Most stocks have cratered substantially over the past two weeks as tariff fears intensified and “Liberation Day” tariffs were much worse than many had expected. Stocks fell, but retail investors aren’t panicking and are instead playing it smart by buying the dip. The stock market experienced record buying volumes from retail investors. JPMorgan said this was the largest level seen in 10 years.

That said, I don’t think you should buy back into expensive tech stocks with more room to fall. Instead, you should focus more on undervalued Dividend Aristocrats. Many believe that a market crash is being manufactured by President Donald Trump to force the Federal Reserve’s hand into lowering interest rates. In such a scenario, dividend stocks will get a lot more attractive as yield hunger kicks in. Most people can agree that the tariffs are too severe to be permanently in place and will be negotiated down, so these stocks could soar regardless. You can sit on their high yields as you wait for that to happen.

Target (TGT)

Target (NYSE:TGT) has dropped below $100 due to recent market fears. This was one of the best-performing stocks in the immediate post-pandemic era but has underperformed since during selloffs in both 2022 and the ongoing one now.

People are splurging much less than they used to. The company’s latest earnings showed a 3.1% decline in revenue year-over-year. Operating income also declined 21.3% as people stayed away from higher-margin discretionary items and stuck to necessities. Walmart (NYSE:WMT) has been the biggest winner in the retail space until the start of this year. Many people label Target the “upscale discount” option since it attracts middle-to-upper-middle-class shoppers. These shoppers were driven to Walmart due to the inflation wave.

Still, Target is nowhere near dead. The current price is a bit above 10 times forward earnings and is a steal for the long run. WMT still trades at over 31 times forward earnings, so Target losing its edge is more than priced in at the current price. Moreover, both companies are not expected to be too far off in terms of growth once the ripple effects of inflation dissipate. Analysts expect positive revenue growth at 1.24% for FY2026 through 2035. EPS is also expected to almost double in the same timeframe.

TGT also pays over four times the dividends with a 4.68% dividend yield. Dividends have been raised for 54 consecutive years, so it’s a Dividend King.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM)

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) is a food processing and commodities trading company. The trends here have been similar to Target’s in the past two years, as the stock has been shedding gains after plateauing in 2021/2022.

Revenue has declined from $101.556 billion in 2022 to $85.53 billion in 2024, and debt has ticked up sharply to a new high of $11.538 billion in 2024. Cash flow also topped out in 2021 with $6.6 billion in operating cash flow more than halving to $2.79 billion in 2024.

The trends look horrible, but that’s only if you start in 2021. The revenue decline stems mainly from the normalization of commodity prices after an exceptional 2022. That year, global agricultural markets were rocked by supply disruptions from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Agricultural products spiked to multi-year highs, and ADM managed to capitalize on the higher prices. The drawdown since then has been due to prices normalizing.

If you zoom out, ADM looks much better now than in the years preceding 2021. Operating cash flow was negative in the billions back then. Yet, the stock at $43 is pretty much back to levels where the company was doing much worse. That’s precisely why I think the stock is undervalued now.

ADM stock comes with a dividend yield of 4.71% and has been increasing dividends for 53 years consecutively.

T Rowe Price (TROW)

T Rowe Price (NASDAQ:TROW) is an investment management company and is a heavyweight in the financial sector. Two-thirds of its managed assets are held in retirement accounts and variable annuity portfolios, which are more stable and have longer investment horizons.

However, T Rowe has mostly been flat over the past few years, except for a bump in 2021/2022 due to net client outflows. Only 41% and 31% of fund AUM beat passive peer medians on a 3-year and 5-year basis, so many of its clients have cashed out. The company reported net client outflows of $19.3 billion for Q4 2024 and $43.2 billion for the full year 2024. Although these outflows decreased nearly 50% year-over-year, it’s still massive.

Investors were optimistic that TROW stock would return to growth as net outflows declined. Still, T Rowe’s Q4 report disappointed with adjusted EPS of $2.12 and net revenue of $1.8 billion both falling below analyst expectations. Recent tariffs have made things even worse.

There’s plenty going wrong here, but I don’t see anything that jeopardizes TROW’s long-term potential. It’s a massive company that has stopped the bleeding and is turning the ship around as 2024 saw positive revenue growth after two years of decline. Cash on hand also increased to $2.65 billion from $2.07 billion in 2023. It remains a profitable company with fat margins that you can grab at just 9 times earnings. It has historically traded at over 15 times earnings, so the current dip is more than worth buying as financials inevitably bounce back.

The dividend yield here is 6.15%, with 39 consecutive years of dividend hikes.

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