The stock market has been volatile due to rising Treasury yields and high oil prices amid tensions in the Middle East. Amid this uncertainty, dividend stocks can help investors secure consistent portfolio income.
Top Wall Street analysts can inform investors on their search for attractive dividend stocks that have the ability to generate solid cash flows and pay dividends consistently.
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.
Energy Transfer
Energy Transfer owns and operates a diversified portfolio of energy assets in the U.S., with about 140,000 miles of pipeline and associated infrastructure. The company recently announced an increase in its quarterly cash distribution to roughly 34 cents per common unit. Energy Transfer offers a yield of 6.7%.
Recently, TD Cowen analyst Jason Gabelman reiterated a buy rating on Energy Transfer and slightly raised his price target to $23 from $22, saying, “We continue to see upside from underappreciated growth potential including underused assets in second-tier gas basins.”
The five-star analyst highlighted that Energy Transfer raised its full-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, guidance, with the company capturing its full-year optimization target in the first quarter itself. The revised outlook reflects upside from higher volumes, rates, and spreads. Gabelman expects EBITDA to reach the high end of the outlook at current commodity pricing.
Furthermore, Gabelman expects ET to see a gain of $200 million in EBITDA from some new projects and 800 million cubic feet per day Haynesville volume growth this year, which is projected to add $100 million in EBITDA. Interestingly, the company expects to sanction multiple projects in 2026, which could contribute an additional $400 million in EBITDA.
Gabelman ranks No. 660 among more than 12,200 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 64% of the time, delivering an average return of 13.4%. See Energy Transfer Financials on TipRanks.
Chevron
The next dividend-paying stock is oil-and-gas giant Chevron. The company recently announced its first-quarter results. It paid $6 billion of cash to shareholders in Q1 2026, including share repurchases of $2.5 billion and dividends of $3.5 billion. Chevron offers a current dividend yield of 3.7%.
After hosting investor meetings with Chevron management, Wells Fargo analyst Sam Margolin reaffirmed a buy rating on CVX stock with a price target of $222. “The company is in a favorable operating posture with transparent capital allocation and asset momentum yielding positive FCF/leverage outcomes,” said the analyst.
The five-star analyst noted Chevron’s solid operating momentum, with key assets in the Permian, Kazakhstan, Australia LNG and Guyana running at full capacity or above their designed production levels. He added that CVX’s downstream is gaining from stronger vertical integration and access to equity crude supplies in California and Asia, helping ease potential feedstock constraints.
Additionally, Margolin highlighted that Chevron plans to maintain a 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day plateau in the Permian Basin, driven by operational efficiencies achieved under its current program. He added that advanced chemicals treatment in wells, including both proprietary and third-party, has delivered about 20% productivity benefits in the first 10 months.
The analyst also noted that CVX is advancing the first project under its power joint venture through an exclusivity agreement with Microsoft. Margolin believes that the company’s advantage lies in being an early mover, with 5 gigawatts of turbines already on order, along with access to land and natural gas supply needed for power generation and data center development.
Margolin ranks No. 455 among more than 12,200 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 71% of the time, delivering an average return of 13.3%. See Chevron Stock Buybacks on TipRanks.
The Williams Companies
Williams runs interstate natural gas pipelines and gathering and processing operations throughout the U.S. The company recently announced a dividend of about 53 cents per share, payable on June 29. WMB offers a yield of 2.7%.
Recently, UBS analyst Manav Gupta reiterated a buy rating on Williams stock and increased his price target to $91 from $89. The analyst is optimistic about the company’s Power Innovation business and noted the updates on two recent projects – NEO and Atlas. With the addition of these two projects, which WMB announced alongside its Q1 results, the company now has $9.65 billion in Power Innovation projects.
The five-star analyst noted that WMB continues to stand out by expanding its Power Innovation business at a faster pace than investors’ and UBS’ expectations. Based on projects already announced (Socrates, Atlas, Apollo, Aquila, Socrates the Younger and Neo), Gupta expects Williams’ Power Innovation business to drive EBITDA upside of $1.93 billion by 2029.
Gupta believes that the addition of NEO further bolstered WMB’s position, giving it an edge over rivals such as Chevron in showcasing integrated, end-to-end power solutions tailored to hyperscalers. The analyst emphasized that while Chevron has confirmed its partnership with Meta Platforms on a project, that deal has yet to reach a final investment decision, which limits near-term visibility.
“We remain constructive on WMB’s Power Innovation platform and see potential upside to 2028–2030 consensus earnings estimates as additional projects achieve commercial operation and contribute to earnings growth,” said Gupta.
Gupta ranks No. 168 among more than 12,200 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 70% of the time, delivering an average return of 21.9%. See Williams Ownership Structure on TipRanks.
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