4 High-Yield Dividend Stocks You Can Buy Today and Hold Forever
Four stocks yielding close to 6% each have rallied hard in 2026, yet income investors keep holding on. Before you buy, one carries a 78% payout with missing cash flow data and another sits at 1.42x interest coverage, so knowing…
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Income investors have had a strong 2026. Altria (NYSE:MO | MO Price Prediction) shares are up 39.04% year to date, Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) is up 25.03%, and Verizon (NYSE:VZ) has gained 17.44%. Even so, these three and Realty Income (NYSE:O) all still yield close to 6%. I ran each one through payout ratios, cash coverage, leverage, and dividend history using third-quarter 2026 results to see which payouts can hold up for decades.
| Stock | Annual Dividend | Yield | Streak | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verizon | $2.83 | 6.3% | 19 years | Neither |
| Altria | $4.44 | 5.8% | 61 increases in 57 years | King |
| Realty Income | $3.258 | 5.7% | 30+ years | Aristocrat |
| Enterprise Products | $2.24 | 5.9% | 27 years | Aristocrat-equivalent |
Verizon’s Free Cash Flow Covers the Dividend Twice Over
Verizon’s turnaround is producing cash. Third-quarter free cash flow reached $7.8 billion, its highest since 2020, while promotional acquisition costs fell 41%. Notably, subscriber growth is being achieved without heavy subsidies. Postpaid phone net adds of 406,000 were the best third quarter in five years.
| Metric | Value | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Earnings payout (guided EPS $5.04 to $5.06) | 56.0% | Healthy |
| FCF payout ($8.8B dividends vs. $18B FCF, YTD) | 48.9% | Healthy |
| Operating cash flow coverage | 3.4x | Strong |
| Net unsecured debt/adj. EBITDA | 2.3x | Manageable |
| Total debt | $166.2B | Heavy |
Debt is the weak spot. Interest expense rose 17.2% year over year, and management expects to reach its leverage target in 2027. Dividend growth is slow: the quarterly rate is up 10.5% since January 2022, and the latest increase was 2.5%. CFO Tony Skiadas said on the Q3 call, “We remain committed to growing the dividend and delivering enhanced returns to our shareholders through share repurchases.” Buybacks on top of the dividend suggest management sees ample financial flexibility.
Altria’s 78% Payout Is High, but 64.5% Margins Back It Up
Altria’s product line is contracting, yet it still has strong pricing power. Adjusted cigarette volumes fell an estimated 4% in Q3, but price increases of 4.4% and a 64.5% adjusted margin raised adjusted EPS 4.8%.
| Metric | Value | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Earnings payout (guided EPS $5.66 to $5.74) | 77.9% | Raised |
| Dividends paid, first nine months | $5.3B | Large |
| Debt/EBITDA | 1.9x | Manageable |
| Shareholders’ equity | -$2.225B | Buyback legacy |
| Cash | $2.697B | Enough |
Altria didn’t break out Q3 free cash flow or operating cash flow on its call, so you can’t calculate an FCF payout ratio for Altria. That gap matters for a payout this high. Leverage stands right at the target of about two times. The latest increase was 4.7%, the quarterly rate is up 23.3% since 2022, and management is aiming mid-single-digit growth through 2028. CEO Sal Mancuso said, “Our highly cash-generative businesses supported significant returns to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.”
Realty Income’s AFFO Payout Sits Near Historic Lows
Realty Income owns 15,536 properties rented to 1,842 clients at 98.8% occupancy. Depreciation drives GAAP earnings down, which makes the GAAP payout look like 209.5%, so adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) is the better measure.
| Metric | Value | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| AFFO payout (guided $4.45 to $4.46) | 73.1% | Healthy for a REIT |
| Implied FCF payout (5.36% yield vs. 7.09% FCF yield) | 75.6% | Enough |
| Net debt/EBITDA (TTM) | 7.81x | Raised |
| Interest coverage | 1.42x | Close |
| Liquidity | $5.4B | Solid buffer |
Management’s pro forma leverage figure is lower, at 5.4x, and more than 94% of debt is fixed rate. Still, interest expense rose to $333.6M from $294.5M. The company has now raised its dividend for 116 consecutive quarters, though each increase is small: the monthly rate is up just 10.1% since 2022. CEO Sumit Roy said, “If you look at our AFFO payout ratio, it’s amongst the lowest it has been in the history of Realty Income.”
Enterprise Products Partners Covers Its Payout 1.9x
Enterprise runs toll-road pipelines that set volume records in Q3, including 14.8 million barrels per day equivalent. Distributable cash flow grew 27% to $2.3 billion, leaving $1.1 billion after distributions.
| Metric | Value | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| DCF coverage | 1.9x | Strong |
| Distributions plus buybacks as % of adj. CFO | 54% | Healthy |
| Q3 earnings payout ($0.56 vs. $0.75 EPS) | 74.7% | Enough |
| Net leverage | 2.9x | Within aiming |
| Fixed-rate debt | 96% | Low rate risk |
The distribution is up 20.4% since early 2022. Co-CEO Randy Fowler said the partnership favors “targeted organic growth that has historically provided higher and more consistent returns on capital with fewer surprises.” He also warned that 2027 “may be more modest.” Investors should also know that the partnership structure means a K-1 tax form each year.
Enterprise and Verizon Lead a Group Built for Decades of Income
- Enterprise Products Partners: Very Safe. Coverage of 1.9x and leverage inside its target range give it the largest margin of safety in this group.
- Verizon: Safe. A sub-50% FCF payout offsets the debt load.
- Realty Income: Safe. The AFFO payout is comfortable, but 1.42x interest coverage leaves little room for error.
- Altria: Safe. A Dividend King with low leverage, though its 78% payout is the closest of the four.
All four payouts look durable if Verizon keeps paying down debt on schedule, Altria’s price increases keep outpacing volume declines, and Realty Income keeps buying properties at about 170 basis points above its cost of capital. Caution would be warranted if long-term interest rates compress Realty Income’s interest coverage further, or if Altria’s cigarette volumes decline faster than the current 4% annual rate. Next quarter, I’ll be following Verizon’s leverage path and Enterprise’s 2027 capital budget. For readers who want the largest pool of multi-decade growers at today’s prices, we ranked ten of them in a free Dividend Kings report.
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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.
