rewrite this title Top Wall Street analysts recommend these dividend stocks for income investors

The U.S. Federal Reserve approved a much-anticipated rate cut this past week, and signaled that more are coming. As the economy gradually heads into a low-interest rate backdrop, many investors looking for income-generating investments will prefer buying dividend stocks that offer attractive yields.  

Backed by their expertise and in-depth analysis, top Wall Street analysts can help investors pick the right dividend stocks for their portfolios.

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.

CVS Health

Retail pharmacy chain CVS Health (CVS) has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, payable on November 3, 2025. At an annualized dividend of $2.66 per share, CVS stock pays a dividend yield of 3.6%.

Following recently held conversations with CVS Health CEO David Joyner and CFO Brian Newman, Morgan Stanley analyst Erin Wright reiterated a buy rating on CVS stock with a price target of $82, expressing optimism about the value of the company’s integrated model and its turnaround potential. Interestingly, TipRanks’ AI Analyst has an “outperform” rating on CVS stock with a price target of $81.

Wright noted that one year into the CEO role, Joyner continues to focus on the stabilization and multi-year turnaround of the company. The 5-star analyst highlighted that CVS’ integrated model “generates value that should address the issues of healthcare affordability and access, and inconsistent care delivery in the U.S. by providing a more holistic solution.”

Management discussed how the integrated approach is improving CVS’ Stars (Medicare Star Ratings system) positioning, driving dominance with the new Pharmacy pricing models and facilitating biosimilar adoption. Wright noted that heading into 2026, CVS is successfully orchestrating a second turnaround year at its Aetna health insurance business and a successful pharmacy benefit manager selling season. Management also emphasized strength in the retail business, thanks to technology investments, store optimization and market share gains.

Commenting on capital deployment, Wright noted that CVS Health’s top priority is returning to its target leverage of low 3x, and that the company intends to hold its dividend until it reaches the target payout ratio (about 30% as of 2023). Importantly, CVS intends to restart share repurchases when it achieves its long-term target leverage.

Wright ranks No. 244 among more than 10,000 analysts tracked by TipRanks. Her ratings have been profitable 65% of the time, delivering an average return of 13.4%. See CVS Health Hedge Fund Trading Activity on TipRanks.

Williams Companies

This week’s second dividend pick is energy infrastructure provider Williams Companies (WMB). The company’s quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per share reflects a 5.3% year-over-year increase. At an annualized dividend of $2 per share, WMB stock pays a yield of 3.4%.

Recently, Stifel analyst Selman Akyol hosted a conference call with Williams’ CFO John Porter. The top-rated analyst said afterward that “Williams continues to have an attractive runway for growth given its natural gas-centric strategy.” Akyol noted growing demand for natural gas, driven by an expected increase in LNG exports, power usage and data centers.

Akyol mentioned that Williams remains focused on capturing incremental data center opportunities, targeting 6 gigawatts in total capacity, with the Socrates project constituting only 400 megawatts. Furthermore, LNG exports continue to be the largest driver of natural gas demand volumes. Notably, WMB has about 10.5 billion cubic feet per day of export capacity under construction within the Transco corridor.

Despite solid growth opportunities, Akyol noted that WMB is focused on its dividend payments and maintaining a strong balance sheet, while keeping leverage in the 3.5x to 4.0x range. CFO Porter highlighted that Williams’ high-quality asset base supports a stable and growing dividend.

WMB is growing its dividend in the 5% to 6% range annually, compared to about 9% compound annual growth rate in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). Akyol noted that while, over time, management would like to grow dividends in line with cash flow growth, the timing of cash tax payments and robust growth opportunities are key reasons for the gap.

Overall, Akyol is bullish on Williams stock and reiterated a buy rating and a price target of $64. By comparison, TipRanks’ AI Analyst has a “neutral” rating on WMB stock with a price target of $63.

Akyol ranks No. 354 among more than 10,000 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 66% of the time, delivering an average return of 10.6%. See Williams Statistics on TipRanks.

Chord Energy

Finally, let’s look at Chord Energy (CHRD), an independent exploration and production company with sustainable long-lived assets, mainly in the Williston Basin in North Dakota and Montana. The company paid a base dividend of $1.30 in the second quarter. Considering the total variable and base dividends of $5.34 paid over the past 12 months, CHRD stock offers a dividend yield of 5.1%.

This week, Chord Energy announced an agreement to acquire assets in the Williston Basin from Exxon Mobil’s XTO Energy Inc. and affiliates for $550 million.

Reacting to the news, Siebert Williams Shank analyst Gabriele Sorbara said it’s another favorable deal that further consolidates core assets in the Williston Basin. The top-rated analyst noted that the purchase adds incremental inventory, enhances operational efficiency and leverages CHRD’s execution in the basin. 

Sorbara expects the acquisition to add to cash flow and free cash flow (FCF) per share, adding that while the net debt/EBITDA ratio edges higher after the deal, it remains “comfortably” low and below Chord’s peers, reflecting CHRD’s superior capital returns. In fact, CHRD reiterated its framework of returning more than 75% of its adjusted FCF to shareholders via dividends and buybacks.

“We reaffirm our Buy rating on valuation, underpinned by its strong, stable FCF yield providing the capacity for superior capital returns while maintaining low financial leverage,” said Sorbara. The analyst reiterated a buy rating on CHRD stock with a price forecast of $140. TipRanks’ AI Analyst has an “outperform” rating on Chord Energy with a price target of $118.

Sorbara ranks No. 142 among more than 10,000 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 57% of the time, delivering an average return of 24.4%. See Chord Energy Ownership Structure on TipRanks.