ended 31 March 2021. The operating profit was up by 77% at £1637 million, compared to the same period of 2020. The basic earnings per share reported by the company was 191.2 pence.

The company has a quarterly dividend payout policy and declared a 42.12p per share dividend on 18 May 2021.

Imperial Brands Plc shares trade at GBX 1566.50, down by 0.35% on 26 July at 11.20 GMT+1 with a market cap of £14.81 billion.

Evraz Plc (LON: EVR)

The FTSE 100 listed company, produces and distributes steel products in Russia, Europe and the Asian market, which are its biggest revenue contributors.  

The company reported a 9.9% drop in sales of steel products compared to the fourth quarter of 2020. Low sales were reported for the semi-finished products of the company amid the reduced steel availability. Sales of iron ore products also reported a drop of 30.1% during the first quarter of 2021.

The company declared an interim dividend of 14.11p per share on 15 April 2021.

Evraz Plc shares trade at GBX 619.60, up by 2.01% on 26 July at 11.48 GMT+1, with a market cap of £8.89 billion.

Also Read: 15 Best Dividend paying Stocks in the UK

Diversified Energy Company (LON:DEC)

The company operates in oil and gas production, which owns over 60,000 natural gas wells assets in the Appalachian Basin in the United States. The company’s stock is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

During the first quarter of 2021, the company’s adjusted EBITDA was USD 78 million and Net Debt / Adjusted EBITDA of 2.3x with available liquidity of USD 204 million. Also, the company reported average net daily production of 102 MBoepd. In addition, the company has recently acquired certain upstream assets and infrastructure from Blackbeard Operating LLC.

The company paid quarterly dividends of 2.81p per share, paid on 24 June 2021 and declared a 2.90p per share dividend on 30 April 2021, which will be paid on 23 September 2021.

Diversified Energy Plc shares trade at GBX 102.00, up by 2% on 26 July at 11.45 GMT+1, with a market cap of £857.6 million.