3 High-Yield Dividend Stocks You Can Buy in September and Hold Forever

Key Points

• Realty Income is one of the stock market's most reliable dividend growers, and it offers a yield above 5% at recent prices.

• Healthpeak Properties' stock is down further than it probably should be following a big merger.

• Pfizer's stock price is way down, but it's raised its payout for 16 consecutive years.

• 10 stocks we like better than Realty Income ›

A buoyant stock market that keeps reaching new heights is great for the stocks already in our brokerage accounts. After a few strongly positive years, though, finding stocks that pay high dividend yields is unusually challenging.

Finding high-yield dividend payers is harder than it used to be, but it isn't impossible. These days, Realty Income (NYSE: O), Healthpeak Properties (NYSE: DOC), and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) stand out with compelling yields above 5% and an ability to generate growing cash flows over time. Read on to see why they look like terrific stocks to buy now with the intention of holding them indefinitely.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

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1. Realty Income

Shares of the net lease real estate investment trust (REIT) have fallen about 22% from the peak they reached in 2022. The company hasn't stopped raising its dividend payout, though. At recent prices, it offers a tantalizing 5.5% dividend yield and confidence that comes with decades of steady payout growth.

Realty Income makes monthly payments, and it has raised that payout every quarter except one since it began trading publicly over 30 years ago. Interest rates that rose sharply in 2022 and 2023 have been a thorn in the real estate giant's side, but they haven't stopped its cash flows from growing steadily.

With 15,606 properties in its portfolio at the end of June, you might think there isn't a lot of room to grow. This isn't the case at all. In the U.S., publicly traded net lease REITs like Realty Income account for roughly 4% of their addressable market. This figure is less than 0.1% in Europe, where Realty Income has been finding heaps of businesses that want to turn the property they own into a relatively cheap source of capital.

2. Healthpeak Properties

This net lease REIT rents laboratory space to established pharmaceutical businesses, biotech startups, and everything in between. To combat the recent lack of demand from biotech start-ups, it merged with Physicians Realty, an owner of medical office buildings, last year.

Healthpeak acquired Physician's Realty in an all-stock transaction, and creating new shares meant it had to reduce its quarterly payout. Fortunately for new investors, the stock price has declined since the merger. At recent prices, it offers a big 6.8% dividend yield.

Demand for laboratory space has declined but it didn't disappear. Healthpeak completed 503,000 square feet of new leases and renewals in the second quarter.

Healthpeak might not be the fastest dividend grower in the decade ahead, but investors can reasonably expect the payout to move in the right direction. This year, management expects funds from operations, a proxy for earnings used to evaluate REITs, to land in a range between $1.78 and $1.84 per share. That's more than sufficient to support a payout currently set at an annualized $1.22 per share.

3. Pfizer

Shares of Pfizer are down about 60% from the all-time high they set during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to rapidly declining sales of its COVID-19 products, the company is on the cusp of several patent cliffs.

Pfizer's stock price is down, but not its quarterly dividend payout. The company raised its dividend for the 16th consecutive year last December. At recent prices, it offers a 6.9% dividend yield.

Earlier this year, CEO Albert Bourla told investors they could expect losses of patent-protected exclusivity for key products to reduce annual sales by $17 billion to $18 billion. Most of the losses are expected to begin in 2026 and end in 2028.

Pfizer is facing some big patent cliffs but it's invested heavily in an attempt to overcome them. Acquired products are expected to deliver $20 billion in annual sales by 2030. In other words, total revenue will likely continue moving in the right direction when viewed on a long-term timeframe. Adding some shares of the ultra-high-yield stock to a diversified portfolio now and holding them forever looks like the right move.

Should you invest $1,000 in Realty Income right now?

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Cory Renauer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Pfizer and Realty Income. The Motley Fool recommends Healthpeak Properties. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.