Move over FTSE 100, I reckon dividend stocks on the FTSE 250 have a lot to offer income seekers in 2026.
Mid-cap company share prices have performed poorly compared to the UK’s biggest stocks over the past five years too. Does this mean we could be entering a new golden era for FTSE 250 investors, in terms of both growth and income? Let’s look at a couple of potential dividend winners.
Big 8.6% yield
When I look at Victrex (LSE: VCT), the first thing I notice is the shocking five-year share price performance, down a whopping 72%. But then I’m drawn to a very tasty forecast dividend yield of 8.6% — and reconciling the two is a bit of a puzzler.
Digging a bit deeper, I immediately see a potential pitfall. With full-year results in December, the high-tech polymer producer maintained its annual dividend at 59.56p. But underlying earnings per share (EPS) fell some way short of that at just 43.9p.
Can that level of payout be maintained until profits pick up again? Well, it looks like maybe it can. The company has a ‘Profit Improvement Plan’ underway, aiming to achieve savings of at least £10m with full annual benefits in 2027.
And it speaks of “dividends maintained at current level, provided net debt/EBITDA target range not exceeded; excess cash returns available via share buybacks or special dividends when net debt/EBITDA moves sustainably below 0.5x“. With a new net debt/EBITDA target range of 0.5x-1.0x, the liquidity seems to be there.
There’s a clear need for caution here, and I’ll remain wary until I see those earnings start to rise again. But I do think dividend investors should consider Victrex as a 2026 dividend stock candidate.
Covered by earnings
The MONY Group (LSE: MONY) share price has also fallen over the past five years, this time off by 31%. Surprisingly, that’s after shareholders have enjoyed rising earnings and dividends in the past three years, with bright forecasts ahead.
We see a lower forecast dividend yield than at Victrex, though still attractive at 6.8%. And this time, it looks like it should be strongly covered by earnings. For the first six months of the year, the finance services firm declared an interim dividend of 3.3p per share. Adjusted EPS of 9.3p came in at 2.8 times that. And net debt was down a very handy 27%, to just £18.4m.
The company’s financial comparison offerings do face competition. They also face changing consumer patterns and preferences. How many, having used comparison services to pick what they want, will simply stick to that in the years ahead?
It’s a risk, but it doesn’t deter forecasters, who see Mony’s earnings continuing the trend of the past few years. Between 2024 and 2027, there’s an EPS increase of 25% on the cards… with 14% dividend growth predicted too.
Mony ticks a number of the most important boxes for me for a long-term dividend stock candidate.
