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Investing and Economics Blog

S&P 500 Dividend Yield Tops Bond Yield: First Time Since 1958

S&P 500 Payout Tops Bond Yield, a First Since 1958 (site broke the link, so I removed it):

U.S. stocks’ dividend yields were lower than the yield on 10-year Treasury notes for half a century. Not any more. Dividends paid by Standard & Poor’s 500 Index companies in the past 12 months amounted to 3.51 percent of the benchmark’s closing value yesterday. In early trading today, the 10-year yield fell as low as 3.42 percent.
…
Treasuries routinely had higher yields than stocks before 1958, according to Bernstein. When this relationship came to an end, yields were near their current levels. The S&P 500 dividend yield fell 0.58 percentage point, to 3.24 percent, in the third quarter of 1958. The 10-year yield rose about the same amount, 0.6 point, to 3.80 percent.

Two explanations later emerged for the reversal, he wrote. One held that the economy’s recovery from the 1957-58 recession showed “investors could finally put to rest the widely held expectation of an imminent return to the Great Depression.” The second was the increasing popularity of investing in growth stocks, or shares of companies whose sales and earnings rose at a relatively fast pace. Because of their expansion, the companies often paid below-average dividends.

Reversal of Fortunes Between Stocks and Bonds

Even more telling was the relative movements in stock and bond yields over the years. Bernstein calculates that from 1954 to 1969 — while inflation was relatively low and stable — bond and stock yields moved mostly in tandem. But from 1970 to 1999 — the Great Inflation — bond and stock yields moved inversely. From 2000 on, bond and stock yields have been back in sync.

Arnott takes it a step further. “In a world of deleveraging, both for the financial services arena and for the economy at large, growth is less certain,” he says. “And with the economy eroding sharply, so is inflation. If stocks don’t deliver nominal growth in dividends and earnings, then their yield ‘must’ exceed the Treasury yield, in order to give us any sort of risk premium.”

Related: Corporate and Government Bond Rates Graph – Highest Possible Returns – posts on interest rates – investing strategy

November 21st, 2008 John Hunter | 5 Comments | Tags: Economics, Financial Literacy, Investing, quote, Stocks

Comments

5 Comments so far

  1. 10 Stocks for Income Investors at Curious Cat Investing and Economics Blog on December 11, 2008 11:12 am

    [...] S&P 500 Dividend Yield Tops Bond Yield: First Time Since 1958 – Discounted Corporate Bonds Failing to Find Buying Support – Allocations Make A Big Difference [...]

  2. Stocks Still Overpriced? at Curious Cat Investing and Economics Blog on December 12, 2008 12:13 pm

    [...] S&P 500 Dividend Yield Tops Bond Yield for the First Time Since 1958 – 10 Stocks for 10 Years – Starting Retirement Account Allocations for Someone Under 40 – Books on [...]

  3. More Companies Cutting Dividends Than Any Year Since Before 1954 at Curious Cat Investing and Economics Blog on February 25, 2009 8:17 am

    [...] last November the S&P 500 dividend yield topped the bond yield for the first time since 1958. Yields often rise as stock prices fall on future prospects and companies announce dividend cuts [...]

  4. Google’s Own Trading Floor to Manage the Cash of the Company at Curious Cat Investing and Economics Blog on May 28, 2010 10:27 am

    [...] Google Posts Good Earning But Not Good Enough for Many – S&P 500 Dividend Yield Tops Bond Yield: First Time Since 1958 (Nov 2008) – Too Much Leverage Killed Mervyns May 28th, 2010 by John Hunter | Leave a Comment | Tags: [...]

  5. Earnings and Dividends Grow, Bond Yields Sink at Curious Cat Investing and Economics Blog on September 8, 2010 4:15 pm

    [...] Where to Invest for Yield Today – S&P 500 Dividend Yield Tops Bond Yield: First Time Since 1958 – 10 Stocks for Income Investors – Bond Yields Show Dramatic Increase in Investor [...]

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