Geraldine Weiss Had an Interesting Formula

Geraldine Weiss Had an Interesting Formula

By John Dorfman

October 17, 2025 (Maple Hill Syndicate) When a stock sports a dividend yield above its own historical average, one of two things has happened.

The company may have raised its dividend usually a good sign. Or the dividend yield may have gone up because the stock's price went down. That suggests there's been bad news, but it hints at a possible bargain.

Some investment professionals seek out stocks whose dividend yield is above their own normal level. Probably the best-known practitioner of this approach was the late Geraldine Weiss, who wrote a book called Dividends Don't Lie.

I wrote a column about the Geraldine Weiss approach in September 2024. The five stocks I selected returned 23.4% in the ensuing year, beating the Standard & Poor's 500 at 17.6%. Those figures are total returns, including both price gain (or loss) and dividends.

Bear in mind that my column results are hypothetical and shouldn't be confused with results I obtain for clients. Also, past performance doesn't predict the future.

I'd like to give Weiss's approach another try. Here are four stocks that look good to me now, based on her method.

EOG Resources EOG

The now-defunct Enron Corp., which went down in flames of accounting fraud in 2001, has several surviving successor companies. One is EOG Resources Inc. EOG, originally part of Enron Oil & Gas.

Based in Houston, EOG produces the equivalent of more than one million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Its mix is about 31% natural gas and 69% oil and natural-gas liquids.

Over the past ten years, EOG's typical dividend yield has been about 1.8%. Today the yield is 3.7%. Geraldine Weiss fans, take note.

EOG has been increasing its dividend rapidly in recent years. In 2019 the dividend was $1.01 a share. In the past four quarters the payout has been $3.77.

Molson Coors (TAP)

Molson Coors Beverage Co., a brewer based in Golden, Colorado, has averaged a 2.5% dividend yield over the past decade. Today the stock yields 4%.

The shares have done miserably over the past ten years, losing close to half their value. Many investors think that beer is a buggy-whip industry. U.S. beer sales have been declining, and imports are grabbing an increasing share of a shrinking pie.

Sensibly, Molson is trying to diversify away from beer, offering hard cider, hard seltzer, canned cocktails and energy drinks.

Novo Nordisk NVO

These days, many investors think of Novo Nordisk A/S NVO, based in Denmark, primarily as a weight-loss drug maker. I, however, think of it primarily as a leader in diabetes medications.

The stock peaked at about $147 last year and has since fallen to roughly $90 as Eli Lilly & Co. LLY has moved to the front in weight-loss drugs. After its fall, Novo Nordisk shares yield 3.3%, well above the ten-year median of 1.9%.

The company's net profit margin is above 35% and its return on stockholders' equity is about 81%. Even if those figures decline some, I think the stock is a bargain.

Inter Parfums IPAR

Based in New York City, Inter Parfums Inc. makes and sells perfume and cologne under a wide variety of licensed brands such as Coach, Karl Lagerfeld, Montblanc and Van Cleef & Arpels. Its dividend yield has normally been about 1.7%; now it's 3.2%.

The stock has declined, partly because sales and earnings growth have slowed, and perhaps partly because investors fear a recession. It peaked at about $158 five years ago and now sells for around $96.

I think the decline is overdone. Growth was still pretty good in the past year, with sales up 7% and earnings up 17%.

Performance

My maiden column discussing Geraldine Weiss's approach was encouraging, as three of my five picks beat the S&P 500's return, and all five were profitable.

The best performer was UGI Corp. UGI, which distributes natural gas, propane and electricity, mostly in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It returned 43% (including dividends).

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA) attracted a takeover offer from private-equity firm Sycamore Partners. It returned more than 37%.

Also beating the index, but by a narrower margin, was Magna International Inc. MGA, a Canadian auto-parts maker. Considering the trade frictions (and other frictions) between the U.S. and Canada, I'm pleasantly surprised.

U.S. Bancorp USB and Greif Inc. (NYSE:GEF.B) returned 10% and 4%, respectively, trailing the index.

John Dorfman is chairman of Dorfman Value Investments in Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts. His firm or clients may own or trade the stocks discussed here. He can be reached at jdorfman@dorfmanvalue.com.