With interest rates at ultra low levels and likely to stay that way for some time to come, dividend shares continue to be a great alternative to traditional interest-bearing assets such as term deposits.
But which dividend shares could be buys? Here are two highly rated ASX dividend shares to look at:
Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)
The first ASX dividend share to look at is Accent. It is a retail group with a collection of popular footwear-focused store brands. These include stores such as HYPEDC, Platypus, Sneaker Lab, Stylerunner, and The Athlete's Foot.
Accent was a very strong performer in FY 2021 and has just released its full year results. Those results revealed a 19.9% increase in sales to $1.14 billion and a 38.6% jump in net profit after tax to $76.9 million. This allowed the Accent Board to increase its full year dividend by 21.6% to 11.25 cents in FY 2021.
Bell Potter has responded to the release by retaining its buy rating but trimming its price target to $2.90.
While the broker expects FY 2022's result to be softer due to lockdowns and elevated sales in FY 2021, it remains positive on the future. Bell Potter has pencilled in dividends per share of 9 cents in FY 2022 and 13 cents in FY 2023.
Based on the latest Accent share price of $2.26, this represents yields of 4% and 5.8%, respectively.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)
Another ASX dividend share to look at is Telstra. It could be a top option due to its increasingly positive outlook thanks to its leadership position with 5G, asset monetisation, cost cutting, and rational competition.
Combined, these are expected to allow the company to return to growth next year at long last.
Goldman Sachs is positive on Telstra and currently has a buy rating and $4.30 price target on its shares. The broker is also forecasting fully franked dividends of 16 cents per share through to FY 2023. After which, it is expecting a long-awaited dividend increase to 18 cents per share in FY 2024.
Based on the current Telstra share price of $3.97, this will mean 4% yields until an increase to 4.5% in FY 2024.
