3 Dividend Stocks to Buy Now With Yields Over 3%

Investing for the long haul requires patience. It only helps if you're being paid to wait. Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP), and Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) are currently yielding more than 3%.

This may not seem like a lot with the Federal Reserve hiking rates for the first time in three years, but pull up a chair to watch some TV, sip a soda, or dig into a basket of unlimited warm garlic breadsticks. Let's take a closer look at these three consumer-facing businesses that also happen to be shelling out payouts as high as 5.6%.

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1. Comcast -- 5.6%

Content is king, but the market is treating Comcast like it's the court jester. The parent company of media giant NBCUniversal and leading cable TV and broadband provider Xfinity is out of favor. The shares are down more than 20% over the past year, even as the broader market has risen. Comcast stock has been cut in half over the past year.

The knocks aren't entirely unfair. Cord-cutting has become a national pastime in recent years, as folks trade in their costly cable TV bills for the open-ended opportunities in the streaming space. You would think being the top dog in online connectivity would be a good place to be, but it's also been shedding internet subscribers as wireless providers and others ramp up their broadband offerings.

Comcast is stuck. You have to go back to 2021 to find the last time that it posted double-digit revenue growth. It doesn't mean that the end credits are rolling. It can easily cover its healthy 5.6% yield, having boosted its dividend for 18 consecutive years.

Comcast is trading for less than 8 times trailing earnings, a bargain in any market climate. There's a lot of debt on its balance sheet, but its enterprise value is less than 5 times its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA).

The best thing is that Comcast isn't playing it safe. It knows it's out of favor. In January, it spun off its linear cable properties -- including CNBC, USA, MS Now, and E! -- along with movie ticketing site Fandango and reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Next year, it will spin off its NBCUniversal business, which includes its popular Universal Studios theme parks and the Peacock streaming service.

I'm looking forward to that spinoff more than the actual business that will stay behind, but its cable and connectivity segments are huge cash cows that won't run out of milk anytime soon. In the meantime, Comcast is making waves. It has put out two of this year's five movies that have generated more than $1 billion in ticket sales. Peacock is still growing its subscriber base, and it finally just turned profitable. It has a stronger business than you -- and the market -- probably think.

2. PepsiCo -- 4.4%

Pepsi stock hasn't fallen as hard as Comcast in recent years, but it is a laggard. The silver medalist in the cola wars and salty snacks titan is trading slightly lower in 2026. It has a longer winning streak than Comcast when it comes to quarterly distributions. PepsiCo has increased its dividend for 54 years in a row. It's a Dividend King, an elite group of stocks with more than 50 years of increased distributions. It's one of just seven Dividend Kings that are currently yielding more than 4%.

You're getting a consumer juggernaut in PepsiCo. Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Gatorade, and Quaker Oats are just some of the names in its portfolio. The growth won't wow you, but organic sales and core earnings are inching higher. Its global organic sales volume is growing faster than it has in four years. The company is safe, and so is its perpetually rising dividend.

3. Darden Restaurants -- 3.1%

If cable TV and sugary soft drinks aren't winning you over, it's doubtful that a restaurant operator will whet your appetite. Darden's largest chain is Olive Garden, often the butt of casual dining jokes. However, it also operates LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House, Cheddar's, Chuy's, and even a few upscale steakhouses in Ruth's Chris and Capital Grille.

It's more susceptible than Comcast and PepsiCo to an economic slowdown, but we'll cross that hostess stand when we get there. In the meantime, analysts see revenue gaining momentum. They see revenue rising 4% this year, followed by 6% next year. The bottom line is growing even faster. In a world of fickle diners, it's good to have a basket of varying concepts to woo them. In the meantime, the 3.1% yield will keep those unlimited breadsticks coming.

Rick Munarriz has positions in Comcast. The Motley Fool recommends Comcast. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.