Dividend Stocks for Consistent Returns Recommended by Top Wall Street Analysts

Investor sentiment this week remained heavily influenced by corporate earnings and ongoing uncertainty surrounding tariffs. Amid the market's volatility, many investors are looking for more stable, income-generating investments. One effective strategy involves targeting dividend-paying stocks, which can offer consistent returns regardless of broader market swings.

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To identify solid opportunities, it’s useful to follow recommendations from leading Wall Street analysts, whose evaluations are based on thorough financial assessments and a company's dividend sustainability. Below are three dividend-paying stocks that top analysts, according to data from TipRanks, currently favor.

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Home Depot

First on the list is Home Depot (HD), a major name in the home improvement retail sector. While the company delivered a mixed earnings report for the first quarter of fiscal 2025, it maintained its full-year forecast and announced it wouldn't be raising prices due to tariffs. This strategic decision was seen positively in light of current economic uncertainty.

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Home Depot declared a quarterly dividend of $2.30 per share, set to be paid on June 18, 2025. Annualized, this brings the dividend to $9.20 per share, equating to a yield of about 2.5%.

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Greg Melich, an analyst at Evercore, reaffirmed his bullish stance on the stock, setting a price target of $400. He views Home Depot’s risk-reward profile as one of the strongest within his firm's retail coverage. Melich acknowledged that the company's overall Q1 numbers appeared average at first glance but pointed out several encouraging signs: stabilized customer traffic, reduced inventory losses (or “shrink”), and online sales growth rising to 8%—its highest since the third quarter of fiscal 2022.

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According to Melich, Home Depot is making smart investments in technology, e-commerce, and physical stores. He anticipates that once broader economic conditions improve, the stock could experience a significant breakout, similar to what occurred with Costco in 2023 and Walmart in 2024. TipRanks ranks Melich 607th among over 9,500 analysts, with a success rate of 68% and an average return of 12%.

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Diamondback Energy

Next up is Diamondback Energy (FANG), a Texas-based oil and gas company that concentrates on the Permian Basin. The company recently beat Wall Street expectations with its first-quarter results. However, due to price fluctuations in the oil market, Diamondback lowered its full-year activity levels to enhance free cash flow.

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In the first quarter of 2025, the company returned $864 million to shareholders through stock repurchases and a $1.00 per share base dividend. This return accounts for around 55% of its adjusted free cash flow. Including both base and variable dividends over the last year, Diamondback currently yields close to 3.9%.

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RBC Capital’s Scott Hanold reaffirmed his buy rating on FANG, assigning a price target of $180. Despite a $400 million (or 10%) reduction in the 2025 capital budget, production was trimmed by only 1%. Hanold believes this adjustment improves the company’s free cash flow outlook by 7% over the next year and a half.

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He also emphasized that the company is outperforming its target of returning at least 50% of free cash flow to shareholders, aided by stock repurchases during periods of weakness in April. Hanold expects any leftover cash flow will be used to reduce the $1.5 billion term loan related to its acquisition of Double Eagle-IV in the Midland Basin.

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Hanold maintains confidence in Diamondback’s financial strength, noting it benefits from a very low cost structure and one of the best corporate cash flow breakevens (including dividends) in the sector. With a 67% success rate and an average return of 29.1%, Hanold is ranked 17th among more than 9,500 analysts by TipRanks.

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ConocoPhillips

The third pick is ConocoPhillips (COP), a major player in oil and gas exploration and production. The company recently posted stronger-than-expected earnings for the first quarter of 2025. While it reduced its capital spending and adjusted operating costs due to the uncertain environment, it left its production targets unchanged.

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In Q1 2025, ConocoPhillips returned $2.5 billion to shareholders—$1.5 billion through buybacks and $1.0 billion via dividends. With a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share ($3.12 annually), the stock yields about 3.7%.

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Goldman Sachs analyst Neil Mehta reiterated a buy rating on COP with a $119 price target after meetings with company executives. While management acknowledged near-term uncertainties driven by weak global growth and OPEC+ production cuts, they expressed optimism about long-term gas prices.

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Mehta noted that ConocoPhillips’ breakeven price (excluding dividends) is currently in the mid-$40s per barrel for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, but it could drop into the low $30s by 2029 as capital spending declines and the Willow project in Alaska ramps up.

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Although the company decided not to commit to a $10 billion capital return target, which created some short-term volatility in the stock, Mehta still sees an attractive return profile—estimating total shareholder returns around 8%.

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Ranked 568th by TipRanks, Mehta has a track record of successful calls 59% of the time, generating an average return of 8.6%.

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Conclusion

While the broader market remains choppy due to macroeconomic factors and trade policy uncertainty, dividend-paying stocks like Home Depot, Diamondback Energy, and ConocoPhillips offer not only income but also the potential for price appreciation. Backed by top analyst endorsements and solid financials, these companies could serve as stabilizing anchors in an otherwise unpredictable investing landscape.

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