Top Wall Street analysts pick these 3 dividend stocks for the long haul

A strong fourth-quarter earnings season is underway, and it’s time for dividend-paying companies to shine.

Resilient dividend-paying companies can offer long-term growth potential and steady income. Investors ought to consider the insight of top Wall Street pros as they hunt for dividend stocks with solid fundamentals.

Here are three attractive dividend stocks, according to Wall Street’s top experts on TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.

Verizon Communications

First up is telecom giant Verizon Communications (VZ), which recently reported its fourth-quarter results and impressed investors with the robust jump in wireless postpaid phone subscriber additions.

In 2023, the company raised its dividend for the 17th consecutive year. Verizon’s quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share (annualized dividend of $2.66), reflects a yield of 6.7%.

Following Verizon’s Q4 results, Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Feinseth reiterated a buy rating on the stock and increased the price target to $50 per share from $45. The analyst noted that the company delivered strong subscriber and cash flow growth in 2023, with further acceleration expected this year.

“Ongoing 5G and fixed wireless broadband momentum and increased services offerings combined with operating efficiencies and margin improvement will drive a reacceleration in cash flow growth and improving Business Performance trends,” said Feinseth.

The analyst thinks that Verizon’s solid balance sheet and cash flow support the company’s ongoing investments in spectrum expansion and other growth initiatives as well as dividend hikes. Overall, he thinks that the company offers a compelling investment opportunity, given its high dividend yield and industry-leading position that enables it to benefit from long-term telecom trends.    

Feinseth ranks No. 214 among more than 8,700 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 61% of the time, with each delivering an average return of 11.7%. (See Verizon Hedge Fund Activity on TipRanks)

Enterprise Products Partners

This week’s second dividend pick is Enterprise Products Partners (EPD), a master limited partnership that provides midstream energy services. Last month, the company announced a quarterly cash distribution of $0.515 per unit for the fourth quarter of 2023, to be paid on Feb. 14. This quarterly distribution marks a 5.1% year-over-year increase and reflects a yield of nearly 8%.

In reaction to EPD’s fourth-quarter results,…