The Best Dividend Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever
Key Points
Energy Transfer is a great combination of a high-yield stock and strong growth potential.
Enterprise Products Partners is a sleep-well-at-night stock with an attractive yield and increasing payout.
- 10 stocks we like better than Energy Transfer ›
If you're looking for high-yield stocks with growing dividend payouts, there is no better place to look than the energy midstream space. Let's look at two pipeline master limited partnerships (MLPs) you can buy and hold for the long term.
Energy Transfer
Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) offers investors an intriguing combination of a high-yield stock and strong growth potential. The company recently increased its distribution, raising it by more than 3% year over year to an annual payout of $1.34. That gives the stock about a 7.4% forward yield.
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Energy Transfer's distribution is well covered by its distributable cash flow (operating cash flow minus maintenance capex), with the company having a 1.7 times coverage ratio last quarter (the third quarter). It has also nicely improved its balance sheet, and it has said it has the highest percentage of take-or-pay contracts in its history, giving it strong visibility.
Energy Transfer's strong position in the Permian Basin, which is a low-cost source of natural gas, is presenting it with robust growth project opportunities stemming from the artificial intelligence (AI) data center buildout. It has already announced plans to spend up to $5.5 billion in growth capex this year to help capture the attractive growth opportunities in front of it. Meanwhile, it plans to continue increasing its distribution by 3% to 5% a year moving forward.
Image source: Getty Images.
Enterprise Products Partners
There has been no company as consistent in the midstream space as Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD). The MLP increased its distribution for the 27th straight year in 2025. This is a remarkable streak, given that this stretch includes various periods of tough economic and energy conditions. The stock currently yields about 6.3%, and the company has been growing its payout at about a 3% annual clip. Its distribution is also well supported, with a coverage ratio of 1.8 times in the fourth quarter.
Unlike Energy Transfer, Enterprise will actually ramp down its growth capex this year, taking it to a range of $2.5 billion to $2.9 billion, from $4.4 billion in 2025. This will lead to the company having a lot of discretionary cash flow (free cash flow after paying distributions) that it can then use to pay down debt, buy back stock, or make acquisitions. While it expects modest growth this year, it is looking for its adjusted EBITDA and cash flow to grow by double digits in 2027 as new projects ramp up.
As a sleep-well-at-night stock with solid future growth prospects, Enterprise is a high-yield dividend stock to own for the long haul.
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Geoffrey Seiler has positions in Energy Transfer and Enterprise Products Partners. The Motley Fool recommends Enterprise Products Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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