Forget the National Lottery! I’d stock up on these high-yielding FTSE 100 dividend stocks!

With the extremely slim odds of winning the National Lottery, here are two FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) picks that could earn you more.

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It is extremely unlikely that you’ll win the National Lottery. The odds of hitting the jackpot are 45m to one. With each line currently costing £2, I think your money is better spent elsewhere.

Due to widespread and worldwide political uncertainty, the FTSE 100 contains many companies that are trading at a discounted value. Some of these stocks also offer the bonus of a generous dividend yield.

Here are two of those companies:

HSBC

The share price of banking giant HSBC (LSE: HSBA) has taken a hammering recently. Over the past six months, its price has dropped by approximately 11%.

The US-China trade war, mass protests in Hong Kong, and Brexit have all been blamed for its poor performance of late. This is not a surprise, as the bank is highly exposed to these areas, with almost 80% of HSBC’s profit stemming from Asia.

In its latest earnings update, the bank reported that profits before tax in Asia were up over 4% to $4.7b in Q3.

Investors should be excited about the now completed $1b share buy-back. I believe that this indicates the bank is aware that the market has undervalued its business.

Even with the recently completed buy-back, the capital levels at the bank remain above its common equity tier 1 target of 14%.

Despite a challenging global economy, HSBC aims to sustain its dividend, which is due to yield a generous 6.5%.

The recent slump in share price means the price-to-earnings ratio is just 12.

Legal & General

In its most recent half-yearly results, Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) posted an increase in operating profit of 11%.

The insurer and financial services company has grown consistently over the last several years. For example, between 2011 to 2018, its earnings per share increased by a compounded annualised growth rate of 10%.

Over previous years, it has grown its dividend. The shares now offer a prospective yield of 5.5%. This will be welcome news to income investors, who seek stability from a company’s dividend.

Despite this growth and attractive yield, its shares have only grown by roughly 2% in the past six months. This makes the price-to-earnings ratio 9, offering what I believe is a wide margin of safety for investors.

The company is disposing some of its non-core assets, to focus on more profitable areas of its business. The hope for investors is that this supercharges profitability and growth.

As a group, Legal & General is well diversified. Along with its insurance section, other areas include pension risk transfer, investment management, capital investment, and retirement solutions.

Like HSBC, the Legal & General shares have been somewhat dampened by Brexit. However, I think the business is in a good position in this regard, with its investment management arm receiving the relevant authorisation from the EU last year.

With income and a track record of growth, I see many benefits to holding this stock in a portfolio.

Should you invest, the value of your investment may rise or fall and your capital is at risk. Before investing, your individual circumstances should be assessed. Consider taking independent financial advice.

T Sligo has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended HSBC Holdings. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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