There's more to income investing than high yields. A lot of companies offering chunky distributions may not be able to keep the hefty payouts coming. Even if the dividend is sustainable in the near term, you're losing if you buy a stock yielding 10% that's trading 20% lower a year later.

What are some of the names that you might want to avoid? I think Altria (NYSE: MO) and Leggett Platt (NYSE: LEG) could be dividend traps. They have high yields that might make you look twice, but I have my own takes on those double takes. Let's take a closer look.

Altria might not seem to check off the obvious boxes you see in a dividend trap. It's a Dividend King, hiking its payout for 54 consecutive years. It even boosted its 2024 guidance last week, so unlike Sammy Hagar, Altria is prepared to drive 55 (years of increased distributions).

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Source Fool.com