Looking to buy mid-cap stocks with high dividends? These five US stocks are worth watching.

When it comes to high dividend stocks, large-cap stocks have attracted a lot of attention. However, companies like Johnson & Johnson, AT&T, and Coca-Cola are not the only ones that can generate high dividend income. Mid-cap stocks are also worth a look.

The average return of the S&P MidCap 400 Index is about 1.7%, on par with the S&P 500 Index.

5 selected stocks

According to FactSet data, Barron's selected stocks with a dividend yield of at least 2% and a debt-to-equity ratio of less than 50%.

The reason is that the less debt on a company's balance sheet, the better, especially in times when people are worried about a possible recession.

More importantly, the overall rise in interest rates has increased the borrowing costs of some companies, and mid-sized bank stocks also need to be avoided.

HF Sinclair (DINO), Chord Energy (CHRD), Unum Group (UNM), Hanover Insurance Group (THG), and Federated Hermes (FHI).

These five mid-sized companies have a dividend yield of at least 2% and a low proportion of debt in their capital structure.

Federated Hermes

Asset management company Federated Hermes manages about $700 billion in assets. The company is an important participant in the money market fund.

Federated Hermes' stock yield is 2.7%. As of May 2, the stock has risen 14% year-to-date, including dividends.

FactSet expects the asset management company to earn $3.37 per share in 2023, $2.65 per share in 2022, and $3.85 per share next year. This should help support the continued growth of dividends.

HF Sinclair

Dallas-based oil refining company HF Sinclair has a dividend yield of 4.3%, the highest of the five stocks.

Of course, higher yields usually mean lower stock prices. Including dividends, the company's stock price has fallen about 19% this year.

The company's fourth-quarter earnings per share were $2.97, lower than the market's general expectations. Nevertheless, the company is still generating a lot of cash flow. Its operating cash flow last year was $3.8 billion, and it returned $1.6 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks.

In March of this year, Wells Fargo upgraded its rating to Buy, in part because it believes HF's valuation is attractive.

Chord Energy

Chord Energy's stock price has risen about 3% this year, with a dividend yield of 3.7%. Chord Energy is the product of the merger between Whiting Petroleum and Oasis Petroleum last year. The company has significant shale assets in North Dakota.

Unum

Insurance company Unum Group has a dividend yield of 3% and a year-to-date return of about 1%.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect Unum's earnings per share this year to be $6.75 under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), $6.50 in 2022, and $7.20 next year.

In recent years, the company has regularly increased its dividend, usually in July.

Last July, Unum announced a quarterly dividend of 33 cents per share, up 10% from the same period last year.

Hanover

Meanwhile, Hanover Insurance Group expects to raise its earnings per share from $5.53 in 2022 to $7.15 this year.

The company regularly raises its dividend, most recently in December of last year, when the quarterly dividend was raised from 75 cents per share to 81 cents per share.

The company said it expects higher interest rates and cash flow "to provide a meaningful push in 2023."

The stock has a dividend yield of 2.7% and has fallen about 13% year-to-date including dividends.