2 No-Brainer Dividend Stocks to Buy Right Now

When you're looking for the best dividend stocks to buy, you need to look beyond the simple matter of yield. A high yield isn't worth as much if the payout isn't sustainable, and in many cases, companies' yields grow because concerns about their businesses (or genuine problems with them) are driving down their share prices.

The energy sector is a good place to find solid dividend payers. I screened it for companies with relatively high yields, sustainable payout ratios, share price momentum, and solid financials, and among the tempting options that popped out were Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) and National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE: NFG).

Petrobras benefits from low-cost oil extraction

Brazilian state-controlled Petrobras has "pre-salt" deepwater fields that offer some of the industry's highest-margin lifting costs (in other words, the expenses of producing oil once the drilling phase is finished).

Brazil is already the top oil producer in South America, with production exceeding 4.2 million barrels per day. And Petrobras is improving its output by adding eight new production systems, all of which should be online by the end of 2030.

Image source: Getty Images.

In the fourth quarter, it reported revenue of $23.6 billion, up 13.4% year over year, thanks to an 11% increase in oil and natural gas production. The company said it had adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $10.9 billion. Excluding one-off events, that was down 8.4% year over year, mainly due to a drop in Brent crude oil prices. Given the recent rise in oil prices, that trend will likely reverse in the current quarter.

While the stock is up more than 60% this year, the company still trades at an attractive valuation of less than 6 times earnings.

Petrobras is among the highest dividend payers in the global energy industry. Its current yield is around 4.5%, and its payout ratio is only 32%. That doesn't include a special dividend of $0.09 per share that the company will distribute to shareholders of record as of April 24. Factor that payout in, and its forward yield is closer to 7.6%. The company's policy is to distribute 45% of free cash flow when gross debt remains below its strategic limit.

National Fuel Gas provides stable growth

At its current share price, Williamsville, New York-based National Fuel Gas' dividend delivers a yield of around 2.2%, and its payout ratio of only 37% leaves management plenty of room to hike the distribution. It's also a Dividend King with 55 straight years of dividend increases.

Its shares are up roughly 17% so far this year, but it still trades for less than 14 times earnings, below many of its competitors.

National Fuel Gas is an integrated energy company that balances upstream, midstream, and downstream segments. When natural gas prices are low, its utility and pipeline segments provide stability; when energy prices increase, its upstream segment delivers profit growth.

In its fiscal 2026 first quarter, which ended Dec. 31, its net income essentially quadrupled year over year to $181.6 million, or EPS of $1.98, up from $45 million and $0.49 in the prior-year period. That rise was driven by a 14% increase in realized natural gas prices, management said. It also affirmed its full-year adjusted EPS guidance of $7.60 to $8.10 per share, up from $6.91 in fiscal 2025.

National Fuel Gas reported record production, driven by high-efficiency drilling in its Utica Shale fields in Tioga County. It also has a low debt-to-equity ratio of around 0.37, giving it the liquidity to finance infrastructure projects and fund its $2.62 billion acquisition of CenterPoint Energy's Ohio gas utility, a deal expected to close this year. Adding CenterPoint will increase National Fuel Gas' income from predictable sources.

James Halley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.