30 high-yield mid-cap dividend companies: where income meets elevated risk
These operating companies have market capitalizations between approximately $2 billion and $10 billion. REITs, BDCs, partnerships, preferred securities and suspended or special-only dividends have been excluded.
A high yield is often a message from the market
Mid-cap dividend stocks can offer materially more income than larger, more defensive companies, but the additional yield rarely arrives without a corresponding concern. It may reflect declining earnings, leverage, cyclicality, a recent dividend cut or uncertainty about the business model. The table therefore pairs yield with 2026 year-to-date total return and the starting year of the current uninterrupted regular-dividend sequence.
“Regular dividend since” does not necessarily mean that the payment has increased every year. Dividend reductions do not reset the date, but a complete suspension does. This distinction is particularly important for Vail Resorts, Copa Holdings, Molson Coors, Noble and LCI Industries.
| # | Company | Ticker | Regular yield | 2026 YTD total return | Market cap | Regular dividend since |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western Union | WU | 13.30% | −21.20% | $2.21B | 2006 |
| 2 | Ardagh Metal Packaging | AMBP | 8.25% | +26.47% | $2.90B | 2021 |
| 3 | Vail Resorts | MTN | 6.43% | +8.97% | $4.92B | 2021 |
| 4 | Robert Half | RHI | 6.17% | +47.38% | $3.84B | 2004 |
| 5 | Clearway Energy | CWEN | 6.10% | +5.10% | $3.67B | 2013 |
| 6 | Kinetik Holdings | KNTK | 5.93% | +60.00% | $4.10B | 2021 |
| 7 | Copa Holdings | CPA | 5.32% | +11.12% | $5.31B | 2024 |
| 8 | Avista | AVA | 5.30% | +1.00% | $3.08B | 1899 |
| 9 | LCI Industries | LCII | 5.07% | −24.99% | $2.21B | 2016 |
| 10 | First Interstate BancSystem | FIBK | 5.06% | +10.81% | $3.59B | 2010 |
| 11 | LKQ | LKQ | 4.98% | −22.66% | $6.10B | 2021 |
| 12 | Eastman Chemical | EMN | 4.94% | +9.20% | $7.70B | 1994 |
| 13 | Algonquin Power & Utilities | AQN | 4.90% | −11.78% | $4.09B | 2010 |
| 14 | Molson Coors Beverage | TAP | 4.82% | +13.74% | $7.31B | 2021 |
| 15 | Newell Brands | NWL | 4.77% | +64.74% | $2.53B | 1988 |
| 16 | Conagra Brands | CAG | 4.69% | −11.82% | $7.14B | 1976 |
| 17 | Campbell's | CPB | 4.67% | −20.84% | $6.40B | 1975 |
| 18 | OpenText | OTEX | 4.59% | −26.76% | $5.95B | 2013 |
| 19 | Noble Corporation | NE | 4.56% | +31.00% | $7.00B | 2023 |
| 20 | Lincoln National | LNC | 4.17% | +1.85% | $8.27B | 1988 |
| 21 | UGI | UGI | 4.14% | +3.45% | $8.09B | 1885 |
| 22 | Provident Financial Services | PFS | 4.12% | +21.81% | $3.04B | 2003 |
| 23 | First Hawaiian | FHB | 4.05% | +4.83% | $3.14B | 2016 |
| 24 | H&R Block | HRB | 4.03% | +7.05% | $6.37B | 1962 |
| 25 | Simmons First National | SFNC | 3.79% | +28.40% | $3.35B | 1909 |
| 26 | Bank of Hawaii | BOH | 3.69% | +13.92% | $3.01B | 1985 |
| 27 | WesBanco | WSBC | 3.67% | +24.72% | $3.90B | 1985 |
| 28 | Amdocs | DOX | 3.56% | +22.17% | $7.42B | 2012 |
| 29 | The Buckle | BKE | 3.44% | +17.69% | $2.07B | 2004 |
| 30 | Chord Energy | CHRD | 3.42% | +68.64% | $8.66B | 2021 |
Yields are forward annualized regular dividends. YTD figures represent total return, including reinvested distributions, through the cited data providers' latest completed session. Market capitalizations and yields change with share prices. Special dividends are excluded.
Western Union: the table's largest yield and clearest warning
Western Union's roughly 13% yield is not the result of rapid dividend growth. Its quarterly payment has remained at $0.235 per share, while the share price has weakened. The company has paid dividends since its 2006 separation and has maintained quarterly payments since 2010, but its mature money-transfer franchise faces pressure from digital competitors and changing migration corridors.
Management's Intermex acquisition, digital-wallet initiatives and stablecoin-related services could broaden the business, but integration costs, debt and declining legacy transaction volumes make the payout materially riskier than its long payment history alone suggests. Western Union's negative YTD return demonstrates why yield and business momentum must be evaluated together.
Dividend cuts changed the packaged-food rankings
Conagra's earlier trailing yield near 9% is no longer representative. Following its dividend reduction, the forward regular yield is approximately 4.7%. Campbell's also reduced its regular payment. Both companies remain dividend payers, so their historical start dates do not reset, but their cuts show that a long payment record does not guarantee an unchanged distribution.
Packaged-food producers continue to balance weak volume, price-sensitive consumers, retailer bargaining power and elevated input expenses. Progress in productivity and portfolio simplification could support margins, but another period of poor cash conversion would keep payout sustainability in focus.
The strongest rallies require a different kind of caution
Robert Half, Newell Brands and Kinetik have generated some of the table's strongest 2026 total returns. That momentum reduces their headline yields compared with what investors could have obtained near previous lows, but it does not eliminate operating risk.
Robert Half remains highly sensitive to permanent and temporary hiring trends. Newell's performance depends on its turnaround, debt reduction and stabilization across consumer brands. Kinetik benefits from Permian Basin infrastructure demand, although its income case remains exposed to project execution, financing needs and energy-market conditions.
Company-specific catalysts worth watching
Ardagh Metal Packaging
Higher shipment volumes and operating improvements support the payout, but concentrated ownership and a dividend that consumes a substantial share of available earnings warrant continued cash-flow scrutiny.
Vail Resorts
Season-pass revenue provides visibility, while snowfall, destination travel, labor expenses and guest visitation can produce abrupt changes in earnings expectations.
LKQ
European execution problems and weaker guidance have pressured the stock. Strategic alternatives could unlock value, but investors must separate potential transactions from the underlying operating outlook.
Noble and Chord
Their distributions are supported by energy cash flow but remain exposed to commodity prices, drilling activity and capital spending. Only the regular base dividends are included in the ranking.
Macro conditions could keep the gap between winners and losers wide
Higher long-term interest rates increase refinancing costs and make safer fixed-income yields more competitive with dividends. That pressure matters particularly for utilities, leveraged issuers and companies funding large capital programs. Regional banks can benefit from wider asset yields, but deposit costs, credit normalization and commercial-real-estate exposure remain important counterweights.
Energy infrastructure companies may benefit from production growth, LNG demand and rising power consumption. Utilities could receive structural support from data centers and electrification, but they must finance substantial generation and grid investment. Consumer companies face a different test: whether easing inflation translates into better volumes or merely limits their ability to raise prices.
How to read the list
The most useful starting point is not simply the highest percentage. Compare the dividend with free cash flow, leverage, refinancing requirements and management's capital-allocation priorities. A long uninterrupted history strengthens the evidence that a board values the dividend, but it cannot overcome a permanently deteriorating business.
Western Union offers the most income but also one of the clearest fundamental debates. Avista, UGI and the regional banks offer longer records but remain sensitive to rates and regulation. The strongest recent performers may have improving fundamentals, although their rallies leave less room for disappointment. The right conclusion therefore depends on dividend durability, not headline yield alone.