Buying ASX dividend shares just for high yields is fraught with danger.
The Motley Fool's Rhys Brock once explained that a company could be offering an incredible dividend yield because the share price has nosedived.
"If a share seems to be offering a dividend yield that is too good to be true, it's probably because it is."
If you reap 15% yield but the share price drops by 50%, then you have lost a lot of money.
And a troubled business will likely cut dividends in the future for the sake of financial health.
"Check that there haven't been any recent negative events that have caused the share price to drop or that may threaten the safety of the dividend payout," said Brock.
So knowing this, let's check out three ASX shares that will bring you a pile of passive income and have a great chance of not burning your capital:
An ASX dividend share with 13% yield and growth potential?
Unfortunately Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine last year has meant the world is dealing with a shortage in energy.
And a rapidly expanding middle class in populous nations like China, India and Brazil will push up demand like the world has never seen.
With infrastructure for renewable sources taking a while to build up, like it or not, coal remains a critical part of the solution.
This is where a miner like Coronado Global Resources Inc (ASX: CRN) comes in.
After a special cash payout last year, the Coronado dividend yield stands at a crazy 13.2%.
This seems like a trap, but multiple experts reckon the company has a sound future.
According to CMC Markets, seven out of nine analysts rate Coronado as a strong buy.
"We see excellent medium term value with $2.5 billion Coronado Global Resources, which is trading on 3.3x earnings," Shaw and Partners portfolio manager James Gerrish said last month.
"We're confident the miner is looking for acquisitions, following its comments in May, with BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)'s assets that I'm sure they are running the slide rule over."
EVs need to charge somewhere
Related to the global energy situation is Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA).
The business operates an oil refinery in Geelong, and the Shell and Liberty networks of petrol stations.
Viva Energy is paying out a mouthwatering 8.7% dividend yield, which is fully franked.
While investors could rightly argue that petrol stations are a sunset business, Viva is aiming to leverage off the electric car adoption by offering charging stations around Australia.
Its purchase of Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) branded service stations last year was seen as a way of making its retail network more ubiquitous.
Many professional investors are impressed. Currently eight out of 12 analysts surveyed on CMC Markets rate Viva Energy as a buy.
With the rise of work-from-home habits since the pandemic, Centuria Office REIT (ASX: COF) could also be seen as playing in a declining industry.
However, contrarian investors could now find the 44% decline in share price since September 2021 very attractive.
A 9.9% dividend yield will also help to calm those nerves.
This one would definitely be a speculator, but there is a group of investors out there that are betting we are near the bottom of the office real estate market.
Four out of seven analysts polled by CMC Markets are willing to buy Centuria shares now to see what happens over the long term.
