Investing

Wall Street Analysts Love These High-Yield Dividend Stocks

Ian Cooper

Published: February 11, 2025 9:37 am

High-yield dividend stocks not only offer passive income but also safety in a rocky market.

To pick the right one to buy, you may want to consider insights from some of the top market analysts. Here are three analysts who now have a buy rating.

Key Points About This Article 

• High-yield dividend stocks not only offer passive income but also safety.
• With a yield of 3.06%, Coca-Cola (KO) is still one of Warren Buffett’s favorite yielding stocks thanks to its recession-resistant model.
• With a yield of 4.68%, AT&T has been in a strong uptrend since the middle of 2023.
• 4 million Americans are set to retire this year. If you want to join them, click here now to see if you’re behind, or ahead. It only takes a minute. (Sponsor)

Coca-Cola 

With a yield of 3.06%, Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) – still one of Warren Buffett’s favorite yielding stocks thanks to its recession-resistant model and 62 years of consecutive dividend growth – just got a buy rating from Jefferies.

Jefferies just upgraded the stock to a buy rating, citing Coca-Cola’s strong fundamentals and anticipated cash flow. Plus, no matter what’s happening in the economy, consumers are still going to buy something from the company’s portfolio of beverages.

In addition, analysts at Piper Sandler have an overweight rating on the KO stock. The firm cited the company’s brands, exposure, and emerging market exposure as reasons for the rating.

In short, its history of growth, dividend increases, and global expansion make Coca-Cola a buy. Technically, KO is still oversold at $63.48 with earnings nearing. From here, if KO can break above $64.43, it could retest $70 a share.

AT&T 

Next up is AT&T (NYSE:T).

With a yield of 4.68%, AT&T has been in a strong uptrend since the middle of 2023.  Helping, analysts at Argus just upgraded it to a buy with a price target of $27 a share. That followed AT&T’s Analyst Day event where it outlined its strategic direction and financial goals.

Plus, in late December, the company said it expects improved financial performance to support $40 billion of anticipated shareholder returns with dividends and a $10 billion share buyback program.

“Under this capital return plan, the Company expects to maintain its current annualized common stock dividend of $1.11 per share. This plan would result in $20 billion+ in total dividend payments, with capacity for about $20 billion in share repurchases, from 2025-2027,” as quoted in an A&T Analyst Day press release.

Recent earnings have also been strong. In its fourth quarter, AT&T’s EPS of 54 cents beat by three cents. Revenue of $32.3 billion beat estimates by $360 million.

Enterprise Products Partners 

With a yield of 6.55%, Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) is another hot high-yielding stock to consider. A U.S. midstream natural gas and crude oil pipeline company with headquarters in Houston, Texas, EPD was just upgraded to a buy by analysts at Truist Financial. The firm also raised its price target on EPD to $40 from $37 a share.

Even better, Enterprise Products just declared a $0.535 quarterly dividend, which is payable on February 14 to shareholders of record as of January 31. Making EPD even more attractive is that it’s a midstream operator, an energy middleman that manages about 50,000 miles of pipelines across the country and 300 million barrels of storage capacity.