Investors looking for income along with potential capital appreciation may want to check out a few underperforming dividend stocks. Thanks to high interest rates, investors have had a plethora of options to earn some income. Bond yields popped in 2023 amid the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes. The 10-year Treasury is yielding above 4%, and shorter-term bills of one year and less have rates over 5%. Still, dividend stocks tend to do well during periods of economic recovery, which is now underway, Bank of America said recently . That means investors could not only get yield, but may also see the stocks’ prices move higher. “We believe that we are now in a total return world in which the contribution of dividends to total market returns could be significantly higher than it was in the last decade, a period marked by falling cash yields and lofty price returns,” Bank of America equity and quant strategist Savita Subramanian wrote in a March 14 note. Investors should also look for names that have a history of growing their dividends . CNBC Pro looked for stocks in the S & P 1500 that have raised their payout within the past year. They have also grown their dividends in at least four of the last five years. To find those that are undervalued, CNBC screened for names that are underperforming the S & P 500, with a forward price-earnings ratio of less than 21. At least 51% of analysts covering these stocks rate them a buy or overweight, and the names have at least 10% upside to the average price target, according to FactSet. Here are those stocks: Mondelez currently has a 2.4% dividend yield and 20% upside to the average price target. Nearly 90% of the analysts covering the stock rate it a buy or overweight. The multinational snack company, whose brands include Oreo and Ritz, posted a fourth-quarter earnings beat in late January. However for the full year, Mondelez guided for organic net revenue growth of 3% to 5%. In its statement, the company cited “greater than usual volatility as a result of geopolitical uncertainty.” In an interview with CNBC in February, CEO Dirk Van de Put said that consumers in the U.S. and Europe are also being careful with their spending. In an effort to keep prices steady in the inflationary environment, the company often reduces the package sizes, he said. “People these days understand that they have to be careful the way they shop, but they don’t want to pull back on snacking,” he said on ” Squawk on the Street .” Shares are down about 4% year to date. Chesapeake Energy , on the other hand, is up more than 16% so far this year. The stock, which yields 2.5%, has nearly 14% upside to the average price target. About 65% of the analysts covering the stock rate it a buy or overweight, per FactSet. In January, the natural gas and oil exploration company announced it struck a $7.4 billion all-stock agreement to buy natural gas producer Southwestern Energy. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. The proposed merger is the latest attempt by Chesapeake Energy to build back up after emerging from bankruptcy restructuring in 2021. In 2022, the company bought oil and gas producer Chief E & D to bolster its position in Marcellus Shale. Lastly, investors can score a 2.8% dividend yield with regional bank East West Bancorp . Some 93% of analysts covering the stock rate it a buy or overweight. It has about 11% upside to the average price target, per FactSet. East West reported a fourth-quarter earnings miss in January, but its net interest income beat the consensus estimate, according to FactSet. Meanwhile, the company has emerged from last year’s regional banking crisis “stronger than ever,” East West’s chief financial officer, Christopher Del Moral-Niles, told CNBC in January. “We have seen a number of our competitors disappear, literally, and we have seen a number of them be acquired,” he said in an interview with ” Money Movers .” “The reality is the market-share landscape has shifted to our favor over this past year.” Shares are up about 9% year to date.
