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 February 2025, the top-performing dividend-payers included German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp TKA, Finnish heavy machinery company Ponsse PON1V, and Italian heavy machinery company Iveco Group IVG.
To find the month’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 capitalisation—for companies with a forward dividend yield of at least 1.5%, excluding real estate investment trusts.
The Best-Performing Eurozone Dividend Stocks of February 2025
1. Thyssenkrupp TKA
2. Ponsse PON1V
3. Iveco Group IVG
4. Societe Generale GLE
5. NOS NOS
6. Banco Santander SAN
7. Thales Group HO
8. Banca Popolare di Sondrio BPSO
9. Unicaja Banco SA UNI
10. Royal BAM Group BAMNB
Best-Performing Dividend Stocks in the Eurozone
Source: Morningstar Direct. Data as of Feb. 28, 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 5.0% over the past month and 17.3% over the past year.
1-Year Performance of Dividend Stocks in the Eurozone
Source: Morningstar Direct. Data as of Feb. 28, 2025.
The overall eurozone stock market, as measured by the Morningstar Eurozone Index, has gained 3.4% on the month and 15.7% on the year.
Yields and Metrics for February’s Best-Performing Dividend Stocks
Thyssenkrupp
German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp rose 61.4% in February and gained 64.2% over the past 12 months. Trading at EUR 8.41 per share, its stock has a forward dividend yield of 1.78%. Thyssenkrupp pays investors a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 0.15 per share. The stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
Ponsse
Finnish heavy machinery company Ponsse rose 31.4% in February and gained 18.6% over the past 12 months. At EUR 26.70 per share, its stock has a forward dividend yield of 2.04% and a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 0.55 per share. It has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 4 stars.
Iveco Group
Italian heavy machinery company Iveco gained 27.9% in February and rose 34.8% over the past 12 months. The stock’s EUR 16.05 price gives it a forward dividend yield of 2.06%. Iveco pays investors a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 0.22 per share. The stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 5 stars.
Societe Generale
French bank Societe Generale rose 25.8% in February and gained 79.2% over the past 12 months. Trading at EUR 39.59 per share, Societe Generale stock has a forward dividend yield of 2.75% and a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 0.90 per share. The stock, which has no economic moat, is trading near its fair value estimate of EUR 31.70 per share. It has a Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
NOS
Portuguese telecom services firm NOS gained 25.8% in February and rose 43.7% over the past 12 months. Trading at EUR 4.32 per share, its forward dividend yield is 8.1%. NOS pays investors a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 0.35 per share. It has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
Banco Santander
Spanish bank Banco Santander gained 25.3% in February and rose 66.9% over the past 12 months. At EUR 5.92 per share, Banco Santander stock has a forward dividend yield of 3.49% and a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 0.20 per share. The stock, which has a narrow economic moat, is trading near its fair value estimate of EUR 5.80 per share. It has a Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
Thales Group
French aerospace and defense company Thales rose 22.8% in February and gained 42.4% over the past 12 months. Trading at EUR 222.40 per share, Thales stock has a forward dividend yield of 1.55% and a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 3.40 per share. The stock, which has a wide economic moat, is moderately overvalued, trading 17% above its fair value estimate of EUR 190 per share. It has a Morningstar Rating of 2 stars.
Banca Popolare di Sondrio
Italian bank Banca Popolare di Sondrio rose 21.8% in February and gained 65.4% over the past 12 months. Trading at EUR 11.08 per share, Banca Popolare di Sondrio stock has a forward dividend yield of 5.05% and pays investors a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 0.56 per share. The stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
Unicaja Banco SA
Spanish bank Unicaja Banco gained 21.7% in February and rose 88.7% over the past 12 months. The stock’s EUR 1.63 price gives it a forward dividend yield of 7.98%. Unicaja Banco pays investors a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 0.11 per share. The stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
Royal BAM Group
Dutch engineering and construction company Royal BAM rose 21.4% in February and gained 62.2% over the past 12 months. At EUR 5.21 per share, Royal BAM has a forward dividend yield of 4.8% and a trailing 12-month dividend of EUR 0.20 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.
