Selling May Be Not Over: Grab These Safe High-Yield Dividend Aristocrats Now

Investing

Published: March 17, 2025 7:03 am

Last Updated: March 17, 2025 8:53 am

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After a stellar end to the week, which still ended down, many investors are likely ready to buy the correction sell-off, as the aggressive “buy the dip” strategy has worked for well over two years. Those looking to use the strategy should be careful, as the worries over inflation, the ongoing tariff struggles with numerous nations, and the slowing of the economy could all lead to more downside. While the government shutdown should be avoided, and the hefty bill President Trump wants to pass to continue the tax cuts looks cloudy, given the friction in Washington D.C., nothing is guaranteed.

24/7 Wall St. Key Points:

The S&P 500 came out of correction territory but is hovering right near the down 10% level.
High-flying technology and AI stocks have led the market down through the very fast sell-off.
Buying safe high-yield Dividend Aristocrats is a smart move now.
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Investors looking for defensive companies paying big dividends are drawn to the Dividend Aristocrats and with good reason. The 66 companies that made the cut for the 2025 S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats list have increased dividends (not just remained the same) for 25 years straight. But the requirements go even further, with the following attributes also mandatory for membership on the aristocrats list:

Companies must be worth at least a minimum of $3 billion for each quarterly rebalancing.
Average daily volume of at least $5 million transactions for every trailing three-month period at every quarterly rebalancing date.
Companies must be a member of the S&P 500.

We screened the 2025 Dividend Aristocrats looking for the safer companies Wall Street endorses for passive income investors. Passive income is a steady stream of unearned income that doesn’t require active traditional work. Ideas for earning passive income include investments, real estate, and side hustles.

Four stocks now look like excellent ideas for those leery of the “buy the dip” strategy.

Why do we cover the Dividend Aristocrats?

S&P 500 companies that have paid and raised their dividends for 25 years or longer are the kind that growth and income investors want to buy and hold in stock portfolios forever. These stocks are mostly conservative, and should we see a dramatic market correction, they will likely keep their ground much better than volatile technology names.

Brown-Forman

Brown-Forman Corp. (NYSE: BF-B) is an American-based family-owned company, one of the largest in the spirits and wine business, with products that never go out of style. It manufactures, distills, bottles, imports, exports, markets, and sells various alcoholic beverages and pays a 2.60% dividend.

Brown-Forman provides:

Wines
Whiskey spirits
Whiskey-based flavored liqueurs
Ready-to-drink cocktails
Ready-to-pour products
Vodkas
Tequilas
Gin
Brandy
Rum
Bourbons
Liqueurs

The company offers its products primarily under these famous brands:

Jack Daniel’s
Woodford Reserve
Old Forester
Coopers’ Craft
Gentleman Jack
Herradura
el Jimador
Korbe
Sonoma-Cutrer
Finlandia
Chambord
Gin Mare
Diplomático
Fords Gin
The Glendronach
Benriach
Glenglassaugh
Slane

The company also sells used barrels, bulk whiskey and wine, and contract bottling services. It serves retail customers and consumers directly through distributors or state governments and retailers, wholesalers, and provincial governments.

It operates in the United States, Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, Spain, Canada, France, Mexico, Poland, Brazil, and Japan, as well as internationally.

Eversource Energy

This is a conservative stock idea that is off the radar. Eversource Energy (NYSE: ES), is a public utility holding company that delivers energy and pays a big 4.90% dividend.

The company operates through four segments:

Electric Distribution
Electric Transmission
Natural Gas Distribution
Water Distribution segments

It is involved in the transmission and distribution of electricity, solar power facilities, and natural gas.

The company operates regulated water utilities that provide water services to approximately 241,000 customers. It serves residential, commercial, industrial, municipal and fire protection customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

JM Smucker

This well-known company makes products that never go out of style and pays a 3.87% dividend. J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) manufactures and markets branded food and beverage products worldwide. The Company’s branded food and beverage products include a portfolio of brands sold to consumers primarily through retail outlets in North America.

The company operates through four segments:

U.S. Retail Coffee
U.S. Retail Frozen Handheld and Spreads
U.S. Retail Pet Foods
Sweet Baked Snacks

The U.S. Retail Coffee segment primarily includes the domestic sales of Folgers, Dunkin’, and Cafe Bustelo branded coffee.

The U.S. Retail Frozen Handheld and Spreads segment primarily includes domestic sales of Smucker’s and Jif-branded products.

The U.S. Retail Pet Foods segment primarily includes the domestic sales of Meow Mix, Milk-Bone, Pup-Peroni, and Canine Carry Outs branded products.

The Sweet Baked Snacks segment primarily includes all domestic and foreign sales of Hostess branded products on all channels.

Realty Income

This is an ideal stock for growth and income investors looking for a safer contrarian idea for the rest of 2025. Realty Income Corp. (NYSE: O) is an S&P 500 company that provides stockholders with dependable monthly income with a large 5.68% dividend.

The company is structured as a REIT, and its monthly dividends are supported by the cash flow from over 15,540 real estate properties (including properties acquired in the Spirit merger in January 2024) owned under long-term lease agreements with commercial tenants.

Realty Income has declared 649 consecutive common stock monthly dividends throughout its 55-year operating history and increased the dividend 123 times since Realty Income’s public listing in 1994. For increasing the dividend for the last 29 consecutive years, it is a top real estate member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index.

The 5 Highest-Yielding Monthly Dividend Stocks Deliver Gigantic Passive Income Streams

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