3 Elite Dividend Stocks to Buy Right Now to Lock In the Next Payout
Three dividend stocks with ex-dates clustering in a single week of late October could hand income investors their next November paycheck, but the window to qualify is closing fast.
Retirees who no longer collect a paycheck tend to think about income in terms of dates. Property taxes, insurance premiums, and grocery bills fall on a schedule, and a cash-flow portfolio works best when its payments do, too. Late October gives income investors a tight cluster of those dates: three dividend payers go ex-dividend between October 22 and October 30, and all three pay in November.
Here’s what a $10,000 stake in each of these three dividend stocks would generate in annual income. Spread across the group, a total investment of $30,000 produces about $832 a year in forward dividend income, comfortably passing an $800 annual target. The mix runs from a dividend growth compounder with a small starting yield to a high-yield services company whose payout has climbed every year since it began.
All yields below are forward yields: the latest declared quarterly dividend, annualized, divided by recent share prices. Share counts are fractional, so each position equals exactly $10,000.
Casey’s General Stores
- Yield: 0.41%
- Shares for $10,000: 15.70
- Annual Passive Income: ~$40.82
Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY | CASY Price Prediction) is the third-largest convenience store chain in the U.S., with more than 2,900 stores concentrated in the Midwest. Fuel drives the top line, contributing about $3.72 billion of first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue, while grocery and general merchandise added $1.28 billion, and prepared food and dispensed beverages contributed $493 million. That higher-margin food business is what sets Casey’s apart from fuel-heavy competitors.
The small yield shows price appreciation more than a stingy payout. Shares have gained 484.17% over ten years, trading at $637, and management sends most cash toward new stores and buybacks. Even so, the quarterly dividend was raised 14% to $0.65, the 27th consecutive annual increase. Coverage is exceptional: the $2.60 forward dividend eats about 13% of trailing diluted EPS of $20.76.
First-quarter fiscal 2027 diluted EPS came in at $7.37, ahead of the $6.82 consensus, on revenue of $5.68 billion, up 24.3% year over year. About $973 million remains on the buyback authorization. The stock goes ex-dividend October 30, with payment on November 13.
APA
- Yield: 2.22%
- Shares for $10,000: 221.73
- Annual Passive Income: ~$221.73
APA (NASDAQ:APA) is an independent exploration and production company with core assets in the Permian Basin, Egypt, and the North Sea. It also has exploration positions in Suriname, Uruguay (alongside Eni), and Alaska through a pending Savant acquisition carrying $70 million upfront.
APA pays a fixed base dividend of $0.25 per quarter, a level held since the October 2022 payment, and layers buybacks on top under a commitment to return at least 60% of free cash flow in 2026. The yield has fallen because the share price rose 88.7% year to date to $45.10. Safety looks solid: the $1.00 annual dividend represents about 21% of trailing EPS of $4.73, and second-quarter free cash flow reached $738 million.
The balance sheet keeps improving. APA retired $673 million of bonds in the second quarter alone, has cut total debt by $2.30 billion since year-end 2024, and expects interest expense to fall more than $60 million in 2026. Oil prices are the swing factor: U.S. oil averaged $98.46 per barrel in the quarter versus $64.84 a year earlier. APA goes ex-dividend October 22 and pays November 23.
Concentrix
- Yield: 5.69%
- Shares for $10,000: 384.76
- Annual Passive Income: ~$569.45
Concentrix (NASDAQ:CNXC) provides customer experience solutions that blend AI with human agents for clients in technology, retail, travel, telecom, financial services, and healthcare. CEO Chris Caldwell has noted that 50% of revenue now comes from business won or deployed in the last three years.
The high yield comes from a falling share price set against a rising payout. Shares have dropped 42.97% over the past year to $25.99 as investors price in AI disruption risk, while the quarterly dividend has climbed from $0.25 in 2021 to $0.37. The stock trades near 3 times forward earnings. On coverage, the $1.48 forward dividend is about 13% of the low end of full-year non-GAAP EPS guidance ($10.97 to $11.09), and adjusted free cash flow is guided to $630 million to $650 million.
GAAP results look worse. A $1.05 billion goodwill impairment tied to the low market cap produced a third-quarter GAAP net loss of $988 million, though the charge is non-cash and leaves dividend capacity intact. Revenue slipped 1.2% to $2.45 billion, and management early-redeemed $600 million of senior notes in the second quarter. Concentrix goes ex-dividend October 23, with payment on November 3.
Income Breakdown at a Glance
| Name Yield Annual $30,000 Produces Across Three Payout Calendars | ||
|---|---|---|
| Casey’s General Stores | 0.41% | $40.82 |
| APA | 2.22% | $221.73 |
| Concentrix | 5.69% | $569.45 |
| Total | 2.77% | $832.00 |
Together, these three holdings produce $832.00 in annual passive income from a $30,000 investment, a blended yield of 2.77%. Concentrix contributes $569.45, APA adds $221.73, and Casey’s delivers $40.82.
Reinvesting those quarterly checks turns a fixed stake into a growing share count, and each new share earns its own dividend the following quarter. Pairing a fast-growing payer like Casey’s with a higher-yielding stock like Concentrix lets the income stream build in two ways: more shares and larger payouts per share. Over a decade, that compounding is what separates a static income portfolio from one that keeps pace with rising costs. (The whole point of a dividend ladder is never having to sell a share to pay bills, which is what our free guide on building one goes through step by step.)
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Lee Jackson has covered Wall Street analysts' equity and debt research and equity strategy daily for 24/7 Wall St. since 2012. His broad, diverse career, including a stint as creative services director at an NBC affiliate in Austin, Texas, gives him unique insight into the financial industry.
Lee Jackson's journey in the financial industry spans more than 30 years, including nearly two decades as an institutional equity salesperson at Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Morgan Stanley. His career spanned pivotal sell-side Wall Street events, from the dot-com rise and bubble to the Long-Term Capital Management debacle, 9/11, and the Great Recession of 2008. This reflects his resilience and adaptability amid market volatility.
Lee Jackson’s practical financial industry experience, gained through a career at some of the biggest banks and brokerage firms, is complemented by a lifetime of writing across various platforms. This unique combination allows him to shed light on the intricacies of Wall Street in a way only someone with deep insider experience and knowledge can. Moreover, his extensive network across Wall Street continues to provide direct access for him and 24/7 Wall St., a privilege few firms enjoy.
Since 2012, Jackson’s work for 24/7 Wall St. has been featured in Barron’s, Yahoo Finance, MarketWatch, Business Insider, TradingView, Real Money, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Benzinga, and other media outlets. He attended the prestigious Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and has a degree in broadcasting from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.
