10 Dividend-Paying Stocks to Buy Now

The average price-to-earnings ratio of companies in the S&P 500 Index is about 15. It has been 22, on average, for the past five years. A price-to-earnings ratio indicates how much you would pay for each dollar of a company's earnings at its current share price.

Each stock below boasts a dividend yield, a measure of dividend payments relative to share price, higher than 5%. The average dividend yield of S&P 500 companies is 3.05%.

Some would argue these companies are cheap because investors question their ability to pay dividends and boost share value. This fear is unjustified. These companies have stronger financial positions than 89% of stocks we follow.

Check out each stock's financial-strength score, our gauge of cash position and debt management. On a scale of 1 to 10, these companies are above 5, higher than the 4.4 of the average company we cover. On that basis, it's unlikely that these companies will cut their dividends. In fact, they might boost their payouts.

10 Cheap, Dividend-Paying Stocks Industry Ticker Company Mcap (mill) Financial Strength (out of 10) Overall Grade Rating Dividend Yield P/E YTD Performance Insurance UVE UNIVERSAL INSURANCE 175.6 8.27 B Buy 9.39 5.35 111% Diversified Telecommunication Services CTL CENTURYTEL 2968.6 7.27 B- Buy 9.24 8.89 10% Marine ISH INTL SHIPHOLDING 154.7 5.00 B+ Buy 9.21 3.73 -14% Metals & Mining GNI GREAT NORTHERN IRON ORE 123.8 7.04 B- Buy 8.51 6.25 18% Wireless Telecommunication Services PTNR PARTNER COMMUNICATIONS 2572.2 5.80 B Buy 9.23 9.42 2% Food Products CALM CAL-MAINE FOODS 439.8 6.90 B Buy 7.20 5.4 -17% Electric Utilities UTL UNITIL 207.2 5.25 B- Buy 6.88 9.13 -3% Commercial Banks UBSI UNITED BANKSHARES 880.0 5.64 B- Buy 5.63 9.84 -38% Gas Utilities LG LACLEDE GROUP 660.0 6.66 B Buy 5.07 9.8 -35% Gas Utilities AGL AGL RESOURCES 2196.3 6.64 B- Buy 5.99 8.9 -8% SOURCE: