Top analysts suggest these 3 dividend stocks for stable income

Corporate earnings as well as geopolitical concerns have also weighed on investor sentiment in recent trading sessions. But investors looking to generate consistent income in a volatile environment can always add attractive dividend-paying stocks to their portfolio.

For discerning investors, top Wall Street analysts can help select the right stocks backed by strong cash flow to support consistent dividend payments.

Here are three dividend-paying stocks highlighted by Wall Street’s top pros, tracked by TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.

Viper Energy

Viper Energy (VNOM), a subsidiary of Diamondback Energy, is focused on owning and acquiring mineral and royalties in oil-heavy basins, primarily the Permian in West Texas. Taking into account base and variable dividends paid last year, VNOM stock offers a dividend yield of 5.53%.

Ahead of Viper’s Q4 2025 results in February, Roth Capital analyst Leo Mariani reiterated his buy rating on VNOM shares. price target $48. The analyst is positive on VNOM due to its “high organic growth rate relative to peers, solid and growing dividend rate, strong free cash flow even at low oil prices, and visibility into multi-year operations that peers do not have.”

Mariani expects Viper Energy to deliver strong Q4 results with oil production of 66,552 barrels of oil per day (Bopd), about 1% above Street forecast. It expects total production in Q4 2025 to be 129,424 barrels of oil equivalent per day (Boepd), almost 2% above the consensus forecast. Mariani also predicts Viper will report solid oil price realizations for Q4 2025, but gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) realizations will be weaker.

The 5-star analyst expects Viper to announce a cash distribution to shareholders of $0.57 for Q4 2025, reflecting a sequential decline of 2%. However, it expects share buybacks of $95 million in the 4th quarter of 2025, up from $90 million in the third quarter. Mariani expects share buybacks to play a larger role in Viper’s capital return plans, especially compared to the weak oil environment.

Mariani also notes that Viper will be more insulated compared to its peers if 2026 drilling and completion activity is halted due to weak oil prices. This is because Diamondback handles approximately 60% of its production and can help maintain volumes by scaling downcut operations outside of VNOM’s mine area. Moreover, VNOM’s non-operated activities are managed by top operators such as: ExxonMobil, Western, EOG Resources, ConocoPhillipsAnd ovintivSince they control about two-thirds of Viper’s non-Diamondback territory, this reduces the risk of activity being too low.

Mariani is ranked #124 out of more than 12,000 analysts tracked by TipRanks. It did well in the ratings 60% of the time and delivered an average return of 27.1%. See Viper Energy Stats on TipRanks.

SLB

The second dividend pick of the week is oilfield service provider SLB (SLB). The company recently reported better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter of 2025. Additionally, SLB announced that it will increase its quarterly cash dividend by 3.5% to $0.295 per share. SLB pays a dividend yield of 2.41%.

Following the Q4 edition, JPMorgan analyst Arun Jayaram reiterated his buy rating on SLB and price target $54 It starts at $43. SLB’s 2026 guidance is in line with consensus expectations, the analyst said, adding that encouraging insights from the earnings call reflect management’s optimism about recovery in three international areas that hurt the company’s 2025 performance: Saudi Arabia, Mexico and deepwater.

The 5-star analyst said he expects SLB’s international segment to see gains from business in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia in 2026, partially offset by a modest decline in revenues in Europe and Africa. SLB is also expected to benefit from the revitalization of Venezuela’s oil industry; because it is the only Western oilfield services company currently operating in the country. Chevron’s business license.

Meanwhile, SLB’s presence in the Gulf of Mexico and growth in its Data Center Solutions segment are expected to drive revenue in North America. “The growth dynamics of Digital and Data Center Solutions continue to be key long-term catalysts for SLB,” said Jayaram.

Overall, Jayaram expects SLB to deliver solid cash flow growth thanks to the company’s international footprint, project integration capabilities and strong digital adoption. The analyst expects SLB to generate free cash flow of approximately $4.2 billion in 2026 and return approximately $4.3 billion in cash to shareholders through a base dividend of $1.7 billion and buybacks of $2.6 billion.

Jayaram is ranked #673 out of more than 12,000 analysts followed by TipRanks. Their ratings were profitable 58% of the time, with an average return of 11%. See SLB Share Buybacks on TipRanks.

EOG Resources

Another energy company paying dividends this week EOG Resources (EOG). The crude oil and natural gas exploration and production company offers a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share. With an annual dividend of $4.08 per share, EOG’s dividend yield stands at 3.68%.

Ahead of Q4 earnings, Siebert Williams Shank analyst Gabriele Sorbara reaffirmed his buy rating on EOG shares. price target $150. The analyst expects EOG to deliver optimistic Q4 results on both the operational and financial fronts. Sorbara expects the company to report oil production of 545.7 Mbbl/d (thousand barrels per day), in line with the Street’s forecast and within the company’s expectation of 542.5 to 547.5 Mbbl/d. Additionally, Sorbara expects total production of 1,369 Mboe/day (million barrels of oil equivalent per day), nearly in line with the consensus forecast of 1,371 Mboe/day.

The 5-star analyst thinks investors will focus on EOG’s 2026 guidance and early updates on its international projects in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, as well as management’s comments on capital efficiency in the Utica Shale and Delaware Basin.

“EOG stands out with its peer-leading shareholder return potential (at least 70% of FCF returned to shareholders annually) supported by strong free cash flow generation and a best-in-class balance sheet,” Sorbara said.

Specifically, Sorbara expects EOG to make opportunistic buybacks; As of the end of the third quarter of 2025, $4 billion is still available under the current authority. The analyst estimates share repurchases in Q4 2025 to be $457.4 million. Including the underlying dividend, Sorbara estimates a total return of capital of $1.0 billion, reflecting 98.4% of EOG’s free cash flow.

Sorbara is ranked #511 out of more than 12,000 analysts followed by TipRanks. It did well in the ratings 53% of the time and delivered an average return of 15.9%. See EOG Resources Technical Analysis on TipRanks.