This morning dividend favourites Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) dealt income investors two separate blows.
With its half year result, Westpac announced the deferral of its interim dividend decision. Whereas Insurance Australia Group warned that there was limited scope to pay a final dividend in September.
While this is disappointing, all is not lost. There are still a handful of companies that plan to pay dividends as normal in the coming months.
Three top dividend shares I would consider buying are listed below:
Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR)
Last week this distributor of information technology products released a trading update which revealed that business was booming during the pandemic. Dicker Data reported an impressive 36.3% increase in first quarter net profit before tax to $18.4 million. In light of this and its positive outlook, the company advised that it expects to increase its fully franked dividend by 31% in FY 2020 to 35.5 cents per share. This equates to a fully franked 5.1% yield and will be paid in quarterly instalments.
Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)
I think this agriculture-focused property group would be a good option for income investors in the current environment. Rural Funds owns a large number of assets across several agricultural industries. One of the key attractions to the company for me is its long-term earnings visibility. This is thanks to its long-term tenancy agreements and the periodic rent increases built into contracts. Because of this visibility, management has recently been able to reiterate its distribution guidance for both FY 2020 and FY 2021. It plans to pay a distribution of 10.85 cents per share in FY 2020 and 11.28 cents per share in FY 2021. This is the equivalent of 5.6% and 5.8%, yields, respectively.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)
While there is speculation that Telstra may trim its dividend down from 16 cents per share to 14 cents per share, whatever happens, the telco giant will almost certainly be paying a final dividend in FY 2020. This is because the company remains on course to achieve its guidance in FY 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic. If it maintains its dividend, its shares will provide a fully franked 5.35% yield. If it cuts it down to 14 cents, its shares will offer a 4.7% yield. I think both are very attractive in this low interest rate environment.
