Passive income investors frequently fall prey to the mistake of picking stocks because they have big dividend yields. That one metric alone doesn't tell you nearly enough about a company to make a buy, or sell, decision. If you are looking for a high-yielding energy stock today, Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) is probably on your wish list, but you might be better off buying a company like ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) despite its much lower yield. Here's why.

Devon Energy's dividend yield is a huge 8.6% right now. That's multiples of what's on offer from ExxonMobil, which has a yield of "just" 3.3%. But more context is needed. 

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Source Fool.com