Investors love dividend stocks, especially the high-yield variety, because they offer a significant income stream and have massive total return potential. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends, and distributions realized over time. In other words, the total return on an investment or a portfolio consists of income and stock appreciation. 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.

The prevailing wisdom across Wall Street is that there could be no more cuts to the federal funds rate for the rest of 2025, and with the 10-year Treasury yield falling to the lowest level since last year, it is a good bet that the Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are high-fiving each other. The lower cost of capital is precisely what they were hoping for without lowering fed funds, as ongoing inflation continues to threaten the economy. As rates fall, quality high-yield dividend stocks become more attractive

We decided to screen our 24/7 Wall St. quality high-yield stock research database, looking for well-known companies that pay dividends higher than the 10-year Treasury paper, which recently closed at a 4.33% yield. Four companies with big upside potential and are all rated Buy across Wall Street came up, and all look like perfect ideas now.

Why do we cover quality, high-yield dividend stocks?

Dividend stocks provide investors with reliable streams of passive income. Passive income is characterized by its ability to generate revenue without requiring the earner’s continuous active effort, making it a desirable financial strategy for those seeking to diversify their income streams or achieve financial independence.

AES

This conservative utility stock offers a hefty 6.5% dividend and considerable upside potential. AES Corp. (NYSE: AES) operates as a diversified power generation and utility company in the United States and internationally.

The company owns and operates power plants to generate and sell power to customers, such as utilities, industrial users, and other intermediaries; owns and operates utilities to generate or purchase, distribute, transmit, and sell electricity to end-user customers in the residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental sectors; and generates and sells electricity on the wholesale market.

It uses various fuels and technologies to generate electricity, such as:

• Coal
• Gas
• Hydro
• Wind
• Solar
• Biomass
• Renewables comprising energy storage and landfill gas.

The company owns or operates a generation portfolio of approximately 34,596 megawatts and distributes power to 2.6 million customers.

Barclays has an Overweight rating on the shares with a huge $23 price target.

Energy Transfer

This top master limited partnership is a safe way for investors looking for energy exposure and income, as the company pays a massive 6.85% distribution. Energy Transfer L.P. (NYSE: ET) owns and operates one of the largest and most diversified portfolios of energy assets in the United States, with a strategic footprint in all of the major domestic production basins.

The company is a publicly traded limited partnership with core operations that include:

• Complementary natural gas midstream
• Intrastate and interstate transportation and storage assets
• Crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGL), and refined product transportation and terminalling assets
• NGL fractionation and various acquisition and marketing assets

Energy Transfer owns and operates more than 114,000 miles of pipelines and related assets in all significant U.S.-producing regions and markets across 41 states, further solidifying its leadership position in the midstream sector.

Through its ownership of Energy Transfer Operating, the company also owns Lake Charles LNG, as well as the general partner interests, the incentive distribution rights, and 28.5 million standard units of Sunoco L.P. (NYSE: SUN), and the public partner interests and 39.7 million standard units of USA Compression Partners L.P. (NYSE: USAC).

UPS

With the explosion of internet commerce, this company has enormous growth potential and offers a rich 5.65% dividend. United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) is a package delivery company that provides transportation and delivery, distribution, contract logistics, ocean freight, air freight, customs brokerage, and insurance services.

It operates through two segments:

• U.S. Domestic Package
• International Package

The U.S. Domestic Package segment offers time-definite delivery of letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States.

The International Package segment provides guaranteed-day and time-definite international shipping services, comprising guaranteed-time-definite express options in:

• Europe
• Asia
• the Indian subcontinent
• the Middle East
• Africa
• Canada
• Latin America

UPS is not just a package delivery company. It also provides diverse services, including international air and ocean freight forwarding, post-sales, and mail and consulting services.

Furthermore, it offers:

• Truckload brokerage services
• Supply chain solutions to the healthcare and life sciences industries
• Financial and information services
• Fulfillment and transportation management services

UPS has announced plans to cut Amazon delivery volumes by more than 50% by the second half of 2026. The change is part of UPS’s strategy to focus on more profitable customers and deliveries. While Amazon is the company’s largest customer, but it is not the most profitable. UPS aims to improve its margins by focusing on fewer, more profitable deliveries.

Citigroup has a Buy rating with a $158 target price.

VICI Properties

This is one of the top picks across Wall Street in the net lease group and is ideal for more conservative investors looking for gaming exposure and a solid 5.41% dividend. VICI Properties Inc. (NYSE: VICI) is an S&P 500 experiential real estate investment trust with one of the largest portfolios of market-leading gaming, hospitality, and entertainment destinations, including three iconic entertainment facilities on the Las Vegas Strip:

• Caesars Palace Las Vegas
• MGM Grand
• The Venetian Resort Las Vegas

VICI Properties owns 93 experiential assets across a geographically diverse portfolio of 54 gaming properties and 39 other experiential properties across the United States and Canada. The portfolio comprises approximately 127 million square feet and features approximately 60,300 hotel rooms and over 500 restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and sportsbooks.

Its properties are occupied by industry-leading gaming, leisure, and hospitality operators under long-term, triple-net lease agreements.

VICI Properties has a growing array of real estate and financing partnerships with leading operators in other experiential sectors, including:

• Bowlero
• Cabot
• Canyon Ranch
• Chelsea Piers
• Great Wolf Resorts
• Homefield
• Kalahari Resorts

VICI Properties also owns four championship golf courses and 33 acres of undeveloped and underdeveloped land adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip.

Evercore ISI has an Outperform rating with a $36 target price objective.

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