Is it possible to get an ASX dividend share with a yield of more than 10% that isn't a value trap?
Well, that's the question we'll be looking at today. When an ASX dividend share offers to pay you back your invested money in just dividends in 10 years or less, alarm bells might be ringing. After all, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) technically still has a raw trailing dividend yield of 11.59% – yet no one believes that the ASX bank will pull that out of its hat in 2020, given it's already 'deferred' its interim dividend payments.
But here are 2 ASX shares that I think can offer investors a yield of more than 10% this year!
Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)
Fortescue shares have been on an absolute tear recently – even making a new all-time high of $14 just this week. Why? Well, because the price of iron ore – Fortescue's raison d'être – has exploded this week, climbing very close to US$100 a tonne. Production shutdowns in the Brazilian mining industry (which is another massive exporter of iron ore) have resulted in a supply squeeze for iron. Since Fortescue has an extraction cost per tonne between US$12 and US$14, the company is a cash-printing machine at these levels.
That means it should be well placed to reward shareholders handsomely this year with dividend payments. Fortescue has a trialling dividend yield of 7.36% – or 10.51% grossed-up with full franking. If iron ore continues to stay at the current price, this yield might even go higher for Fortescue shareholders.
WAM Research Limited (ASX: WAX)
WAM Research is another dividend powerhouse, but this share is actually a listed investment company (LIC) specialising in small- to mid-cap ASX growth shares. Some of its current holdings include TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM), Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) and REA Group Limited (ASX: REA).
This LIC has been a stellar performer over the last decade, returning an average of 13.4% per annum since 2010. A fair chunk of these returns have hailed from dividend payments, with WAM Research increasing its dividend every year since 2008.
On current prices, WAM Research shares are offering a raw dividend yield of 7.3% – which grosses-up to 10.43% with full franking credits. If you're worried that this yield is unsustainable, consider this. WAM Research's last interim dividend payment was 4.9 cents per share. The company had over 26 cents per share in its profit reserve at the end of last month, meaning this dividend looks well-covered for at least the next 2 years.
Foolish takeaway
Normally, when a company boasts a dividend yield of more than 10%, it's a sign to run for the hills. But I think these 2 ASX dividend shares are exceptions to this rule and have the potential to be valuable income shares to hold in 2020 and beyond.
