5 No-Brainer Dividend Stocks to Buy Right Now
Key Points
British American Tobacco and Verizon are two steady dividend stocks in defensive industries.
Realty Income and AGNC are two high-yield REITs that are solid buys after recent pullbacks.
Energy Transfer is one of the best high-yield stocks in the energy sector.
- 10 stocks we like better than British American Tobacco ›
Investors looking for solid dividend-paying stocks with high yields can find them in a variety of industries. Let's look at five you can buy right now.
British American Tobacco: 5.5% yield
British American Tobacco (NYSE: BTI) is a high-yield stock in the defensive tobacco industry that is starting to gain momentum. Its smokeless portfolio is becoming a larger part of its business, now representing more than 18% of its overall revenue, as its Velo Plus nicotine pouches are seeing extraordinary growth.
Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »
Its cigarette business continues to see volume declines, but strong pricing power continues to deliver overall revenue growth. At the same time, the company is in the process of deleveraging its balance sheet and is on track to reduce its leverage to between 2 to 2.5 times by the end of the year. This makes it a solid dividend stock to own.
Verizon: 5.6% yield
Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is another solid dividend-paying stock with a high yield in the defensive telecom industry. The company is shifting its focus from being more technology-driven to more customer service- and value-driven, which should help it reduce churn and drive growth. It produces strong free cash flow and has a solid balance sheet, all of which help support its dividend and allow it to grow. The company is also in the midst of a $25 billion stock buyback.
Verizon also has a big opportunity following the close of its acquisition of Frontier Communications. With Frontier, Verizon will be able to better bundle wireless and broadband services, which should drive growth.
Realty Income: 5.3% yield
Realty Income (NYSE: O) is one of the steadiest high-yield dividend stocks out there, having raised its dividend for more than 30 straight years. The real estate investment trust's (REIT's) core business is leasing out properties to recession-resistant retailers, like grocers and home improvement stores, using long-term triple net leases with 10- to 20-year initial terms and rent escalation clauses. However, it has been expanding into data centers, U.S. gaming, and industrial, as well as into Europe, to diversify and increase its total addressable market.
Realty Income is just a consistent operator that has the added bonus of paying its dividend on a monthly basis. As interest rates and cap rates go down, its real estate portfolio value should increase, adding a potential upside catalyst down the line.
Energy Transfer: 7% yield
Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) comes with a bit of a higher yield than the stocks previously mentioned, as well as ample growth opportunities. The master limited partnership (MLP) operates one of the largest midstream systems in North America, with a very extensive natural gas pipeline network. The company has several large growth projects in the works tied to rising natural gas demand stemming from the huge energy needs associated with AI data centers that should drive strong growth.
The company's distribution is well covered by its distributable cash flow, and it is looking to continue to grow its payout at a 3% to 5% pace moving forward. This is one of the best high-yielding stocks in the energy patch, in my view.
Image source: Getty Images.
AGNC Investment: 14.4% yield
If you're looking for a very high-yield stock, look no further than AGNC Investment (NASDAQ: AGNC). The mortgage REIT (mREIT) has seen its stock struggle this year due to a flight to safety into Treasury bonds caused by the current war with Iran and concerns over inflation. This has led to a widening of the spread between mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and Treasuries. This hurts the mREIT's tangible book value, which is essentially the value of its MBS portfolio.
That said, this environment should provide AGNC with a good opportunity to buy more MBS at attractive prices. I'd also expect this situation to be temporary and improve once the war is over. It could also lead to the Fed cutting rates more aggressively. AGNC is a bit riskier, but it has been navigating a tough MBS environment for a few years now while maintaining its dividend.
Should you buy stock in British American Tobacco right now?
Before you buy stock in British American Tobacco, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and British American Tobacco wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $490,325!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,074,070!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 900% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 184% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of March 25, 2026.
Geoffrey Seiler has positions in Energy Transfer. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Realty Income. The Motley Fool recommends British American Tobacco P.l.c. and Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
