Dividend stocks are a favorite among investors for good reason. They provide a steady income stream of passive income 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.

Let’s take a closer look at the concept of total return. Imagine you purchase a stock at $20 that offers a 3% dividend. If the stock price rises to $22 within a year, your total return is 13%. This is calculated by adding the 10% increase in stock price to the 3% dividend.

With 2025 underway, we decided to screen our Wall Street research database, looking for stocks that analysts are positive on for this year, pay solid and dependable dividends, and have the biggest upside to the assigned target price. Five top “strong buy” stocks hit our screens, and all make sense for growth and income investors. Best of all, each pays at least a 4% dividend.

Why do we cover dividend stocks?

Since 1926, dividends have contributed approximately 32% of the total return for the S&P 500, while capital appreciations have contributed 68%. Therefore, sustainable dividend income and capital appreciation potential are essential for total return expectations.

Altria

This tobacco company offers value investors a great entry point and a rich 7.43% dividend. Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) manufactures and sells smokable and oral tobacco products in the United States through its subsidiaries.

The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand, as well as:

• Cigars and pipe tobacco, principally under the Black & Mild brand
• Moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands
• on! Oral nicotine pouches
• e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand

It sells its tobacco products primarily to wholesalers, including distributors and large retail organizations, such as chain stores.

Altria used to own over 10% of Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A. (NYSE: BUD), the world’s largest brewer. The company sold 35 million of its 197 million shares through a global secondary offering earlier this year. That represents 18% of their holdings but still leaves a hefty 8% of the outstanding shares in their back pocket. They also announced a $2.4 billion stock repurchase plan partially funded by the sale.

Bank of America Securities has a Buy rating with a $65 target price, a 15% gain from current levels.

BXP

This quality real estate giant, formerly known as Boston Properties, offers size, safety, and a hefty 4.9% dividend. BXP Inc. (NYSE: BXP) is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, concentrated in six dynamic gateway markets:

• Boston
• Los Angeles
• New York
• San Francisco
• Seattle
• Washington, D.C.

Including properties owned by joint ventures, BXP’s portfolio totals 53.5 million square feet and 187 properties, including 11 properties under construction/redevelopment.

BXP’s properties include 165 office properties, 14 retail properties (including two under construction/redevelopment), seven residential properties (including two under construction), and one hotel.

The company is well-known for its in-house building management expertise and responsiveness to clients’ needs.

BXP has a superior track record of developing premium central business district (CBD) office buildings, successful mixed-use complexes, suburban office centers, and build-to-suit projects for diverse creditworthy clients.

Piper Sandler has an Overweight rating and a massive $105 target. That is almost 21% higher than recent prints.

Chevron

This integrated giant is a safer option for investors looking to position themselves in the energy sector. It has a sweet 4.25% dividend. Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) engages in integrated energy and chemicals operations worldwide through its subsidiaries.

The company operates in two segments:

• Upstream
• Downstream

The Upstream segment is involved in the following:

• Exploration, development, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas
• Processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas
• Transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage
• Marketing of natural gas, as well as operating a gas-to-liquids plant

The Downstream segment engages in:

• Refining crude oil into petroleum products
• Marketing crude oil, refined products, and lubricants
• Manufacturing and marketing renewable fuels
• Transporting crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car
• Manufacturing and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives

It also involves cash management, debt financing, insurance operations, real estate, and technology businesses.

Chevron announced in 2023 that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Hess in an all-stock transaction valued at $53 billion, or $171 per share based on Chevron’s closing price on October 20, 2023. Under the terms of the agreement, Hess shareholders will receive 1.0250 shares of Chevron for each Hess share. The transaction’s total enterprise value, including debt, is $60 billion.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved Chevron’s $53 billion acquisition of Hess in September of 2024, clearing a significant hurdle in the merger. The merger is still subject to closing conditions, including:

• Resolution of an arbitration battle with ExxonMobil and China’s CNOOC over assets in Guyana
• Both companies have filed a dispute asserting they have a right of first refusal to any sale of Hess’s Guyana assets

UBS has a Buy rating and a hefty $195 target price objective, which represents a 20% upside from current pricing.

Pfizer

This top pharmaceutical stock was a massive winner in the COVID-19 vaccine sweepstakes but has been beaten down over the last few years as many are not getting boosters. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide and pays a hefty 5.75% dividend, which has risen yearly for the last 14 years.

The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including:

• Cardiovascular metabolic and women’s health under the Premarin family and Eliquis brands
• Biologics, small molecules, immunotherapies, and biosimilars under the Ibrance, Xtandi, Sutent, Inlyta, Retacrit, Lorbrena, and Braftovi brands
• Sterile injectable and anti-infective medicines and oral COVID-19 treatment under the Sulperazon, Medrol, Zavicefta, Zithromax, Vfend, Panzyga, and Paxlovid brands.

Pfizer also provides medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, such as:

• Pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease, tick-borne encephalitis
• COVID-19 under the Comirnaty/BNT162b2, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, Trumenba, and the Prevnar family brands
• Biosimilars for chronic immune and inflammatory diseases under the Xeljanz, Enbrel, Inflectra, Eucrisa/Staquis, and Cibinqo brands
• Amyloidosis, hemophilia, and endocrine diseases under the Vyndaqel/Vyndamax, BeneFIX, and Genotropin brands

Trading not far from its lowest split-adjusted level in thirteen years, the stock is an incredible bargain at current levels and pays a massive dividend. Plus, the company has a substantial pipeline and should move back in favor in 2025.

Cantor Fitzerald has an Overweight rating and a $45 target price, which is 55% higher than current trading levels.

Verizon

This top telecommunications company offers tremendous value, trading 9.5 times its estimated 2025 earnings and paying investors a strong 6.41% dividend. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), through its subsidiaries, provides communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide.

It operates in two segments:

• Verizon Consumer Group
• Verizon Business Group

The Consumer segment provides wireless services across the wireless networks in the United States under the Verizon and TracFone brands and through wholesale and other arrangements.

Verizon also provides fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband through its wireless networks and related equipment and devices, such as:

• Smartphones
• Tablets
• Smartwatches and other wireless-enabled connected devices

The segment also offers wireline services in Mid-Atlantic (including the District of Columbia) and the Northeastern United States through its fiber-optic network, Verizon Fios product portfolio, and a copper-based network.

The Business segment provides wireless and wireline communications services and products, including:

• FWA broadband
• Data
• Video and conferencing
• Corporate networking
• Security and managed network
• Local and long-distance voice
• Network access services to deliver various IoT services and products to businesses, government customers, and wireless and wireline carriers in the United States and internationally

Tigress Financial has a Buy rating and a Wall Street high $55 target, which is 23% higher than current trading levels.

Four Ultra-High-Yield Stocks Will Pay a Landslide of Monthly Dividends

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