While This High-Yield Dividend ETF Holds 75 Stocks, Its Top 2 Comprise 16.5% of Its Total Holdings #NewsETFs

iShares Core High Dividend ETF (HDV -0.75%) is a popular exchange-traded fund (ETF) among those seeking to generate passive income. The fund focuses on holding high-yielding dividend stocks with a consistent record of paying dividends and strong financial profiles. The fund’s dividend yield over the trailing 12 months is around 3.4%, almost triple the S&P 500‘s dividend yield (1.2%).

The fund holds a fairly diversified portfolio of 75 dividend stocks. However, its top two holdings — oil giants ExxonMobil (XOM -1.05%) and Chevron (CVX -2.57%) — account for 16.5% of its net assets. Here’s a closer look at this dividend ETF’s holdings and whether its high concentration on energy stocks poses a risk to income-seeking investors.

Drilling down into the ETF’s holdings

iShares Core High Dividend ETF aims to track the investment results of an index comprised of U.S.-listed stocks with relatively high dividend yields. It holds 75 established, high-quality companies with healthy financial profiles. Most of its 10 largest holdings are household names:

Data source: iShares.

While the fund holds 75 stocks, the top 10 comprise more than 50% of the ETF’s assets. Those top holdings feature a mix of oil, healthcare, technology, telecom, and cigarette stocks.

If we zoom out a bit further, the sector breakdown of the entire fund is as follows:

• Energy: 27% weighting in the fund
• Consumer staples: 18.4%
• Healthcare: 17%
• Utilities: 11.1%
• Information technology: 10.7%
• Communications: 5.1%
• Financials: 5%
• Industrials: 2.5%
• Materials: 2.1%
• Consumer discretionary: 0.7%

The fund has an outsize allocation to the energy sector compared to the S&P 500 (3.4% weighting). It also has a much higher weighting in the consumer staples (5.8% in the S&P 500), healthcare (11.2%), and utilities (2.5%) sectors.

Fueling the fund’s income

The fund’s high concentration on the energy sector and leading oil producers Exxon and Chevron might be a turnoff for some investors. However, the oil giants have exceptional records of paying dividends, which should continue.

ExxonMobil recently increased its dividend by another 4%, extending its growth streak to 42 straight years. That’s an elite record. Currently, less than 4% of companies in the S&P 500 have had dividend growth of 42 years or more.

The company is in an excellent position to continue growing its high-yielding dividend. For starters, Exxon is a cash-flow machine. It has produced $42.8 billion of cash flow from operations through the first nine months of this year and $26.4 billion of free cash flow after funding its high-return capital program.

Exxon returned virtually all that excess cash to shareholders, paying $12.3 billion in dividends and repurchasing $13.8 billion of its shares. It could afford to do that because it has a fortress balance sheet with $27 billion in cash and an ultra-low 5% leverage ratio. Meanwhile, Exxon’s strategic plans have it on track to add another $14 billion to its industry-leading earnings capacity by 2027 through cost savings and high-return investments.

Chevron is a strong second to Exxon in the oil patch. The company has increased its dividend for 37 straight years, delivering peer-leading growth over the last five, including 8% earlier this year.

The oil giant expects to grow its free cash flow at a more than 10% annual rate through 2027, assuming oil averages $60 a barrel. That will enable the company to fund its high-return capital program, grow the dividend, and repurchase shares in the range of $10 billion-$20 billion per year. Meanwhile, free cash flow could more than double during that timeframe (assuming $70 oil) if it is successful in acquiring Hess. Add Chevron’s strong balance sheet, and its high-yielding dividend is very safe.

A terrific duo at the top

iShares Core High Dividend ETF might be a little top-heavy, given that oil giants Exxon and Chevron comprise 16.5% of its holdings. However, they’ve done a fantastic job growing their high-yielding dividends, which seems likely to continue. Because of that, this ETF is a solid option for investors seeking to generate some passive income.