“It’s been a hard day’s night, and I’ve been working like a dog”, goes the lyrics from the famous Beatles tune “A Hard Day’s Night”.
What the band probably didn’t realise is that they need not have worked so hard if they knew how to make their money work harder for them.
By investing your money in solid blue-chip companies, you will have the peace of mind to pursue your interests and hobbies.
Blue-chip stocks are famed for their large size, track record and stability through good times and bad.
What’s more, all blue-chip stocks pay out a dividend that acts as a stream of passive income.
We sifted out four in particular whose shares provide a dividend yield of 5% or more.
OCBC Ltd (SGX: O39)
OCBC is Singapore’s second-largest bank by market capitalisation and offers a comprehensive range of banking services for individuals and corporations.
The bank reported a sparkling set of earnings for 2022 due to surging interest rates that pushed its net profit to a record high of S$5.7 billion.
In line with the good results, OCBC hiked its total dividend to S$0.68 for last year, 28% higher than the S$0.53 paid out in the prior year.
At a share price of S$12.73, shares of the lender yielded 5.3%.
There could be more good news from the bank in the quarters to come.
The group has opened a new private banking subsidiary in Malaysia and rolled out onshore private banking services in China to broaden its suite of services.
Its wealth platform has also expanded its suite of products and services.
Moreover, OCBC expects interest rates to remain elevated this year, helping to prop up its net interest income.
Keppel Corporation Limited (SGX: BN4)
Keppel Corporation is a conglomerate with four core divisions: energy and environment, urban development, connectivity, and asset management.
The group reported a commendable financial performance for 2022, with revenue remaining flat year on year at S$6.6 billion and net profit dipping slightly to S$926.7 million.
Despite the small decline in net profit, Keppel Corporation maintained its full-year dividend at S$0.33, giving its shares a historical dividend yield of 5.6%.
The group is going from strength to strength as it grew its recurring income from S$262 million in 2021 to S$560 million in 2022.
In line with Keppel’s Vision 2030, the conglomerate has also announced asset monetisation exceeding S$4.6 billion and is on track to exceed its S$5 billion target by the end of this year.
Its asset management arm has also seen fees rise steadily over the years from S$180 million back in 2020 to S$267 million last year.
Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust (SGX: BUOU)
Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust, or FLCT, owns a portfolio of 105 industrial and commercial properties across five markets (Singapore, Australia, Germany, the UK and the Netherlands).
The assets under management amount to S$6.7 billion as of 31 December 2022.
For the fiscal year 2022 (FY2022) ended on 30 September 2022, FLCT paid out a distribution per unit of S$0.0762, giving its units a trailing distribution yield of 5.8%.
The REIT is going strong for the first quarter of 2023 (1Q FY2023), with a high occupancy rate of 95.9% as of 31 December 2022.
Rental reversions also came in high at positive 11% for the quarter.
FLCT’s aggregate leverage stood at just 27.9%, leaving a debt headroom of around S$3.1 billion for yield-accretive acquisitions.
Furthermore, the REIT is also insulated from interest rate increases as it has a low cost of debt of 1.7% with 78.7% of its loans on fixed rates.
Hongkong Land Holdings (SGX: H78)
Hongkong Land, or HKL, is a property development, investment and management firm with more than 850,000 square metres of prime office and luxury retail assets in Asian cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Jakarta.
The group performed admirably amid a tough operating environment in both China and Hong Kong last year with their strict COVID-zero policies.
Revenue dipped just slightly from US$2.4 billion in 2021 to US$2.2 billion in 2022.
However, the underlying net profit fell by 20% year on year to US$776 million.
Despite the decline, HKL maintained its US$0.22 per share in dividends for last year.
At a share price of US$4.39, shares of the property giant yield 5%.
The group increased its investments in two existing projects in China while acquiring a 49% interest in a residential site in Jalan Tembusu in Singapore which is expected to be completed by 2025.
The reopening of China’s borders and relaxation of its draconian COVID-zero policies should also bode well for HKL’s business.
Our team has spent decades scouring SGX for stocks. And we think dividends could be the answer to rising inflation and market uncertainty in 2023. With our newest FREE report, you’ll have everything you need to find, keep and make more money from dividend stocks. Click here to download it for free.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust.
