Despite continuous volatility, investors wanting a consistent income stream continue to seek out appealing dividend equities as the stock market concentrates on significant earnings and tariff negotiations.
In order to do this, investors can select businesses with strong fundamentals and a track record of dividend payments by using the research of leading Wall Street analysts.
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TipRanks, a website that rates analysts according to their historical performance, has identified these three dividend-paying companies and highlighted them by Wall Street’s top experts.
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This week’s list starts with EOG Resources (EOG), an oil and gas exploration and production firm. The business stated in May that it will pay $5.6 billion to buy Encino Acquisition Partners (EAP). According to EOG, a 5% increase in its quarterly dividend, to $1.02 per share, payable on October 31 is supported by the deal’s accretion to its free cash flow. EOG stock provides a 3.4% dividend yield at an annualized payout of $4.08 per share.
Gabriele Sorbara, a Siebert Williams Shank analyst, reaffirmed her buy recommendation for EOG Resources shares with a price projection of $155 ahead of the company’s second-quarter earnings call on August 8. In contrast, the AI analyst at TipRanks has rated EOG stock as “outperform” and set a price target of $138. In the meanwhile, Sorbara said he anticipates EOG to release impressive quarterly financial and operational performance.
Since the deal is anticipated to generate catalysts from the integration, synergies, and execution in the upcoming quarters, the five-star analyst thinks that investors will be more interested in EOG’s substantial expansion in the Utica shale through the EAP acquisition.
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“All in all, we are positive EOG into the print, especially since EOG should be more defensive in the current price environment,” Sorbara stated.
The analyst is also optimistic about EOG because of its strong free cash flow generation, best-in-class balance sheet, and Utica shale expansion, all of which contribute to its peer-leading shareholder returns. Sorbara anticipates that EOG will continue to fulfill its pledge to distribute at least 70% of free cash flow to shareholders each year through dividends and strategic buybacks. In Q2 2025, he anticipates buybacks of $450 million. In total, Sorbara projects $976.6 million in capital returns, which translates to a 6.0% yield on capital returns and 107.7% of free cash flow.
Out of the over 9,800 experts that TipRanks tracks, Sorbara is ranked No. 178. With an average return of 22.5%, his ratings have been lucrative 55% of the time. View the Ownership Structure of EOG Resources on TipRanks.
The next dividend-paying company under consideration is Williams Companies (WMB), a provider of energy infrastructure. WMB provides a 3.5% yield with a quarterly dividend of 50 cents per share (annualized dividend of $2.00 per share).
Elvira Scotto, an analyst at RBC Capital, reiterated her buy recommendation for WMB ahead of the company’s Q2 reports in early August, with a price target of $63. Remarkably, the AI analyst at TipRanks has rated WMB stock as “neutral” with a $63 price target. In the meantime, Scotto reduced the Q2 expectations to take into account RBC’s updated commodity price deck, seasonal modifications to marketing assumptions, and the insights from the discussions with the WMB team.
In the second quarter, Scotto anticipates a little headwind from the sequential drop in commodity prices, especially for WMB’s upstream activities. Due to usual seasonality, the analyst anticipates that Q2 results will be influenced by reduced quarter-over-quarter marketing contributions and higher storage costs, which will be somewhat offset by contributions from the recent investment in Cogentrix.
With a strong backlog of projects with low build multiples (less than five times capital expenditure to profits before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) and scheduled in-service dates through 2030, Scotto is optimistic about WMB’s long-term growth. Additionally, the analyst anticipates that WMB will gain from the possible resuscitation of the Constitution pipeline project, the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline, and other behind-the-meter (BTM) projects.
“Despite its recent selloff, we still view WMB as one of the best positioned companies within our coverage universe to benefit from growing natural gas demand,” stated Scotto.
Out of the more than 9,800 experts that TipRanks tracks, Scotto is ranked No. 72. With an average return of 18.5%, her ratings have been successful 67% of the time. View TipRanks’ Williams Insider Trading Activity.
Lastly, let’s examine the massive telecom company Verizon Communications (VZ). For the second quarter of 2025, the business had strong results. In response to the Trump administration’s new tax code and the strong demand for its premium plans, Verizon increased the lower end of its yearly profit projection.
A quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, due on August 1st, was announced by the firm. VZ stock has a dividend yield of 6.3% with a yearly dividend of $2.71.
Michael Rollins, a Citi analyst, reaffirmed his buy recommendation for Verizon shares with a price projection of $48 in response to the Q2 print. Additionally, the AI analyst at TipRanks has given VZ stock a “outperform” rating, with a price objective of $49. Based on the relative strength in the first half of the year, Rollins praised Verizon’s Q2 performance and the boost to the full-year EBITDA and EPS outlook.
Key performance indicators (KPIs), he continued, were inconsistent and yet showed a more competitive and promotional environment. In light of a year-over-year increase in churn that is anticipated to continue into the second half of the year, Rollins notably reduced his postpaid phone subscriber outlook.
“Verizon indicated a more disciplined approach to subscriber acquisition, which is encouraging for competitive dynamics and its financials, albeit likely dilutive to its near-term volume KPIs,” stated Rollins.
Rollins thinks Verizon is in a strong position to meet its full-year projection, even with higher promotional expenses and lower traffic. Overall, considering VZ’s relative value and prospects for sustaining yearly financial growth, Rollins is still optimistic about the company’s shares.
Among the more than 9,800 experts that TipRanks tracks, Rollins is ranked No. 276. With an average return of 12.6%, his ratings have been successful 68% of the time. View TipRanks’ Verizon Stock Charts.
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