All It Takes Is $5,000 Invested in Each of These 3 High-Yield Dividend Stocks to Generate Over $800 in Yearly Dividends

Got some cash you're looking to turn into a reliable stream of income? Dividend stocks are your best bet for a handful of reasons. One of them is the fact that they offer the highest immediate cash flow. Another is the possibility of also delivering capital gains. Perhaps more than anything, though, the right dividend stocks will regularly raise their per-share payments at a rate that at least keeps pace with inflation.

With that as the backdrop, here's a rundown of three great dividend stocks that can turn $15,000 -- allocating $5,000 to each -- into an initial annual income of $831.50 that grows reliably each and every year.

Realty Income

You've probably stepped foot onto a Realty Income (NYSE: O) property without even realizing it. This real estate investment trust (or REIT) exclusively owns and rents out brick-and-mortar retail properties. Its top tenants include Dollar General, 7-Eleven, Walgreens, Home Depot, and Walmart, just to name a few. And it's good at finding and then keeping paying renters. Since 2013, its occupancy rate has consistently remained at or above 98%, even during the turbulent 2020, when COVID-19 was wreaking havoc on the retail industry.

That's not the chief reason Realty Income is such a compelling income holding, however. It's the REIT's dividend track record. Not only has it paid a monthly (yes, monthly) dividend like clockwork for decades now, but it has raised its dividend payment every year for the past 31 years.

That streak isn't apt to end anytime soon, if ever, particularly given that the company's now moving into the data center business. Cloud-based access to remote AI-capable platforms is rented rather than outright owned.

This REIT's forward-looking dividend yield right now stands at 5.2%. A $5,000 investment in it would generate on the order of $260.50 in yearly dividend income.

Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is, of course, one of the United States' biggest wireless telecom service providers, boasting 147 million paying customers as of the end of Q2. For the entirety of last year, the company turned $138.2 billion in revenue into net income of $17.6 billion.

There's not a great deal of growth potential here. That's because the U.S. wireless market is highly saturated, with Pew Research reporting that 98% of adults in the country already own a mobile phone. Population growth, churn from competing wireless service providers, and price increases are the only real sources of growth here, which isn't much.

Image source: Getty Images.

What Verizon lacks in ultimate upside, however, it more than makes up for in reliability. For better or worse, Americans are effectively addicted to their cell phones. A recent study from Harmony Healthcare IT indicates that people living in the United States spend more than five hours looking at them every day. Healthy or not, most of us aren't going to give them up now. We'll continue paying our monthly phone bill to maintain that mobile connection to the rest of the world. This steady stream of revenue in turn supports Verizon's continued dividend payments.

To this end, Verizon's now raised its yearly payout for 19 consecutive years, with more of the same sure to be in the cards. Now yielding 5.9%, a $5,000 position in Verizon right now produces $294.50 in annual income.

Enbridge

Last but not least, add Enbridge (NYSE: ENB) to your list of dividend stocks that could be solid foundations for an income portfolio. With its forward-looking yield of 5.5%, putting $5,000 into this name would start you out with yearly dividend income of $276.50.

It's not a household name, but there's a very good chance you or someone in your household regularly depends on its service.

Enbridge is a crude oil and natural gas pipeline operator. Its nearly 19,000-mile network, spanning much of the U.S. and Canada, handles about 20% of the nation's total gas, while 30% of the country's crude oil is delivered through its 18,000 miles of oil pipelines.

It's an ideal business for generating reliable dividend income, too. Whereas explorers and drillers like Chevron and BP are highly sensitive to the ever-changing price of oil or gas, pipeline operators like Enbridge simply charge a flat fee for the volume of the oil and gas being pushed through their pipes, regardless of its market price. As long as consumption of both remains consistent -- and it does -- so do Enbridge's results. That's how it's been able to raise its per-share payout for 31 consecutive years now.

James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Chevron, Enbridge, Home Depot, Realty Income, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends BP and Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.