Top Wall Street analysts prefer these 3 dividend stocks for stable income

Global stock markets remain volatile amid persistent geopolitical tensions and concerns about the sustainability of AI trade. Given this backdrop, investors seeking steady income can add dividend-paying stocks to their portfolios.

Tracking recommendations from top Wall Street analysts can help investors pick attractive stocks, as these experts assess a company’s ability to 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.

Integrated oil and gas giant Chevron (CVX) is a dividend king. The company has increased its dividend for 39 consecutive years. At a quarterly dividend of $1.78 per share (annualized dividend of $7.12 per share), CVX offers a yield of 3.14%. Chevron will announce its third-quarter results on October 30.

In an earnings preview note on U.S. oil majors, Goldman Sachs analyst Neil Mehta reiterated a buy rating on Chevron with a price target of $241. The analyst is focused on the company’s international growth prospects across Latin America, the Middle East, West Africa, and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Specifically, Mehta highlighted management’s commentary on solid execution in Venezuela, with gross production expected to more than double to nearly 600 kbd (kilo barrels per day) by 2031 via three joint ventures. He also noted a recent oil and gas condensate discovery in offshore Angola and is awaiting commercial updates on the West Qurna 2 and Nasiriyah projects in Iraq.

Furthermore, Mehta expects CVX to report improved productivity and capital efficiency across domestic shale assets. He expects the improvement mainly in the Permian Basin, where Chevron projects advanced chemical treatments to drive about a 10% recovery uplift in new wells and bring down capital spend per barrel by about 25% year-over-year. Overall, Mehta expects Chevron to report Q3 2026 EPS of $4.95, above the consensus of $4.89.

“While unfavorable timing effects and volatile commodity prices may present quarterly earnings headwinds, we highlight healthy U.S. refining margins and strong asset utilization as partial offsets,” said Mehta.

Mehta ranks No. 381 among more than 12,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 63% of the time, delivering an average return of 12%. See Chevron KPIs on TipRanks.

Kinetik Holdings (KNTK) is a fully integrated, pure-play, midstream company operating in the Delaware Basin. Earlier this month, the company declared a dividend of $0.81 per share, payable on October 30, 2026. With an annualized dividend of $3.24 per share, KNTK offers a yield of 5.82%. Kinetik will announce its Q3 earnings on November 4, with a conference call scheduled the next day.

Ahead of Q3 2026 earnings, Goldman Sachs analyst John Mackay reiterated a buy rating on Kinetik stock and slightly raised his price target to $58 from $57. He expects the company to report Q3 2026 EBITDA of $279 million, higher than the Street’s expectation of $270 million but lower than the second quarter’s EBITDA of $281 million.

The 5-star analyst expects Kinetik’s Q3 performance to gain from higher gas volumes after notable curtailments in the second quarter. Mackay also expects the quarter to benefit from higher production and steady commodity margins, even though some lower-margin contracts and weaker Waha spread marketing gains could weigh on results.

Overall, Mackay increased his Q3 2026 estimates to reflect higher volumes, driven by rapid Permian egress pipeline commissioning, stronger throughput at Kings Landing I, and higher M2M commodity prices, offset by increased costs.

“As natural gas takeaway constraints ease across the Permian, investor focus centers on KNTK’s YE26 volume trajectory and durability of its multi-year growth,” said Mackay.

Mackay ranks No. 569 among more than 12,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 64% of the time, delivering an average return of 16.9%. See Kinetik’s Ownership Structure on TipRanks.

Moving to Crescent Energy (CRGY), an exploration and production company with activities focused in the Eagle Ford, Permian, and Uinta Basins. With a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share (annualized dividend of $0.48 per share), CRGY’s dividend yield stands at 3.56%. Earlier this month, Crescent announced an agreement to acquire Eagle Ford assets from Devon Energy (DVN).

Heading into Q3 earnings on Nov. 2, Evercore analyst Stephen Richardson reiterated a buy rating on Crescent stock and slightly lowered the price target to $17 from $18, citing dilution from new shares.

“CRGY’s recent acquisition of DVN’s Eagle Ford assets marks a strategic, growth-oriented move, potentially enhancing cash flow performance,” said Richardson.

The 5-star analyst noted that the acquisition of the Eagle Ford assets at a net purchase price of $3.85 billion will add about 68 MBoe/d of net production and over 600 net Tier 1 locations. Richardson added that a solid track record of synergies from past deals in the Eagle Ford region increases confidence about Crescent achieving efficiencies with this deal.

Additionally, Richardson noted that the financial implications of the acquisition seem impressive, with a projected increase in cash flow per share of about 9% for 2027 to 2029.

The analyst believes that Crescent is not just expanding its business through acquisitions but positioning itself as a more durable company, regardless of market conditions.

Richardson ranks No. 478 among more than 12,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 63% of the time, delivering an average return of 13.2%. See Crescent Energy Statistics on TipRanks.