With an average dividend yield of approximately 4%, the Australian share market is one of the most generous in the world.
But with so many dividend shares to choose from it can be hard to decide which ones to buy.
To help narrow things down I have picked out three dividend shares which I feel are amongst the best the market has to offer. They are as follows:
Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD)
With Sydney Airport regarded as the main gateway into and out of Australia, I believe it is well-placed to benefit from the global tourism boom. I expect the tourism boom to lead to the perfect mix of passenger growth and increasing revenue per passenger, allowing Sydney Airport to continue growing its dividend for a long time to come. At present the airport operator's shares offer a trailing 4.9% dividend yield.
Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)
I think this toll road giant could be a great option for income investors. Transurban is one of the world's largest toll road operators with a collection of popular roads in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and North America. Thanks to a combination of steadily growing traffic numbers and toll prices, Transurban has been able to grow its distribution at a solid pace over the last decade and looks well-positioned to continue this trend for some time to come. At present its units offer a distribution yield of 4.5%.
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)
I think all the big four banks are arguably in the buy zone at the moment, but one of the better options for income investors could be Westpac due to its massive yield. At present the banking giant's shares offer a trailing fully franked 6.7% dividend yield. However, with its half year results due to be released in a few days, it may be worth holding out for them to be released before making a move, just in case recent remediation charges puts pressure on the bank to cut its interim dividend.
