Despite the stock market's recent climb, sentiment remains mixed, and skittish investors can turn that mood on a dime. While the levels of shares sold short have fallen considerably lately, they're still higher than they were at the start of the year. If the market really is nearing its peak, investors might want to balance out shifts in market momentum with a steady stream of income from solid, dividend-paying stocks.

Aside from stable returns, dividends can signal a company's financial health -- especially in this economy, where former steady payers such as Citigroup (NYSE: C) have slashed their dividends. Only about one-third of publicly traded companies in the U.S. now continue to pay a steady dividend. But mature companies that still have more cash than they need, even in this stormy market, are some of the strongest businesses out there.

Investing in stocks such as Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) and Huntsman (NYSE: HUN), which yield 5.7% and 5.9%, respectively, can give you a steady return in a volatile market. And when the recession clears, these strong companies should generate even greater returns for investors as their shares rise.

How do you find solid companies with strong dividend yields? I've done some of the dirty work for you, with help from the Motley Fool's CAPS screener. To search for stocks with hefty dividends, I screened for companies with:

Here's some of what popped up from my screen:

Company

Market Cap (in billions)

Current Dividend Yield

Alliance Holdings (Nasdaq: AHGP)

$1.22

8.4%

Apollo Investment (Nasdaq: AINV)

$1.28

12.4%

Bristol-Myers Squibb

$43.4

5.7%

Huntsman

$1.6

5.9%

National Grid (NYSE: NGG) Continued...