Top Wall Street analysts are upbeat on these 3 dividend-paying stocks
On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gave some hints about further interest rate cuts, citing weakness in the labor market.
Considering the uncertain macroeconomic environment and possible interest rate cuts, investors may consider adding some dividend stocks to their portfolio to generate stable income. Recommendations from top Wall Street analysts can help investors choose attractive dividend-paying stocks with strong fundamentals.
Here are three dividend paying stockshighlighted by Wall Street’s top professionals As tracked by TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.
EOG Resources
This week’s first dividend pick is EOG Resources (EOG) is a crude oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) company with reserves in the United States and Trinidad. The company recently announced a deal to acquire Encino Acquisition Partners for $5.6 billion. The deal will increase EOG’s free cash flow and support its commitment to shareholder returns.
EOG increased its quarterly dividend, payable on October 31, by 5% to $1.02 per share. With an annual dividend of $4.08 per share, EOG offers a yield of 3.8%.
Recently, RBC Capital analyst Scott Hanold reiterated his buy rating on EOG and price target $145 It starts at $140. TipRanks’ AI Analyst has an “outperform” rating on EOG stock with a $133 price target.
Hanold updated his forecasts, valuations and EOG stock price target to reflect higher oil price expectations. The 5-star analyst specifically increased his earnings per share (EPS) and cash flow per share (CFPS) estimates for 2025 and 2026 due to the revised commodity outlook. Hanold now expects earnings per share for 2025 and 2026 to be $10.07 and $9.46, respectively, above previous estimates of $9.54 and $7.15, respectively. Hanold initiated EPS and CFPS estimates of $11.63 and $23.59 for 2027 and $12.97 and $25.65 for 2028, respectively.
Hanold is bullish on EOG and expects it to outperform its peer group over the next 12 months. “The leading technology approach, strong balance sheet, low-cost operations and capital efficiency should continue to deliver meaningful value and make EOG an essential E&P holding,” Hanold said.
Hanold is ranked 79th out of more than 10,000 analysts tracked by TipRanks. Their ratings were 64% profitable and delivered an average return of 26.5%. See EOG Resources Hedge Fund Activity on TipRanks.
Coterra Energy
Another energy company that pays dividends is Coterra Energy (TO) is an exploration and production company operating in the Permian Basin, Marcellus Shale and Anadarko Basin. Coterra paid a quarterly dividend of 22 cents per share in the second quarter of 2025, yielding 3.4%.
Siebert Williams Shank analyst Gabriele Sorbara reiterated his buy rating on Coterra as part of his third-quarter preview of oil and gas E&P companies. price target $32 Prices start from $35. By comparison, TipRanks’ AI Analyst has a “neutral” rating on CTRA stock with a $26 price target.
Given the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, Sorbara is being more cautious and selective in the near term. He said Coterra was one of the “favorite names” heading into third-quarter results based on recent stock performance, investor positioning and expectations.
Sorbara believes investors will continue to focus on management’s oversight of the big oil production increase in the second half of 2025 and the 2026 outlook. The analyst expects oil production in the third quarter to exceed expectations but fall short of EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) and free cash flow estimates, likely due to “legacy Consensus gas pricing.” Meanwhile, Sorbara sees an increase in Q4 oil production expectations due to increased upside potential from the Harkey improvement wells.
“We reaffirm our Buy rating as we continue to find CTRA attractive from a valuation perspective (trading at an EV/EBITDA discount and above-average FCF yield) and strong capital return potential,” Sorbara said, referring to free cash flow.
Sorbara is ranked #315 out of more than 10,000 analysts followed by TipRanks. It did well in the ratings 52% of the time and delivered an average return of 20%. See EOG Resources Financials on TipRanks.
AT&T
Wireless telecom giant AT&T (T) is this week’s third dividend pick. The company is scheduled to report third-quarter results on October 22. AT&T recently announced a quarterly dividend of 27.75 cents, payable on November 3. With an annual dividend of $1.11 per share, AT&T yields 4.3%.
Heading into third-quarter results, Citigroup analyst Michael Rollins reiterated a buy rating on AT&T with a base case price target $32calls the company a top-ranked choice. TipRanks’ AI Analyst also has an “outperform” rating on AT&T shares with a $31 price target.
Rollins expects AT&T to deliver strong operating performance across its strategic products and segments in the third quarter. Despite intense competition in wireless, the 5-star analyst expects AT&T to report net additions of 300,000 postpaid phones in the third quarter and 2.5% year-over-year growth in wireless service revenue.
Additionally, Rollins estimates third-quarter fiber net additions of 286,000 in a seasonally stronger quarter. He expects AT&T’s fixed wireless access (FWA) to continue expanding, with a net addition of 210,000. The analyst emphasized that third-quarter estimates were slightly below the Street’s consensus estimates for revenue, EBITDA and earnings per share and were in line with free cash flow expectations.
“Wireless churn, upgrades and gross increases are likely to trend upward in Q3 given higher asset replacement rates,” Rollins said. The analyst argues that AT&T’s broadband opportunity remains an underappreciated component of the company’s annual financial growth prospects.
Rollins is ranked #548 out of more than 10,000 analysts tracked by TipRanks. Their ratings were profitable 62% of the time, with an average return of 11.7%. See AT&T Ownership Structure on TipRanks.
