Should You Buy the 3 Highest-Paying Dividend Stocks in the S&P 500?

In addition to being a stock market bellwether, the S&P 500 index is a fine place to find dividend stocks. According to recent data from the index's operator, S&P Dow Jones Indices, 409 of the 500 component stocks distribute shareholder payouts.

That's a large number, so it's a given that there's a lot of variety within the group. Of course, one of the leading criteria for any income investor is yield. With that in mind, I'm zeroing in on the top three yielders of all those dividend stocks. Are they buys or byes? Here are my takes on the trio -- Conagra Brands (NYSE: CAG), LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE: LYB), and Healthpeak Properties (NYSE: DOC).

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Conagra Brands (yield: 7.5%)

Conagra might not be a household name to many Americans, but more than a few of those have the company's products lurking in their freezers. The company is a specialist in packaged foods and owns a diverse collection of comestibles brands, including Hunt's sauces, Birds Eye vegetables, and even Slim Jim meat snacks.

There was a time in our history when frozen and otherwise packed products like these were go-to food items for millions of us. Unfortunately for Conagra, that time has passed. With the proliferation of foodie culture and a move toward generally healthier life habits, consumers now favor fresher and more wholesome choices in what they consume.

This sliding popularity is reflected in Conagra's recent fundamentals. Annual revenue has fallen in each of the past two years, and profitability isn't too hot, either. The company's net income not under generally accepted accounting practices fell by 35% year over year in its most recently reported quarter. And, last month, it reaffirmed its guidance for the current fiscal year of a 1% decline to 1% growth in annual sales, hardly an inspiring forecast.

Conagra has a strong position as a purveyor of packaged supermarket foods and grocery-store snacks. What it doesn't have is a bright, shining future powered by torrid growth in those products. I'd go elsewhere for a high-yield dividend snack... I mean, stock.

2. LyondellBasell (yield: 7.2%)

We have to put a large asterisk next to LyondellBasell's name in this report. Last month, the chemical company cut its dividend nearly in half. The change will kick in with the company's upcoming payout, but since I'm writing this in advance of that, it's still technically in the record books under the old amount.

The yield on the previous payout was high because LyondellBasell was a dog of a stock last year -- after all, when a stock's price falls, its yield rises. Conditions are more favorable now, as the war with Iran put crude oil supplies, and prices, under significant pressure. This matters because European and Asian chemical companies primarily use a crude derivative called naphtha as a primary feedstock.

LyondellBasell and other American peers favor other derivatives, such as ethane from natural gas. Additionally, the supply of chemicals from the broader Middle East region has been hampered by the fighting.

The question is, has this sudden surge in popularity made LyondellBasell overbought and expensive? Personally, I don't think so. Last year's decline, fueled by a raft of problems including tariffs, global oversupply, and competition from lower-priced Asian competitors, sent the stock plummeting to near all-time lows.

Even if the war doesn't last long, the resolution of several of those pain points should help both the company's fundamentals and its share price recover from that terrible 2025. The reduced quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, meanwhile, still lands in high-yield territory at 4.1%. Although this is a risky stock due to both share price and fundamental volatility, I think it's a decent candidate for a buy, but only for the adventurous.

3. Healthpeak Properties (yield: 7%)

Healthpeak is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on healthcare properties. Most of these are medical offices, although the company also leases laboratory and senior housing facilities. As of the end of 2025, it owned 689 properties throughout the U.S.

In January, Healthpeak announced it was hiving off its senior living operations into a new, stand-alone specialty REIT to be called Janus Living. Healthpeak will serve as the external manager of the 34 Janus properties. This is to be effected through an initial public offering (IPO), targeted for completion by the end of the second quarter.

Healthpeak rents its medical office and lab properties under triple-net leases. This means that the tenant is not only responsible for rent, they're also obligated to pay property-related expenses such as taxes, insurance, repairs, etc. This strategy significantly reduces the REIT's costs, particularly given the size of its portfolio.

Annual rent increases are standard in those leases, ensuring at least a modest level of growth from existing tenants -- a major reason the REIT usually manages to improve its fundamentals. Its fourth quarter of 2025, for example, featured a 3% year-over-year bump in revenue to $719 million. Meanwhile, funds from operations, considered a more accurate REIT profitability gauge than net income, rose 7% to $333 million.

Healthcare is a thriving industry and will become even more so as the world's population ages. Another attractive feature of Healthpeak stock is that the dividend is paid monthly, rather than the standard quarterly for publicly traded companies.

I like this combination, and I find Healthpeak management to be very disciplined in its approach. I think the REIT's stock is a solid investment.

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Healthpeak Properties. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.