Investing is all about making money. And while many investors focus solely on stock price growth, there’s more than one way to make money in the market. One popular way is to generate passive income through stocks that pay high dividends. 

These stocks typically represent well-established companies with highly predictable revenue and growth. And since they have highly predictable revenue, they can share their profits with their investors. 

The only problem is that finding the best dividend stock opportunities is often difficult. Below, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best dividend stocks you should add to your portfolio this July if you’d like to generate passive income. 

NextEra Energy Partners Offers Powerful Dividends

NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE: NEP) is a utility company with a twist. NextEra Energy Partners takes a green approach to producing energy, rather than focusing on coal or nuclear power, which generates dangerous greenhouse gases. In particular, the company buys, develops, and manages clean energy assets like wind and solar power farms. 

And the company has been highly successful in doing so. In fact, it has been so successful that it can offer one of the highest dividend yields on the market, 13.69%. 

Moreover, high dividends are only valuable if the company can afford to maintain them. NextEra Energy Partners seems to be able to do so. In the company’s most recent earnings report, it announced that revenue had grown 4.9% year over year, while net income was up an astonishing 600%. And, earnings were just as impressive, with earnings per share growing 541.18% year over year. 

Altria Group Is a Smoking Hot Income Stock Opportunity

Altria Group (NYSE: MO) is a leading tobacco company. It’s the parent company of brands like Philip Morris, the manufacturer behind Marlboro brand cigarettes, and John Middleton, the manufacturer of Black & Mild cigars. 

But the company is also moving away from cigarettes and into smokeless brands. It owns the NJoy brand of vape pens and offers a wide range of medical products surrounding smoking cessation. 

Altria is also a strong dividend payer. The stock currently comes with a $0.98 quarterly dividend, representing an 8.28% dividend yield. And while revenues have fallen recently, it’s been able to maintain net income growth. Altria’s net income was up by 19.14% year-over-year in the most recent quarter. 

As Altria continues to move toward smokeless tobacco products and smoking cessation aids, continued stability and consistent dividends are likely. 

Realty Income Corp Is Building Stable Income

It’s hard to write an article about generating passive income in the stock market without mentioning at least one real estate investment trust (REIT). These are companies that typically invest in rental properties and share the earnings those properties generate with investors. Realty Income Corp (NYSE: O) is a REIT that’s well worth watching. 

The stock currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.79, representing a 5.89% dividend yield. And the company has significant cashflows that make that dividend highly stable. 

So where does its impressive cash flow come from? Realty Income Corp hosts some of the largest household brands in the United States. Some of its largest customers include CVS and Walgreens. But it also has a wide range of tenants across restaurants, retail, and a host of other industries. 

The REIT generated $1.26 billion in revenue in the most recent quarter, representing 33.29% year-over-year growth. And while net income has fallen, there’s a silver lining on that dark cloud. Much of the net income loss was the result of merger-related costs and an increase in expenses since it relies on borrowing money and interest rates are currently high. However, the Federal Reserve may start to cut rates soon, which could help Realty Income Corp generate profit growth.

CVR Energy Produces Meaningful Dividends

CVR Energy (NYSE: CVI) is a holding company that was founded in 1906, giving it more than a century of experience in generating meaningful growth for investors. The company operates in the oil and gas industry. It owns a wide range of subsidiaries that handle petroleum refining as well as marketing. And it’s a top contender in the nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing industry. 

CVR Energy also offers a meaningful dividend. The company currently offers a $0.50 quarterly dividend, representing an 8.34% dividend yield. 

It’s worth mentioning that one of the reasons the stock’s dividend yield is so high is that its price has been down this year – losing over 20% year-to-date. Since a dividend yield shows you dividends relative to stock prices, falling stocks can push yields up. 

But much of that loss followed the company’s recent poor earnings report. There’s a strong argument that the earnings report has been more than priced into the stock at this point. If that’s the case, you could earn a meaningful dividend yield while you take advantage of a discount offered up by the stock’s recent blues. 

Universal Corp Can Grow Your Passive Income

Universal Corp (NYSE: UVV) is a tobacco industry leader. But it doesn’t operate in the same ways that Altria Group does. Instead, Universal Corp centers its business around the cultivation and curing of tobacco leaves through a wide network of farmers, curers, and other industry participants. In fact, Altria Group is one of its largest customers, alongside British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, and Japan Tobacco. 

With such a handle on the tobacco leaf industry, it’s not surprising that Universal Corp can provide an impressive dividend. At the moment, that quarterly dividend is $0.81, representing a 6.87% dividend yield. 

Universal Corp has seen significant revenue growth. In the most recent quarter, it brought in $770.86 million, up 11.08% year-over-year. Unfortunately, the same wasn’t true for earnings. However, the decline in earnings was partly caused by significant infrastructure investments that will cut future costs. 

That said investors have reacted to the earnings report negatively, sending the stock down more than 20% year-to-date. But if the company’s recent infrastructure investments prove to cut costs and improve product quality and quantity, we could expect to see strong earnings growth ahead. So this may be a stock that’s well worth adding to your portfolio. 

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