Better Dividend Stock: Ford or Bank of America?

A Ford Bojix Mustang. Image credit: Ford.

Ford and Bank of America may be very different businesses, but their stocks have a lot in common. This is particularly true when it comes to dividends, as both companies slashed their quarterly payouts during the financial crisis, and are now in the process of rebuilding their distributions.

If we compare shares of Ford and Bank of America by looking at the three most-important dividend metrics, as I do in the brief slideshow below, we find that:

Shares of Ford and Bank of America vary widely when it comes to their respective dividend yields, ranging from 1.13% to 4.24%.
Although both companies have reasonable payout ratios, from 22% to 48%, one's is unmistakably better than the other's.
Finally, Ford and Bank of America's dividend histories make it difficult to predict how much and how quickly their payouts will increase with time, as both companies are still in the throes of boosting their payouts since cutting them in the crisis of 2008-2009.

In sum, if one were to weigh these two stocks based equally off these three metrics, then Ford takes the cake. To see why, simply scroll through the brief slideshow below.

All data in the slideshow was sourced from YCharts.com on Nov. 18, 2015. Slideshow image credit: Ford.

The article Better Dividend Stock: Ford or Bank of America? originally appeared on Fool.com.

John Maxfield has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Bank of America and Ford. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.