Top Wall Street analysts prefer these dividend stocks for steady income

Investors looking for steady income amid the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and economic uncertainty can consider adding dividend-paying stocks to their portfolios.

Choosing the right stocks from the vast universe of dividend-paying companies can be challenging. Recommendations from top Wall Street analysts could help investors pick stocks with attractive dividends that are backed by strong financials.

Here are three dividend-paying stocks, highlighted by Wall Street’s top pros on TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.

Our first dividend pick is AT&T (T), one of the world’s leading telecommunications companies. Last month, the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share on its common stock, payable on Nov. 1. AT&T offers a dividend yield of 5.2%.

Recently, Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Feinseth slightly raised his price target for AT&T stock to $30 from $29 and reiterated a buy rating, saying that “gains in wireless and wireline subscription growth continue to position it as a leading provider of converged 5G and fiber wireline services.”

The analyst highlighted that AT&T reported 419,000 postpaid phone net additions in the second quarter, with an industry-leading postpaid phone churn of 0.70%. Moreover, it witnessed 239,000 AT&T Fiber net additions, marking the 18th consecutive quarter with over 200,000 net additions.

Feinseth added that the company is on track to pass more than 30 million consumer and business locations with its fiber network by the end of next year. The analyst is optimistic about AT&T’s future growth, backed by the continued rollout of 5G and fiber network as well as broadband. He also expects the company to gain from the iPhone upgrade cycle.

Additionally, Feinseth noted the company’s efforts to reduce its costs and debt levels. Overall, the analyst thinks that AT&T offers an attractive investment opportunity, given its compelling dividend yield and a portfolio of resilient businesses.

Feinseth ranks No. 202 among more than 9,100 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 61% of the time, delivering an average return of 13.2%. (See AT&T Stock Buybacks on TipRanks) 

This week’s second dividend stock is Realty Income (O), a real estate investment trust that invests in diversified commercial real estate and has a portfolio of over 15,400 properties in the U.S., the United Kingdom and six other countries in Europe.

Realty Income is known for its monthly dividends. On Oct. 8, the company declared a monthly dividend of $0.2635 per share, payable on Nov. 15. The stock offers an attractive dividend yield of 5.1%.

Recently, RBC Capital analyst Brad Heffern updated his estimates and price targets for net lease REITs to reflect the impact of a lower interest rate environment. In particular, the analyst raised the price target for Realty Income to $67 from $64 and reaffirmed a buy rating on the stock. The higher price target represents a much lower cost of debt/equity capital that the company and its peers in the net lease REITs group are benefiting from.

Heffern cited several reasons for his bullish stance on Realty Income, including the company having one of the highest-quality net lease portfolios and a high proportion of tenants with public reporting requirements. The analyst also expects the company to benefit from solid acquisition volumes.

“O’s cost of capital is one of the lowest in the peer group, and in our view a low cost of capital is critical to operating in net lease,” he added.

Heffern ranks No. 542 among more than 9,100 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 48% of the time, delivering an average return of 12.1%. (See Realty Income Stock Charts on TipRanks) 

Finally, let’s look at the fast-food chain McDonald’s (MCD). Last month, the company announced a 6% hike in its quarterly dividend to $1.77 per share, payable on Dec. 16. This increase marked the 48th consecutive year of dividend increases for MCD. The stock has a dividend yield of 2.3%.

Baird analyst David Tarantino reaffirmed a buy rating on MCD stock and boosted the price target to $320 from $280, citing signs of improved comparable sales growth in the U.S. The analyst increased his third-quarter U.S. comps estimate to 0.5% compared to the previous estimate of a 2% decline.

Tarantino increased his EPS estimate as well, fueled by indications of improved trends in August and September following softness exiting Q2 and in early Q3. The analyst thinks that improvement in U.S. comps might have been driven by growing traction for the $5 Meal Deal, the Collector’s Meal promotion that was launched on Aug. 13 and reportedly sold out within one to two days, and easier comparison with the prior-year period.

While visibility outside the domestic market continues to be low due to macro challenges, Tarantino remains bullish on the stock, as he thinks that “MCD’s durable business model is positioned to produce relatively good results in a range of economic scenarios.”

Tarantino ranks No. 162 among more than 9,100 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 66% of the time, delivering an average return of 13.7%. (See McDonald’s Hedge Fund Activity on TipRanks)