Top Wall Street analysts are upbeat on these 3 dividend-paying stocks

On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave some hints about more interest rate cuts, mentioning the weakness in the labor market.

Bearing in mind an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop and potential rate cuts, investors can consider adding some dividend stocks to their portfolios to ensure stable income. The recommendations of top Wall Street analysts can help investors pick attractive dividend-paying stocks with strong fundamentals.

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

EOG Resources

This week’s first dividend pick is EOG Resources (EOG), a crude oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) company with reserves in the U.S. and Trinidad. The company recently announced a deal to buy Encino Acquisition Partners for $5.6 billion. The deal will be accretive to EOG’s free cash flow, supporting its commitment to shareholder returns.

EOG raised its quarterly dividend 5% to $1.02 per share, payable October 31. With an annualized dividend of $4.08 per share, EOG offers a yield of 3.8%.

Recently, RBC Capital analyst Scott Hanold reiterated a buy rating on EOG and raised his price target to $145 from $140. TipRanks’ AI Analyst has an “outperform” rating on EOG stock with a price target of $133.

Hanold updated his estimates, valuations and EOG stock price target to reflect higher oil price expectations. Notably, the 5-star analyst raised his earnings per share (EPS) and cash flow per share (CFPS) estimates for 2025 and 2026 due to his revised commodity outlook. Hanold now expects EPS of $10.07 and $9.46 for 2025 and 2026, respectively, up from the prior projections of $9.54 and $7.15. Hanold initiated EPS and CFPS estimates of $11.63 and $23.59 for 2027 and at $12.97 and $25.65 for 2028, respectively.

Hanold is bullish on EOG and expects it to outperform its peer group over the next 12 months. “The leading-edge technological approach, strong balance sheet, low-cost operations and capital efficiency should continue to drive meaningful value and make EOG a core E&P holding,” said Hanold.

Hanold ranks No. 79 among more than 10,000 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 64% of the time, delivering an average return of 26.5%. See EOG Resources Hedge Fund Activity on TipRanks.

Coterra Energy

Another dividend-paying energy company is Coterra Energy (CTRA), an exploration and production company with operations focused in the Permian Basin, Marcellus Shale and Anadarko Basin. Coterra paid a quarterly dividend of 22 cents per share in the Q2 of 2025 and yields 3.4%.  

As part of his Q3 preview for oil & gas E&P companies, Siebert Williams Shank analyst Gabriele Sorbara reiterated a buy rating on Coterra, while cutting his price target to $32 from $35. By comparison, TipRanks’ AI Analyst has a “neutral” rating on CTRA stock with a price target of $26.

Given the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, Sorbara is more cautious and selective in the near term. Based on the recent stock performance, investor positioning and expectations, he said that Coterra is one of his “favorite names” heading into Q3 results.

Sorbara believes that investors will continue to focus on management’s oversight of the large oil production rampup in the second half of 2025 and its outlook for 2026. The analyst expects Q3 oil production to beat expectations, but lag estimates for EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) and free cash flow, likely due to “stale Consensus gas pricing.” Meanwhile, Sorbara sees upside to Q4 oil production expectations due to the potential for incremental upside from the Harkey remediation wells.

“We reaffirm our Buy rating, as we continue to find CTRA attractive on valuation (trading at an EV/EBITDA discount and above average FCF yield) with the potential for strong capital returns,” said Sorbara, referencing free cash flow.

Sorbara ranks No. 315 among more than 10,000 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 52% of the time, delivering an average return of 20%. See EOG Resources Financials on TipRanks.

AT&T

Wireless telecom giant AT&T (T) is this week’s third dividend pick. The company is scheduled to announce its third-quarter results on October 22. AT&T recently declared a quarterly dividend of 27.75 cents share, payable November 3. With an annualized dividend of $1.11 per share, AT&T yields 4.3%.

Heading into Q3 results, Citigroup analyst Michael Rollins reiterated a buy rating on AT&T with a base case price target of $32, calling the company a top-ranked pick. TipRanks’ AI Analyst also has an “outperform” rating on AT&T stock with a price target of $31.

Rollins expects AT&T to deliver a strong operating performance in Q3 across its strategic products and segments. Despite intense competition in wireless, the 5-star analyst expects AT&T to report 300,000 postpaid phone net additions in the Q3, with 2.5% year-over-year growth in wireless service revenue.

Further, Rollins estimates Q3 fiber net additions of 286,000 in a seasonally stronger quarter. He expects AT&T’s fixed wireless access (FWA) to continue to expand with net additions of 210,000. The analyst highlighted that his headline Q3 forecasts are slightly below the Street’s consensus estimates for revenue, EBITDA and EPS, and are in line with free cash flow expectations.

“Wireless churn, upgrades and gross adds are likely to have an upward bias in 3Q given the more active replacement rates,” noted Rollins. The analyst contends that AT&T’s broadband opportunity remains an under-appreciated component of the company’s annual financial growth prospects.

Rollins ranks No. 548 among more than 10,000 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 62% of the time, delivering an average return of 11.7%. See AT&T Ownership Structure on TipRanks.