Fortunately, in this low interest rate environment, the ASX is home to a large number of shares offering generous dividend yields.
Three top dividend shares that I would consider buying this week are listed below. Here's why I would buy them:
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ)
Whilst I think all the big four banks are worth considering, my favourite in the group at this point is ANZ. This is largely due to its valuation and the dividend yield its shares offer. At 12.5x earnings and offering a trailing fully franked 5.7% dividend yield, I think ANZ's shares are very attractive. Especially given its strong capital position and the improving housing market. The latter could lead to an increase in demand for mortgage loans and support its bottom line.
Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)
But if you're not a fan of the big four banks and want exposure to banking, then Macquarie could be a good alternative. I'm a big fan of Macquarie due to the quality and diversity of its operations. I believe this diversity and its talented management team have positioned it for solid long term profit and dividend growth. At present I estimate that Macquarie's shares offer a partially franked forward dividend yield of 4.3%.
Stockland Corporation Ltd (ASX: SGP)
Another dividend share to consider is this diversified Australian property company. Stockland owns, manages and develops retail centres, workplace and logistics assets, residential and retirement communities. Pleasingly, earlier this month Stockland released a solid Q1 update. That update revealed an improvement in residential sales, an increase in comparable retail MAT growth, continued up-weighting in logistics, and progress in its commercial property development pipeline. This year it is forecast to increase its distribution to 27.8 cents per unit, which equates to a generous forward 5.8% distribution yield.
