Unfortunately for income investors, interest rates are still at ultra low levels and unlikely to improve in the near term.
But don't worry because the Australian share market is home to countless dividend shares offering attractive yields. Two to consider are listed below, here's what you need to know about them:
Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)
The first ASX dividend share to look at is Accent. It is the leading leisure footwear retailer behind store brands such as HYPEDC, The Athlete's Foot, and Platypus. It also owns the exclusive rights to a number of popular footwear brands in the ANZ region.
Accent has been a very strong performer in FY 2021 thanks to a favourable shift in consumer spending. This led to the company releasing its half year results last month and revealing a 6.6% increase in total sales to $541.3 million and 57.3% lift in net profit after tax to $52.8 million. The was its seventh consecutive record half year profit.
One broker that was impressed was Bell Potter. In response to its results, the broker put a buy rating and $2.65 price target on its shares. The broker is also forecasting an 11.9 cents per share dividend in FY 2021. Based on the current Accent share price, this will mean a fully franked 5% yield.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)
The second ASX dividend share to consider is Telstra. Now could be a good time to buy the telco giant's shares after it reaffirmed its plans to maintain its dividend at 16 cents per share when it released its half year results.
But perhaps the biggest positive from the release is news that the company is aiming to return to growth in FY 2022. Thanks to the success of its T22 strategy, Telstra CEO Andy Penn has set an aspirational target for mid to high single-digit growth in underlying EBITDA in FY 2022, with further growth in FY 2023.
This appears to be a sign that the dividend cuts are finally over at long last.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs appear to believe this will be the case and are forecasting a 16 cents per share annual dividend for the foreseeable future. Based on the current Telstra share price, this will mean a 5.2% fully franked dividend yield for income investors.
The broker also sees value in Telstra's shares at the current level. It has a buy rating and $4.00 price target on the company's shares.
