Top analysts suggest these 3 dividend stocks for steady income

The ongoing earnings season, investor concerns about the durability of AI demand and spending, and geopolitical risks are key factors that have been contributing to stock market volatility in recent trading sessions.

In this scenario, investors seeking steady income can consider adding dividend stocks to their portfolios. Recommendations of top Wall Street analysts can help them pick attractive dividend stocks that are backed by solid cash flows to support consistent payments.

Here are three dividend-paying stocks that are highlighted by Wall Street’s top pros, as tracked by TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.

ConocoPhillips

Oil and gas exploration and production company ConocoPhillips is this week’s first dividend pick. With a dividend of 84 cents per share (annualized dividend of $3.36 per share), COP offers a dividend yield of 3%. The company is scheduled to announce its second-quarter results on Aug. 6.

Ahead of second-quarter results, Wells Fargo analyst Sam Margolin reiterated a buy rating on COP stock with a price target of $183. Despite the pressure on oil prices from an increase in OPEC production quota, the analyst finds ConocoPhillips and Shell stocks appealing as the earnings season approaches. He cited their operational visibility and resilience as factors backing their appeal.

The 5-star analyst expects ConocoPhillips to meet its production guidance of 2.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day at the mid-point. He expects lower Waha natural gas prices in the Permian Basin to be offset by stronger Brent crude premiums. Margolin expects capital expenditure to remain within COP’s prior guided range of $12.2 billion annualized, with no significant impact on spending on the Northfield East project in Qatar despite the Strait of Hormuz disruption.

Overall, Margolin expects COP to generate about $3.5 billion in free cash flow (before working capital) and earnings per share of $2.94. He expects continued strength in COP’s free cash flow and regular dividend growth through the completion of the Willow project in 2028/2029. Prior to the Willow project coming online, the analyst expects free cash flow to grow by about $2 billion in 2027 and 2028, assuming Brent crude averages around $60 per barrel.

“COP’s track record of capital efficiency and strong Permian well productivity underpins its ability to pursue long-cycle developments,” said Margolin.

Margolin ranks No. 457 among more than 12,300 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 70% of the time, delivering an average return of 13.3%. See ConocoPhillips Financials on TipRanks. 

Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer is a limited partnership that operates 140,000 miles of pipeline and associated energy infrastructure. With a quarterly cash distribution of 33.75 cents per common unit ($1.35 per unit on an annualized basis), ET offers a yield of 6.8%.

Heading into Energy Transfer’s Q2 earnings on Aug. 4, Jefferies analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith reaffirmed a buy rating on ET stock with a price target of $23. The analyst noted that his adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization estimate of $4.46 billion is 1% below the Street’s consensus of $4.49 billion.

The 5-star analyst noted that Energy Transfer has slightly outperformed Enterprise Products Partners recently. However, it still trades at a relative discount of 19% compared to EPD, which is below its historical discount range of 17%-20%. Smith believes that ET stock could be re-rated higher if the company provides a clearer long-term strategy for natural gas growth.

Furthermore, Smith expects the current energy market to support a stronger outlook for natural gas liquids and crude oil. “The current energy macro backdrop positions ET to benefit in all three commodities,” said the analyst.

He expects Energy Transfer’s adjusted EBITDA to grow at a 4.8% compound annual growth rate in 2027-2030, which is 1%-3% above Wall Street’s expectations. In fact, Smith sees the possibility of additional upside if ET announces more natural gas projects. He added that investors will await details on final investment decisions on new natural gas projects and any clues about additional projects in the pipeline. The analyst noted that ET has announced new gas projects consistently in recent quarters.

Smith ranks No. 550 among more than 12,300 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 64% of the time, delivering an average return of 10.4%. See Energy Transfer Statistics on TipRanks.

Chevron

Finally, let’s look at energy giant Chevron, which is scheduled to announce its second-quarter results on July 31. Last month, the company paid a quarterly dividend of $1.78 per share. At an annualized dividend of $7.12, CVX offers a dividend yield of 3.92%.

Ahead of Q2 earnings, Jefferies analyst Lloyd Byrne reiterated a buy rating on Chevron stock and lowered his price target to $216 from $236. Byrne expects the company to report adjusted EPS of about $5.86 per share, nearly 9% above the Street’s expectations.

The 5-star analyst highlighted that the challenges seen in Chevron’s upstream business in the first quarter due to the disruption at the Tengizchevroil joint venture in Kazakhstan, Storm Fern downtime, and the Middle East conflict have largely been resolved. Consequently, Byrne expects production to recover in the second quarter to about 4,033 mboepd. He expects the upstream business to generate adjusted earnings of about $8.1 billion in Q2 2026.

Meanwhile, Byrne expects Chevron to generate downstream adjusted earnings of about $4.4 billion in Q2, with strength in both domestic and international markets. The downstream business benefited from higher crack spreads and strong refining performance.

Additionally, the analyst expects Chevron to generate $18.2 billion in cash flow from operations (before working capital changes), driven by stronger earnings and about $2.2 billion in dividends from affiliated companies. Unlike the first quarter, Chevron is not expected to make a TCO loan repayment in Q2, providing an additional boost to cash flow.

Byrne ranks No. 409 among more than 12,300 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 56% of the time, delivering an average return of 17.5%. See Chevron Ownership Structure on TipRanks.