While reaching retirement age can be both a blessing and a curse, relying on the U.S. government to provide for your needs is not the best idea. The full retirement age is 66 if you were born from 1943 to 1954. The full retirement age increases gradually for those born from 1955 to 1960, reaching 67. For anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement benefits are payable at age 67. Baby Boomers and those nearing retirement are likely aware that Social Security alone will not provide a comfortable retirement, so passive income can be a significant help in increasing overall monthly income. Market-savvy Baby Boomers are turning to some of our favorite top secret high-yield dividend stocks that fly way under the radar but deliver hefty passive income streams.
At 24/7 Wall St., we have focused on dividend stocks for over 15 years because, despite the stock market’s ups and downs, many people face the reality of needing solid passive income streams to supplement their income from employment or other sources. According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), passive income generally includes earnings from rental activity or any trade, business, or investment in which the individual does not materially participate. It can also include income from limited partnerships, stocks, bonds, and other similar enterprises in which the investor is not actively involved.
We screened our 24/7 Wall St. high-yield passive income stock database, looking for companies that pay supercharged dividends, which are, for some reason or another, off the radar of most passive income investors. Five companies look like great ideas for those trying to avoid overcrowded stocks, and all have Buy ratings from top Wall Street firms.
Why do we cover dividend stocks?
Since 1926, dividends have contributed approximately 32% of the total return for the S&P 500, while capital appreciation has contributed 68%. Therefore, sustainable dividend income and capital appreciation potential are essential for total return expectations. A study by Hartford Funds, in collaboration with Ned Davis Research, found that dividend stocks delivered an annualized return of 9.18% over the 50 years from 1973 to 2023. Over the same timeline, this was more than double the annualized return for non-payers (3.95%).
Conagra Brands
Conagra Brands Inc. (NYSE: CAG | CAG Price Prediction) manufactures and sells products under various brands in supermarkets, restaurants, and foodservice establishments. This is the ideal company for nervous investors, as it pays shareholders a substantial and secure dividend, which has risen due to the stock price drop. However, the payout’s sustainability is supported by a payout ratio of about two-thirds of earnings. Conagra and its subsidiaries operate primarily as a consumer packaged goods food company in the United States.
The company operates through four segments:
- Grocery & Snacks
- Refrigerated & Frozen
- International
- Foodservice
The Grocery & Snacks segment primarily offers shelf-stable food products through various retail channels.
The Refrigerated & Frozen segment provides temperature-controlled food products through various retail channels.
The International segment offers food products in various temperature states through retail and food service channels outside the United States.
The food service segment offers branded and customized food products, including meals, entrees, sauces, and various custom-manufactured culinary products packaged for restaurants and other food service establishments.
The company sells its products under these familiar brands:
- Birds Eye
- Marie Callender’s
- Duncan Hines
- Healthy Choice
- Slim Jim
- Reddi-Wip
- Angie’s
- BOOMCHICKAPOP
Barclays has an Overweight rating with a target price of $26.
Edison International
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Trading near a 52-week low with one of the highest dividends in the utility sector, this is a strong idea for the rest of 2025. Edison International Inc. (NYSE: EIX) is an electric utility holding company focused on providing clean and reliable energy and energy services through its independent companies. It is the parent holding company of Southern California Edison Company (SCE) and Trio.
SCE is a public utility primarily engaged in the business of supplying and delivering electricity to an approximately 50,000 square mile area across Southern, Central, and Coastal California.
Trio is a global energy advisory firm providing integrated sustainability and energy advisory services to large commercial, industrial, and institutional organizations in North America and Europe.
Trio provides integrated strategy and implementation solutions in:
- Sustainability
- Renewables
- Energy procurement
- Conventional supply
- Energy optimization
- Transportation electrification
Barclays has an Overweight rating with a $67 price objective.
Healthpeak Properties
This leading company invests in real estate related to the healthcare industry, including senior housing, life science, and medical offices. The shares have lagged peers in 2025 due to lower-than-expected rent increases compared to other real estate investment trusts (REITs). It currently trades at a 40% discount to its fair value. Healthpeak Properties Inc. (NYSE: DOC) is a fully integrated REIT.
The company acquires, develops, owns, leases, and manages healthcare real estate across the United States. It owns, operates, and develops real estate focused on healthcare discovery and delivery.
Healthpeak Properties segments include:
- Lab
- Outpatient medical
- Continuing care retirement community (CCRC)
The Outpatient medical segment owns, operates, and develops outpatient medical buildings, hospitals, and lab buildings.
The lab segment properties contain laboratory and office space, and are leased primarily to:
- Biotechnology
- Medical device and pharmaceutical companies
- Scientific research institutions
- Government agencies
- Organizations involved in the life science industry
Its CCRC segment is a retirement community that offers independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing units, providing a continuum of care within an integrated campus.
Baird has an Outperform rating and a $22 target price.
Plains All American Pipeline
This stock has been locked in a tight trading range and appears poised to break out, while offering a dependable dividend yield. Plains All American Pipeline L.P. (NYSE: PAA) engages in the pipeline transportation, terminalling, storage, and gathering of crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments.
The Crude Oil segment offers:
- Gathering and transporting crude oil through pipelines
- Gathering systems
- Trucks, barges, or railcars
- Terminalling, storage, and other facilities-related services and merchant activities
The Natural Gas Liquids segment provides:
- Gathering
- Fractionation
- Storage
- Transportation
- Terminalling activities
- Ethane, propane, normal butane, iso-butane, natural gasoline, and crude oil refining processes
Telus
This is an off-the-radar telecommunications and tech company with excellent upside potential. Telus Corp. (NYSE: TU) provides a range of telecommunications technology solutions, which include:
- Mobile and fixed voice and data telecommunications services and products
- Healthcare services
- Software and technology solutions
- Agriculture and consumer goods services, such as software, data management, and data analytics-driven smart-food chain and consumer goods technologies, and digital experiences, as well as related equipment
Data services include internet protocol, television, hosting, managed information technology, cloud-based services, and home and business security and automation.
TELUS Digital, a subsidiary of the company, provides a portfolio of end-to-end, integrated capabilities, including:
- Digital solutions, such as cloud solutions and automation
- Trust, safety, and security services
- Artificial intelligence (AI) data solutions, including proficiency in computer vision, front-end digital design, and consulting services
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