The stock market has had a hot first half, with the S & P 500 up roughly 15%, but there are still opportunities for investors to find cheap names with solid dividends. With the Federal Reserve expected to start cutting interest rates later in the year, bond yields will also move lower, which could make dividend stocks look more attractive. The central bank has signaled it will begin slashing rates sometime this year, although it currently anticipates just one cut in 2024 .
Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts are down more than 8% year to date, while Vici Properties has shed about 11%. Utilities, on the other hand, have run higher this year. The S & P utilities sector is up more than 7% year to date. Sempra , which has a 3.3% dividend yield, still stands out as one utility name trading at a discount. It has a forward P/E of 15.8 and has 10% upside to the average analyst price target. Nearly 77% of analysts covering the stock rate it a buy or overweight.