The Ibex 35 dividend rises to 4.7%, its highest level since the war broke out

He starts September immersed in what is already the worst streak in his history. The reference index of the Spanish stock market has chained 12 sessions of declines, drowned in a cocktail that combines three ingredients: inflation, aggressive rate hikes and fear of a recession. In between, he has missed the key level of 8,000.

For the year as a whole, and after closing yesterday at 7,806 points, the indicator is already down 10.4%. But the picture improves if we look at shareholder remuneration. The Ibex 35 with dividends – the version of the index that includes remuneration in its calculation – limits the annual fall to 7.7%.

And, thanks to the latest declines, the dividend yield for the next 12 months has climbed to 4.7%, according to Bloomberg. This is the highest percentage since the war broke out in Ukraine (that return shot up sharply as the index plummeted to its annual low).

As of today, 16 benchmark stocks are offering returns of 5% or more on their 2022 and 2023 payouts. And those are dividends that are not in question. Neither those of the banks, nor those of the electricity companies, nor the payments of and , which constitute the cornerstone of remuneration in Spain, are currently in doubt.

Added to the attractiveness of the remuneration of the Spanish indicator are the favorable recommendations that, in general terms, are issued by analysts on the Ibex securities. In fact, half of the index – 18 of its 35 members – currently receive buy advice from the market consensus collected by FactSet, and only four are sell.

how far can you fall

It separates the Ibex from its annual minimum -the 7,644.6 points that marked a timid 2%. Somewhat further away is its intraday annual minimum – the 7,287.7 to which it fell that same Monday -, to which it has a decrease of 6.6%.

In the words of Joan Cabrero, advisor to the premium investment portal of , “he continues to be unable to bounce back and continues in the short term the adjustment phase that is serving to correct much of the last upward movement that took him from 7,765 points (gap that served as support) up to 8,530 integers”. Everything points, adds the expert, “to the fact that the index could test the support of the 7,765 points, whose transfer, together with the 3,500 of the , would threaten to see the index again in the low zone of the year”, that is, in the area of ​​those 7,287 points.

Goodbye to 8,000

The loss of 8,000 last Monday, August 29, was already a turning point. The Spanish index had not given up that level for a month. It did so mainly because of the prospect that central banks would try to curb inflation.

The market is still digesting Jerome Powell’s aggressive message last Friday at the Jackson Hole bankers’ meeting, and fears that next week are fueling declines. The market already discounts a rise of 75 basis points.

The highest returns

If half of the index allows you to pocket returns of 5% or more, there are seven values ​​that equal or exceed 7%. Beyond –whose percentage skyrockets–, lead the table and , with returns of 9.5% and 9.2%, respectively. Enagás will remain at 9.6% next year and the next, according to FactSet.

Still above 9% is placed, which, despite paying in scrip (that is, offering the possibility of receiving payment in group shares), amortizes all the new titles it issues, thus eliminating the dilutive effect of this formula for those who choose cash.

8.8% rent the dividend charged to 2022, driven by the decline experienced in the current year by the bank’s securities on the floor: around 15% are left. Consensus puts their payout yield at just over 10% two years from now.

Telefónica is also among the most appetizing, with returns above 7%, despite the fact that it is one of the few values ​​that is trading positive in 2022. The teleco, which recovered payment in scrip during the pandemic, is back to pay entirely in cash.

And one of the dividend classics of this country, , also appears among the highlights of the table. The electricity company chaired by José Bogas has yielded on the floor this year: it loses about 16%. And his dividend will also remain above 7%, according to estimates, even despite the fact that the power company has already reduced its payout (part of the net profit that it uses to pay) from the previous 100% to 70%.