There are a large number of ASX 200 dividend shares to choose from on the Australian share market.
But which were the best to buy in 2024? Let's now look at the four best performers on the benchmark index over the period.
Though, to keep things fair, I'm only going to include shares that offer attractive dividend yields. They are as follows:
JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX: JBH)
The JB Hi-Fi share price was the best performing ASX 200 dividend share in 2024 with a gain of approximately 75%. Investors were buying the retail giant's shares thanks to its robust performance in a difficult economic environment.
Over the course of the 12 months, JB Hi-Fi paid out fully franked dividends totalling $3.41 per share. Based on its starting price of $53.03, this would have meant a 6.4% dividend yield for income investors.
Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG)
The IAG share price was on form and raced over 49% higher during the 12 months. A number of insurance shares performed positively thanks to favourable trading conditions. This includes from higher bond yields and premium increases.
During the period, the ASX 200 dividend share paid out partially franked dividends totalling 27 cents per share. Based on where it closed the previous year, this means a 4.8% dividend yield for shareholders in 2024.
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)
The Westpac share price was a strong performer and rose 41% in 2024. Investors were flooding back into the banking sector after the big four delivered strong results in FY 2024 and managed to avoid any major increase in bad debts from higher mortgage rates.
Australia's oldest bank rewarded its shareholders with total fully franked dividends of $1.66 per share in FY 2024. This means that if you bought its shares at the end of 2023, you would have received a mouth-watering dividend yield of 7.2% on top of those share price gains.
Computershare Ltd (ASX: CPU)
The Computershare share price wasn't far behind with a gain of 39% over the 12 months. This was thanks to an improvement in the stock transfer company's performance due partly to the benefits of higher interest rates.
Over the period, the ASX 200 dividend share paid out partially franked dividends totalling 82 cents per share. This means that if you bought its shares for $24.39 at the end of 2023, you would have received a dividend yield of approximately 3.4% in 2024.
