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 first quarter of 2025, the top-performing dividend-payers included Austrian engineering and construction company Strabag STR, Italian heavy machinery company Iveco Group IVG, and French regional bank Societe Generale GLE.
To find the quarter’s 10 best-performing income-focused stocks, we screened the Morningstar Eurozone Index—which measures the performance of the eurozone’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 Eurozone Dividend Stocks of Q1 2025
1. Strabag STR
2. Iveco Group IVG
3. Societe Generale GLE
4. Lottomatica LTMC
5. Banco Sabadell SAB
6. Bilfinger GBF
7. Wacker Neuson WAC
8. Banco Santander SAN
9. Grupo Catalana Occidente GCO
10. CaixaBank CABK
Best-Performing Dividend Stocks in the Eurozone
Source: Morningstar Direct. Data as of March 31, 2025.
How Have Dividend Stocks Performed?
The Morningstar Eurozone Dividend Yield Focus Index, which tracks the performance of high-quality, dividend-paying stocks listed in Europe, rose 10.9% over the past quarter and 16.1% over the past year.
1-Year Performance of Dividend Stocks in the Eurozone
Source: Morningstar Direct. Data as of March 31, 2025.
The overall eurozone stock market, as measured by the Morningstar Eurozone Index, has gained 7.6% on the quarter and 7.6% on the year.
Yields and Metrics for Q1’s Best-Performing Dividend Stocks
Strabag
Austrian engineering and construction company Strabag rose 67.3% in the first quarter and gained 74.9% over the past 12 months. Trading at EUR 67.20 per share, its stock has a forward dividend yield of 3.25%. Strabag pays investors a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 2.20 per share. The stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
Iveco Group
Italian heavy machinery company Iveco rose 61.3% in the first quarter and gained 10.8% over the past 12 months. At EUR 14.99 per share, its stock has a forward dividend yield of 2.2% and a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 0.22 per share. It has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 5 stars.
Societe Generale
French bank Societe Generale gained 52.4% in the first quarter and rose 70.5% over the past 12 months. The stock’s EUR 41.42 price gives it a forward dividend yield of 2.63%. Societe Generale pays investors a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 0.90 per share. With a fair value estimate of EUR 31.70 per share and no economic moat, the stock is moderately overvalued, trading at a 31% premium. It has a Morningstar Rating of 2 stars.
Lottomatica
Italian gambling company Lottomatica rose 44.9% in the first quarter and gained 69.8% over the past 12 months. Trading at EUR 18.46 per share, Lottomatica stock has a forward dividend yield of 1.63% and a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 0.26 per share. It has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 2 stars.
Banco Sabadell
Spanish bank Banco Sabadell gained 44.1% in the first quarter and rose 93.5% over the past 12 months. Trading at EUR 2.63 per share, its forward dividend yield is 9.45%. Banco Sabadell pays investors a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 0.11 per share. It has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
Bilfinger
German engineering and construction company Bilfinger gained 43.1% in the first quarter and rose 57.0% over the past 12 months. At EUR 67.20 per share, Bilfinger stock has a forward dividend yield of 3.57% and a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 1.80 per share. It has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
Wacker Neuson
German heavy machinery company Wacker Neuson rose 42.4% in the first quarter and gained 28.2% over the past 12 months. Trading at EUR 21.30 per share, Wacker Neuson stock has a forward dividend yield of 5.4% and a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 1.15 per share. It has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 5 stars.
Banco Santander
Spanish bank Banco Santander rose 38.8% in the first quarter and gained 41.3% over the past 12 months. Trading at EUR 6.35 per share, Banco Santander stock has a forward dividend yield of 3.48% and pays investors a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 0.20 per share. The stock, which has a narrow economic moat, is currently trading near its fair value estimate of EUR 5.80 per share, leaving it with a Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
Grupo Catalana Occidente
Spanish insurance firm Grupo Catalana Occidente gained 37.2% in the first quarter and rose 41.6% over the past 12 months. The stock’s EUR 49.15 price gives it a forward dividend yield of 4.85%. Grupo Catalana Occidente pays investors a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 1.15 per share. The stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
CaixaBank
Spanish regional bank CaixaBank rose 37.0% in the first quarter and gained 63.0% over the past 12 months. At EUR 7.30 per share, CaixaBank has a forward dividend yield of 5.98% and a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 0.54 per share. It has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
What Is the Morningstar Eurozone Index?
The Morningstar Eurozone Index measures the performance of the eurozone’s broad regional markets, targeting the top 97% of stocks by market capitalisation. The index does not incorporate environmental, social, or governance criteria.
What Is the Morningstar Eurozone Dividend Yield Focus Index?
The Morningstar Eurozone Dividend Yield Focus Index captures the performance of a portfolio of high-quality, dividend-paying securities.
It’s a subset of the Morningstar Eurozone 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.
From there, 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 Eurozone 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.
• Read Morningstar’s Guide to Stock Investing to learn how our approach to investing can inform your stock-picking process.
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. Learn more about Morningstar’s use of automation.
The author or authors do not own shares in any securities mentioned in this article. Find out about Morningstar's editorial policies.
