Special Report

Wall Street Says These are the Best 10 Dividend Stocks You Can Buy Today

Eric Bleeker

Published: November 23, 2023 4:25 pm

It’s been a great year if you’re looking for yield. 10-Year Treasuries hit almost a 5% yield in October! Yet, they’ve fallen since, down to 4.4% in about a month’s time.

As the yields on treasuries drop, another asset class has seen a massive rally in the past month: stocks. If you’re an investor looking for yields and the potential for rising asset prices, dividend stocks are very attractive right now. With that in mind, let’s look at the 10 dividend-paying stocks that Wall Street ranks as its 10 best.

We’ve limited our scope to stocks in the S&P 500 and looked for stocks that have the highest buy rating from Wall Street and pay at least a 1% dividend yield. For each stock we’ll list its yield and potential upside from today’s price.

10. Las Vegas Sands

Source: greenleaf123 / iStock / Getty Images Plus

• Average Buy Recommendation (1 – Buy – to 5 – Sell-): 1.50
• Dividend Yield: 1.62%
• Mean Target Price: $66.65

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) starts out our list with buy recommendations from most of Wall Street. While you might be familiar with Sands from the name being in Las Vegas, the publicly traded las Vegas Sands operates 6 properties in Macao and Singapore. Wall Street’s mean target price is 31% above where its recently traded.

One downside of owning Las Vegas Sands is that casinos are extremely dependent on broader economic conditions. So, if you’re a dividend investor looking for safety, you may want to steer clear of the space.

9. VICI Properties

Source: Alina555 / Getty Images

• Average Buy Recommendation (1 – Buy – to 5 – Sell-): 1.50
• Dividend Yield: 5.80%
• Mean Target Price: $35.45

We’ll stick with gambling for the next entry on our list. VICI Properties (NYSE: VICI) is a REIT that owns hospitality and entertainment destinations that include Caesars Palace, the MGM Grand, and Venetian Resort in Las Vegas. Beyond its casinos VICI also has partnerships with companies like Bowlero, Great Wolf Resort, and own four championship golf courses. In total, the company claims 54 gaming and 38 non-gaming entertainment properties across the U.S. that contain 60,300 hotel rooms and about 500 restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and sportsbooks.

VICI Properties mean price target is $35.45, which is about 24% above Wednesday’s closing price.

8. UnitedHealth Group

Source: Wolterk / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

• Average Buy Recommendation (1 – Buy – to 5 – Sell-): 1.48
• Dividend Yield: 1.38%
• Mean Target Price: $585.09

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is one of the most rock-solid dividend stocks you can buy. While their yield might not be among the highest options, its also very secure with the company continuing to reliably grow net income. Looking ahead to 2027, Wall Street believes the company will grow profits 50% from 2023 estimates, which explains why Wall Street is so bullish on the company.

One potential downside is that UnitedHealth Group is trading only about 8% from Wall Street’s mean price target. This could be an excellent stock to add to your portfolio if stocks see a sell-off during December.

7. Targa Resources Corp.

Source: MenzhiliyAnantoly / iStock via Getty Images

• Average Buy Recommendation (1 – Buy – to 5 – Sell-): 1.46
• Dividend Yield: 2.29%
• Mean Target Price: $106.12

Targa Resources (NYSE: TRGP) develops a portfolio of domestic midstream infrastructure assets. That means the company transports and stores resources like natural gas and natural gas liquids as well as crude oil. In addition the company has a transportation division that includes 606 rail cars and even natural gas liquids barges.

Like other resource companies, dividends can be lumpy. In 2019 they were $3.64 per share before being cut to $.40 per share the next year. In the last twleve months dividends have risen to $1.85 per share, which is a payout ratio of just 29%.

6. Lamb Weston Holdings

Source: Graeme J. Baty / Getty Images

• Average Buy Recommendation (1 – Buy – to 5 – Sell-): 1.44
• Dividend Yield: 1.13%
• Mean Target Price: $123.67

Who knew potatoes could be so profitable? Lamb Weston (NYSE: LW) sells frozen potato products across the world. The company maintains excellent margins and has plenty of room to continue growing its dividend in the years ahead. Its payout ratio is just 15%, meaning it could triple its dividend at today’s profit levels and still pay out less than half its profits as dividends. Lamb Weston shares trade about 25% below Wall Street’s median price target.

5. Alexandria Real Estate Equities

Source: Ron and Patty Thomas / E+ via Getty Images

• Average Buy Recommendation (1 – Buy – to 5 – Sell-): 1.42
• Dividend Yield: 4.74%
• Mean Target Price: $134

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE: ARE) is a REIT that owns and operates a portfolio of office space designed for innovative industries like life science, biotechnology, and agtech in markets like Boston, San Francsico, San Diego, and North Carolina’s Research Triangle.

Shares have fallen throughout 2023 as the office space market faces challenges, but Wall Street still forecasts strong growth for the company in the years to come. If Alexandria Real Estate Equities can deliver on that growth, they should pay out significant dividends to investors. Wall Street currently has a price target that’s 28% above where Alexandria Real Estate’s stock trades today.

4. Elevance Health

Source: erdikocak / iStock via Getty Images

• Average Buy Recommendation (1 – Buy – to 5 – Sell-): 1.35
• Dividend Yield: 1.2%
• Mean Target Price: $565.26

Elevance Health (NYSE: ELV) is another massive healthcare company. Wall Street sees profits rising from $6.5 billion in 2023 all the way up to nearly $11 billion in 2027, which is a key reason the company has such a strong buy rating. Share trade fora. reasonable P/E of about 19X (below the average for S&P 500 stocks), there’s 18% upside from its current price and Wall Street’s target, and the company only has a 22% payout ratio on its dividend.

In short, there’s a lot of reasons to consider adding Elevance to your portfolio.

3. Delta Air Lines

Source: Jetlinerimages / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images

• Average Buy Recommendation (1 – Buy – to 5 – Sell-): 1.33
• Dividend Yield: 1.11%
• Mean Target Price: $52.05

Delta Airlines‘ (NYSE: DAL) stock trades at $35.95, which means its Wall Street target price implies 45% upside. The company also trades for an anemic P/E of just 7X last year’s profits. The largest concern is that areas like increased labor costs could eat into profits. Revenues are now significantly above where they stood pre-Covid. While airlines are a notoriously difficult industry, opportunistic investors could look at Delta at today’s bargain bin prices and rising potential to issue larger dividends.

2. Assurant

Source: Courtesy of Assurant via Facebook

• Average Buy Recommendation (1 – Buy – to 5 – Sell-): 1.33
• Dividend Yield: 1.8%
• Mean Target Price: $189.20

Why is Wall Street so bullish on Assurant (NYSE: AIZ)? It’s an interesting question, since the company isn’t significantly below its target price ($189.20 versus its recent price of $163.94). The company’s shares have been on fire since March. After seeing normalized EPS at $9.36 in 2021, the company is expected to hit $14.59 this year. So, the best explanation is simply that the company is executing extremely well in a very competitive insurance market.

1. NiSource

Source: SergBob / iStock via Getty Images

• Average Buy Recommendation (1 – Buy – to 5 – Sell-): 1.33
• Dividend Yield: 3.92%
• Mean Target Price: $28.90

We end our list with NiSource (NYSE: NI), which is rated a buy from the majority of Wall Street analysts that follow it. The company trades for $26.19, which isn’t much below its Wall Street target price of $28.90. A few factors in NiSource’s favor include its dividend yield, which is an above-average 3.8% and its industry – utilities – which is generally stable.