I’ve been searching the FTSE 100 for the best stocks to buy. And the following boast dividend yields which trash the broader 3.5% forward average currently carried British stocks. Here’s why I’d buy them today.
Why Id buy HSBC over Lloyds
Buying UK bank shares is too risky for many investors as low interest rates persist. I’ve warned of the risk this presents to the likes of Lloyds and Barclays time and again. However, HSBC Holdings (LSE: HSBA) is a FTSE 100 financial share I’d happily buy today, despite this headache.
This is because I believe HSBC’s focus on Asian emerging markets should still deliver excellent shareholder returns for the bank’s investors. Economic growth in these regions is tipped to continue outstripping GDP expansion in the West this decade. Meanwhile, the financial product market in these areas is highly underpenetrated, giving the Footsie firm plenty of opportunity to win business. I’d also buy HSBC shares on account of its 4.1% dividend yield.
Going for gold
I think Polymetal’s (LSE: POLY) another top FTSE 100 stock to buy today. As I say, central banks will likely keep their interest rates quite low for years to come, keeping inflationary concerns rumbling along in the background and supporting demand for hard currencies like gold. It’s a scenario which this particular UK mining share will be well-placed to exploit as it steadily ramps up production from its world-class Russian and Kazakh assets.
The complexities of digging for metals leaves Polymetal at risk of profit-hitting production issues and ballooning costs. But I feel these problems are baked into the company’s share price today. The business trades on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of below 9 times. One final thing that makes it a top FTSE 100 share to buy today is its mighty 6.7% dividend yield.
A pharma firecracker
GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) has a long history of paying above-average dividends too. Okay, the FTSE 100 pharma giant hasn’t lifted the annual dividend for years. But the 80p per share payout it’s forked out since 2014 has still provided decent income flows for its shareholders. And City analysts are predicting an identical dividend for this year and next too, creating a mighty 5.6% forward dividend yield.
UK shares like this always carry a high level of risk as drugs development can often be bumpy. Not only can lab failures cost a fortune in lost revenues and soaring expenses, but regulators can put a torch to all that hard work by refusing approve a product.
That said, there’s several reasons I’d still buy Glaxo shares today. The Footsie firm has a great track record of getting its products signed off. The company has a packed pipeline in fast-growing therapy areas like oncology and vaccines. And demand for medical products looks set to boom as populations grow and healthcare investment in emerging markets increase.
