Dividend stocks are a favorite among investors for good reasons. They provide a steady income stream and offer a promising avenue for total return. Total return, a comprehensive measure of investment performance, encompasses interest, capital gains, dividends, and distributions realized over time.

Put simply, it’s the sum of income and stock appreciation. Dividend stocks can enhance investment success by providing regular income and the possibility of stock value growth.

We decided to explore the Dividend Champions, and regular 24/7 Wall St. readers know that we often write about the Dividend Aristocrats and the Dividend Kings, so here’s the difference. The Dividend Champions are companies that have raised their dividends for 25 years and longer but can be any size market cap-wise. They can range from small-cap to large-cap and don’t have to be in the S&P 500 like the Dividend Aristocrats. The Dividend Kings are companies that have raised their dividends for 50 years or more and do not have to be in the S&P 500.

The 2024 Dividend Champions include 149 stocks, and we screened the list to find the ones with the highest dividend payouts for investors seeking solid and dependable passive income. Five companies in the group pay among the highest dividends. All the stocks are Buy-rated at top Wall Street firms.

Why cover the Dividend Champions?

The key for investors with the Dividend Champions group is that they don’t have to be in the S&P 500 and can be any market cap size. That opens the door for many new stocks that have paid reliable dividends for over 25 years.

AbbVie

This stock is one of the top pharmaceuticalstock picks across Wall Street and pays a dependable 3.83% dividend. AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) is a global, research-based biopharmaceutical company formed in 2013 following separation from Abbott Laboratories.

The company develops and markets drugs in areas such as:

• Immunology
• Virology
• Renal disease
• Dyslipidemia
• Neuroscience

One of the biggest concerns with AbbVie is what might eventually happen with the anti-inflammatory therapy Humira, which has some of the most significant sales for a drug ever recorded.

The company was concerned, so in June 2019, it announced it had agreed to pay $63 billion to rival drugmaker Allergan. This was the latest merger in an industry where some of the biggest companies have been willing to pay a high price to resolve questions about their future growth.

AbbVie may be nearing the limits of how far it can boost Humira’s price as cheaper competitors come to market. This is a problem Allergan is already grappling with as more alternatives to Botox emerge.

Black Hills

This high-yield Dividend Championis way off the radar for many but is among the safest plays now and pays a hefty 4.56% dividend. Through its subsidiaries, Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) operates as an electric and natural gas utility company in the United States.

It operates in two segments:

• Electric Utilities 
• Gas Utilities

The Electric Utilities segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 220,000 electric utility customers in:

• Colorado
• Montana
• South Dakota
• Wyoming

The company also owns and operates 1,482 megawatts of generation capacity and 0,024 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines.

The Gas Utilities segment distributes natural gas to approximately 1,107,000 natural gas utility customers in:

• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Nebraska
• Wyoming

In addition, the company owns and operates 4,713 miles of intrastate gas transmission pipelines, 42,222 miles of gas distribution mains and service lines, seven natural gas storage sites, approximately 50,000 horsepower of compression, and 515 miles of gathering lines.

Black Hills also constructs and maintains gas infrastructure facilities for gas transportation customers, provides appliance repair services to residential utility customers, and constructs electrical systems for large industrial customers.

Lastly, it produces electric power through wind, natural gas, coal-fired generating plants, and coal at its mine near Gillette, Wyoming.

Exxon Mobil

The slow increase in oil prices offers investors an excellent entry point, and they will gladly grab a strong 3.37% dividend. Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) is the world’s largest international integrated oil and gas company, exploring for and producing crude oil and natural gas in the United States, Canada/South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia/Oceania.

Exxon Mobil also manufactures and markets commodity petrochemicals, including olefins, aromatics, polyethylene and polypropylene plastics, and specialty products; transports and sells crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum products.

Top Wall Street analysts expect the company to remain a key beneficiary in a higher oil price environment, and most remain very optimistic about the company’s sharp positive inflection in capital allocation strategy.

Leverage the upstream portfolio for further demand recovery. Exxon Mobil offers greater Downstream/Chemicals exposure than its peers.

Exxon Mobil has completed its purchase of oil shale giant Pioneer Natural Resources Company in a $59.5 billion all-stock purchase. The deal created the largest U.S. oilfield producer and guaranteed a decade of low-cost production.

Federal Realty Investment Trust

While real estate has slowly come back, demand is still growing, and hard assets are good in inflationary times. Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT) is a recognized leader in the ownership, operation, and redevelopment of high-quality retail-based properties in major coastal markets, from Washington, D.C., to Boston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

Federal Realty’s mission is to deliver long-term, sustainable growth by investing in densely populated, affluent communities where retail demand exceeds supply.

Its expertise includes creating urban, mixed-use neighborhoods like:

• Santana Row in San Jose, California
• Pike & Rose in North Bethesda, Maryland
• Assembly Row in Somerville, Massachusetts

Federal Realty’s 102 properties include approximately 3,300 tenants in 26 million square feet and 3,100 residential units. Federal Realty has increased its quarterly dividends to its shareholders, which is currently 4.29% for 56 consecutive years, the longest record in the REIT industry.Five Under $30 Dividend Stocks to Buy Now

T. Rowe Price

T. Rowe Price, a global investment management firm dedicated to helping clients achieve long-term success.

This is a top mutual fund company with tremendous assets under management and pays a 4.45% dividend. T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (NASDAQ: TROW) is a publicly owned investment manager.

The firm provides services to:

• Individuals
• Institutional investors
• Retirement plans
• Financial intermediaries and Institutions

It launches and manages equity and fixed-income mutual funds.

T. Rowe Price invests in public equity and fixed-income markets across the globe. It employs fundamental and quantitative analysis with a bottom-up approach. The firm utilizes in-house and external research to make its investments.

It employs socially responsible investing focusing on environmental, social, and governance issues. It also invests in late-stage venture capital transactions and usually invests between $3 million and $5 million.

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