The top dividend stocks to buy and hold today come from a variety of sectors but all have reliability in common.
The year ahead could be just as bumpy as 2022, but don’t let that chase you away. Instead, protect your portfolio with dividend stocks, as many others are doing for stability and the opportunity for passive income. After all, dividend stocks have a history of strength, even in downturns.
| KO | Coca-Cola | $60.49 |
| WPC | WP Carey | $85.55 |
| PM | Phillip Morris | $103.76 |
| CVX | Chevron | $179.45 |
| ADC | Agree Realty | $74.27 |
| NEE | NextEra Energy | $75.58 |
| SDIV | Global X Super Dividend ETF | $26.37 |
Coca-Cola (KO)
Dividend king, Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) is one of the top stocks to consider.
Not only does it carry a yield of about 2.9%, its highly dependable, with strong demand and incredible earnings growth. It’s even one of Warren Buffett’s favorite stocks, which he refers to as a “forever” stock.
Even better, the total addressable market for non-alcoholic drinks is estimated to be worth $833.1 billion at the moment. From here, it could grow at a CAGR of 5.6% through 2030. Coca-Cola is likely to take a big part in that growth. KO should be considered one of the top dividend stocks to buy and hold for the long term.
WP Carey (WPC)
WP Carey (NYSE:WPC) is another one of the top red-hot dividend stocks to buy and hold, especially when inflation is also running hot.
WP Carey is a net lease real estate investment trust that buys properties directly from companies and then leases them back to an oftentimes reliable tenant. It’s also called a lease-back.
What’s interesting about WP Carey is nearly all of its rental agreements include contractual rent increases for inflation, according to BNK Invest. In fact, about 60% of the agreements are tied to the consumer price index. The well-diversified REIT, with industrial, warehouse, office, retail, and self-storage, also pays a dividend yield of 5%.
Phillip Morris (PM)
With a yield of 4.87%, Phillip Morris (NYSE:PM) is smoking hot, especially after being upgraded twice in a single week.
Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog, for example, upgraded the PM stock to a buy rating, raising her price target to $120.
“We performed an in-depth analysis of the U.S. nicotine market (which increases Philip Morris’s total addressable market by 60%) and, in our base-case scenario, we believe Philip Morris can comfortably reach a 10% share of the U.S. combustible and heat-not-burn market by 2030,” she said, as quoted by Barron’s.
Jefferies’ analyst Owen Bennett also upgraded the stock to a buy, with a price target of $118. He believes the PM stock is leading the shift “over to the tobacco model of the future.”
By 2025, the company says it wants half of all sales to come from smoke-free products. Plus, according to Barron’s, “Philip Morris has 28% of the global cigarette market, but 59% of the global smokeless tobacco market, according to Cowen analyst Vivien Azer.”
Chevron (CVX)
Dividend Aristocrat Chevron (NYSE:CVX) has been raising its dividend for the last 36 years.
In fact, it just raised it again to $1.51 a share, an increase of about 6%. That’s payable March 10, 2023, to holders at the close of business Feb. 16. With oil and natural gas demand on the rise, we’ll see many more years of dividend hikes from CVX.
The company is also buying back $75 billion worth of stock, which is mind-blowing. Also, when the company releases earnings later today, analysts expect CVX to earn $4.33 per share on sales of $53 billion, which is a significant bump year over year.
Agree Realty (ADC)
With a yield of 3.87%, Agree Realty (NYSE:ADC) is another interesting real estate company I last mentioned on Nov. 21. At the time, it traded at about $70. It’s now up to $74.36 and is still just as attractive.
Much of this has to do with the company’s business model, which is aimed at acquiring and developing properties that are net leased to industry-leading omnichannel retail tenants.
The REIT also has just under 36 million square feet of space it leases to those reliable investment-grade tenants. Better, its growing property portfolio has allowed it to raise its dividend again. This time, it declared a monthly cash dividend of $0.240 a share, or $2.88 annualized. It’s payable on Feb. 14 to shareholders as of Jan. 31.
NextEra Energy (NEE)
NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) company provides a basic need service, electricity. Since demand for electricity doesn’t change a lot from one year to the next, the company is insulated. The company also carries a dividend yield of 2.23%.
Better, there’s far more growth ahead for the company, says CEO John Ketchum.
In fact, he says, “NextEra Energy Partners is extremely well positioned with ample liquidity to finance future growth and to capture a meaningful share of the long-term opportunity set in renewables, which has significantly expanded as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act,” as quoted by Motley Fool.
Global X Super Dividend ETF (SDIV)
Global X Super Dividend ETF (NYSEARCA:SDIV) carries a dividend yield of 11.57% and has made regular monthly distributions for the last 11 years.
The ETF holds 108 stocks spread across mortgage REITs, financials, energy, materials, utilities, industrials, and consumer discretionary.
On the date of publication, Ian Cooper did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.