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The 10 Best-Performing UK Dividend Stocks of Q3 2024

Kingfisher and St. James's Place are among the quarter's high-yielding winners

Bella Albrecht 2 October, 2024 | 9:12AM
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Dividend-paying stocks that combine healthy balance sheets with hefty yields can provide investors with steady incomes, cushion against market downturns, and grow investments at a healthy clip.

In the third quarter of 2024, the top-performing dividend-payers included asset management firm Bridgepoint BPT, asset manager St. James's Place STJ, and renewable energy firm Drax DRX.

To find the quarter's 10 best-performing income-focused stocks, we screened the Morningstar UK Index—which measures the performance of the UK's broad regional markets, targeting the top 97% of stocks by market capitalization—for companies with a forward dividend yield of at least 1.5%, excluding real estate investment trusts.

The Best-Performing UK Dividend Stocks of Q3 2024

1. Bridgepoint Group BPT
2. St. James's Place STJ
3. Drax Group DRX
4. Keller Group KLR
5. Just Group JUST
6. WH Smith SMWH
7. Kingfisher KGF
8. TI Fluid Systems TIFS
9. Coats Group COA
10. Centamin CEY

How Have Dividend Stocks Performed?

The Morningstar UK Dividend Yield Focus Index, which tracks the performance of high-quality, dividend-paying stocks listed in the UK, rose 6.6% over the past month and 16.9% over the past year.

The overall UK stock market, as measured by the Morningstar UK Index, has gained 2.5% on the quarter and 13.2% on the year.

Yields and Metrics for Q3's Best-Performing Dividend Stocks

Bridgepoint Group
Asset management firm Bridgepoint rose 58.4% in the third quarter and gained 83.6% over the past 12 months. Trading at £3.45 per share, its stock has a forward dividend yield of 2.67%. Bridgepoint Group pays investors a trailing 12-month dividend of 9p per share. The stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.

St. James's Place
Asset management firm St. James's Place rose 35.4% in the third quarter and lost 10.1% over the past 12 months. At £7.34 per share, its stock has a forward dividend yield of 1.91% and a trailing 12-month dividend of 24p per share. It has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.

Drax Group
Renewable energy firm Drax gained 33.1% in the third quarter and rose 52.4% over the past 12 months. The stock's £6.45 price gives it a forward dividend yield of 3.77%. Drax Group pays investors a trailing 12-month dividend of 23p per share. The stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.

Keller Group
Engineering and construction company Keller rose 32.9% in the third quarter and gained 121.6% over the past 12 months. Trading at £16.16 per share, Keller stock has a forward dividend yield of 2.96% and a trailing 12-month dividend of 45p per share. It has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.

Just Group
Specialty insurance firm Just Group gained 32.7% in the third quarter and rose 96.4% over the past 12 months. Trading at £1.39 per share, its forward dividend yield is 1.58%. Just Group pays investors a trailing 12-month dividend of 2p per share. It has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.

WH Smith
Specialty retail firm WH Smith gained 29.8% in the third quarter and rose 10.8% over the past 12 months. At £14.58 per share, WH Smith stock has a forward dividend yield of 2.18% and a trailing 12-month dividend of 29p per share. It has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.

Kingfisher
Home improvement retail company Kingfisher rose 29.4% in the third quarter and gained 49.8% over the past 12 months. Trading at £3.22 per share, Kingfisher stock has a forward dividend yield of 3.85% and a trailing 12-month dividend of 12p per share. The stock, which has no economic moat, is moderately overvalued, trading 11% above its fair value estimate of £2.90 per share. It has a Morningstar Rating of 2 stars.

TI Fluid Systems
Auto parts firm TI Fluid Systems rose 27.8% in the third quarter and gained 38.4% over the past 12 months. Trading at £1.65 per share, TI Fluid Systems stock has a forward dividend yield of 3.58% and pays investors a trailing 12-month dividend of 6p per share. The stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 4 stars.

Coats Group
Textile manufacturing firm Coats gained 26.8% in the third quarter and rose 40.1% over the past 12 months. The stock's £1 price gives it a forward dividend yield of 2.28%. Coats pays investors a trailing 12-month dividend of 2p per share. The stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.

Centamin
Gold company Centamin rose 23.0% in the third quarter and gained 79.9% over the past 12 months. At £1.47 per share, Centamin has a forward dividend yield of 2.23% and a trailing 12-month dividend of 3p per share. It has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.

What Is the Morningstar UK Index?

The Morningstar UK Index measures the performance of the UK's broad regional markets, targeting the top 97% of stocks by market capitalization. The index does not incorporate environmental, social, or governance criteria.

What Is the Morningstar UK Dividend Yield Focus Index?

The Morningstar UK Dividend Yield Focus Index captures the performance of a portfolio of high-quality, dividend-paying securities.

It's a subset of the Morningstar UK Index (which represents 97% of the equity market capitalization) that includes only stocks that pay dividends. The stocks are screened for economic moat and financial strength compared to others in their sector. Real estate investment trusts are excluded.

The 25 highest-yielding stocks are included in the index, weighted by the dollar value of the dividends. See the full rulebook here.

The Best Dividend Stock Leaders: More Ideas to Consider

Investors who would like to uncover more top-performing or cheap dividend stocks to research further can do the following:

• Review the full list of Dividend stocks included in the Morningstar UK Dividend Yield Focus index. Those dividend stocks with Morningstar Ratings of 4 or 5 stars are undervalued, according to our metrics.

• Read our monthly analysis of the latest dividend moves among the top FTSE 100 dividend payers.

• Use our Morningstar Screener tool to find the best dividend stocks according to your specific criteria. You can search for stocks based on their dividend yields, valuation measures such as price/earnings, and more.

• Use Morningstar Portfolio Manager to build a watchlist of the best dividend stocks and create a view that allows you to easily follow the valuations, ratings, and dividend yields of the stocks in your list.

• When it comes to buying stocks, it’s more than just dividends. Read here how valuations and competitive advantages—known as economic moats—matter when it comes to a stock’s potential for outperformance.

• Watch this video to learn how Morningstar uses the star rating, moat rating and other metrics to evaluate stocks.

Companies that are not formally covered by a Morningstar analyst are statistically matched to analyst-rated companies, allowing our models to calculate a quantitative star rating.

This article was compiled by Bella Albrecht, edited by Lauren Solberg, and reviewed by Sunniva Kolostyak.

This article was generated with the help of automation and reviewed by Morningstar editors.

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The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.

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Bella Albrecht  is associate data journalist at Morningstar

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