I've recently read a lot of articles examining the merits of individual stocks like Exxon Mobil (XOM), Altria (MO) and Iron Mountain (IRM) partly because of their massive dividend yields. With yields like 7.22%, 8.18%, and 8.88%, respectively, I can certainly understand the initial attraction.
At those yields, many investors look at these stocks like high yield bonds - the coupons (dividends) alone would earn a respectable total return (assuming the price remained constant). Speaking of total returns, however, none of these yields - nor the share prices -