A perfect high-yield dividend stock doesn’t just dangle a big yield and hope you stop asking questions. It earns the payout with free cash flow, it keeps debt under control, and it has a clear plan for when oil prices wobble. It also gives you a believable reason the yield looks so high. Sometimes the market overreacts. Sometimes the market spots a real problem. If you can tell those two apart, you can turn a scary yield into a very friendly one. So let’s look at whether this dividend stock belongs on that list.
PXT
Parex Resources (TSX:PXT) grabs attention because the yield really does sit near that headline 8% level right now. Parex operates as a conventional oil and gas producer focused on Colombia, with its corporate base in Calgary and operations in Bogotá. Colombia exposure explains both the opportunity and the discomfort.
If you want a quick read on how investors feel, look at the last year of trading. The dividend stock is currently up over 30% in the last year. That rebound tells you buyers have returned. It also tells you the stock can swing hard when sentiment shifts. With Parex, the story rarely moves in a straight line, as oil prices, politics, and risk appetite all tug on it at once.
The business itself is easier to understand than the noise around it. Parex drills, produces, and sells; and tries to keep costs low enough to throw off cash after capital spending. In its Q3 2025 update, management pointed to production momentum and highlighted exploration activity like the Guapo-1 well on the VIM-1 block, plus a Foothills program it called “transformational.” Exploration can create upside, but cash flow keeps the lights on.
Is it worth it?
Now for the earnings that pay the dividend. In Q3 2025, Parex generated funds flow provided by operations of US$105 million, or US$1.09 per share, and it delivered net income of about US$50 million, or $0.52 per share. Revenue was pegged at about US$220.8 million, while that quarter also produced free funds flow of US$25 million after about US$80 million in capital spending.
The dividend looks attractive, but you should still pressure-test it, as high yields demand discipline. Parex declared that same $0.385 quarterly dividend and it also repurchased 620,000 shares during the quarter. It continued buybacks under its normal course issuer bid through 2025 as well. I like returns of capital, but I also like flexibility. If Brent drops or costs rise, the company must choose between buybacks, growth spending, and dividend comfort.
The 2026 outlook gives you a cleaner framework than guessing. At writing, Parex guided to average production of 45,000 to 49,000 boe/d and capital expenditures of US$280 million to US$320 million, using a US$60 Brent planning price. It also forecast funds flow provided by operations of US$385 million to US$420 million and free funds flow of about US$105 million at the midpoint. Those numbers suggest room to fund the dividend, invest, and still keep the balance sheet sturdy, if oil co-operates.
Bottom line
So, might PXT be an ideal high-yield dividend stock? It might, if you want a chunky yield backed by recent cash generation and a 2026 plan that still throws off meaningful free cash flow at a conservative Brent assumption. Right now, here’s what $7,000 could bring in from an investment.
| COMPANY | RECENT PRICE | NUMBER OF SHARES | ANNUAL DIVIDEND | ANNUAL TOTAL PAYOUT | FREQUENCY | TOTAL INVESTMENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PXT | $19.52 | 358 | $1.54 | $551.32 | Quarterly | $6,988.16 |
The yield does not come from magic. It comes from a market that demands a risk premium for Colombia exposure. If you can live with that trade-off and you can handle volatility, Parex can pay you generously while you wait for the valuation gap to narrow.
