It's hard to argue against the attractiveness of getting paid to do nothing. That's why ultra-high-yield dividend stocks like Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN), a leading upstream energy company, garner such considerable attention from income investors.

But simply buying these stocks to generate strong passive income is hardly a sound investing strategy. It's quite possible that the alluring high yield is masking troubles with the underlying business. In the case of Devon Energy, two Fool.com contributors present both sides of the argument.

Scott Levine: Look at Devon Energy's history of dishing out dividends to investors and you'll find that the payout ebbs and flows. This stems from the company's policy of returning both a fixed amount and a variable amount to investors -- a policy that was an industry first when it began in 2021. On top of the fixed amount of $0.20 per share that comprises the dividend each quarter, Devon Energy plans on returning up to 50% of free cash flow.

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Source Fool.com