The Best Stocks to Invest $1,000 in Right Now

Oil prices are high, consumers are already worried about rising prices, and unemployment just ticked slightly higher. If the wide swings in the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) are any indication, investors are nervous. If you have $1,000 to invest, now is probably not the time for risk-taking. Which is why you'll like reliable dividend payers like Realty Income (NYSE: O) and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO).

Realty Income is built to be boring

Realty Income is the largest net-lease real estate investment trust (REIT), with over 15,500 properties spread across the United States and Europe. It is focused on single-tenant retail assets, but also has exposure to industrial properties and other assets, such as casinos and data centers.

Image source: Getty Images.

One big piece of the story is the use of net leases, which require tenants to pay for most property-level operating costs. That materially reduces Realty Income's risk, since it doesn't need to worry about maintenance costs and property taxes. Coupled with a conservative culture and an investment-grade rated balance sheet, Realty Income is a highly reliable dividend stock. It has increased its dividend annually for 31 years. Given the lofty 5% yield, owning Realty Income can help you sleep well at night when the market gets turbulent, since you can focus on the monthly dividend checks you'll be collecting instead of stock prices.

Coca-Cola is a consumer staples Dividend King

Coca-Cola needs little introduction, given that the iconic beverage giant is one of the world's largest consumer staples companies. While a Coke is more expensive than a glass of tap water, it is viewed by most as an affordable luxury. Even during hard times, people are likely to keep buying their favorite soda.

Loyal customers have supported Coca-Cola's long-term growth and enabled it to increase its dividend annually for more than 50 years, making it a Dividend King. While the 2.6% yield isn't nearly as attractive as the 5% on offer from Realty Income, it is still more than twice what you would collect from an S&P 500 index ETF. Coca-Cola pays quarterly, but the high yield and regular dividend growth still give you something to watch when you don't want to watch the market.

Be prepared for more volatility

A $1,000 investment will let you buy 15 shares of Realty Income or 12 shares of Coca-Cola. Given the uncertainty in the market today, thanks to everything from inflation to geopolitical conflict, you should probably be preparing yourself for a market downturn. Reliable dividend stocks like Realty Income and Coca-Cola could be just what you and your portfolio need to handle that kind of adversity.

Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in Realty Income. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Realty Income. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.