3 Big Dividends That Could Be At Risk And 1 That Isn’t

Stocks that pay big dividends can give your portfolio a big boost, but beware! Some high dividends could be … traps!

A yield trap is a type of dividend stock offering a very high yield. But the only reason its yield is so high is that the share price dropped significantly over a relatively short time (and is likely to stay down for a while), increasing the odds that the dividend will need to be cut (or even suspended altogether).

Investors who buy in chasing the high yield can get hit with the double whammy of a dividend cut and a sharp share price drop as investors dump the stock.

Here are three stocks paying high dividends that look very risky right now, and one high-yielding stock that’s a much safer pick.

This post originally appeared at The Motley Fool.