4 Dividend Stocks to Double Up On Right Now

Dividend stocks usually aren't exciting investments. Companies usually start paying dividends only when they run out of ways to expand their businesses, so they have less upside potential than growing companies that are still burning through cash.

However, good dividend stocks are also reliable investments in turbulent markets. Their yields limit downside potential, and they encourage long-term investors to hold the stocks to passively generate income rather than actively trade the near-term noise.

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The energy and consumer staples sectors are usually great places to find those dividend stocks. Many of those mature companies have the scale to survive protracted economic downturns, and they generate plenty of cash to fund their buybacks and dividends. Today, we'll take a look at four of those stocks that are worth buying right now: Chevron (NYSE: CVX), The Williams Companies (NYSE: WMB), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), and Altria (NYSE: MO).

The energy stocks: Chevron and Williams

Chevron, one of the world's largest integrated oil companies, pays a forward yield of 3.8%. It has raised that payout annually for 39 consecutive years, even as oil prices endured wild swings while wars, recessions, and other macro headwinds rattled the global economy.

Chevron's scale and diversification (across the upstream, downstream, and petrochemical production markets) have driven that stable growth. It gets most of its oil from the U.S., Kazakhstan, and Australia, so it's less exposed to the ongoing Middle East conflict than most of its big oil peers. Nevertheless, rising oil prices will still boost its upstream profits and generate more cash for its future dividend hikes and buybacks.

The Williams Companies is a midstream company that operates more than 33,000 miles of pipeline in the United States and transports about 30% of the country's natural gas production. Unlike many other midstream companies, which transport crude oil and other resources through pipelines, Williams transports only natural gas and certain natural gas liquids (NGLs).

That makes Williams a "pure play" on the growth of the natural gas market -- which has been driven by the expansion of power-hungry cloud, data center, and AI markets, as well as rising exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to other countries. As a pipeline operator, Williams simply charges upstream and downstream companies "tolls" to use its infrastructure. It pays a forward dividend yield of nearly 3% and has raised that payout annually for the past 10 years.

Therefore, if you're looking for simple ways to profit from soaring energy prices without much exposure to the Middle East, Chevron and Williams check all the right boxes.

The consumer staples stocks: Coca-Cola and Altria

Coca-Cola and Altria might initially seem like risky long-term investments. Coca-Cola faces declining soda consumption worldwide, while Altria -- the largest tobacco company in America -- is struggling to sell its flagship cigarette brand, Marlboro, as Americans smoke a lot less.

Yet Coca-Cola and Altria both diversified their businesses to offset that pressure. Coca-Cola now sells a broad range of bottled waters, fruit juices, teas, sports drinks, and other beverages. Altria sells e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, and snus, and aims to generate at least $5 billion in "smoke-free" revenue (about a quarter of its projected sales) by 2028. Both companies also constantly raise prices, cut costs, and repurchase more shares to boost EPS.

Coca-Cola and Altria are both Dividend Kings that have raised their payouts annually for at least 50 consecutive years. Coca-Cola has raised its dividend annually for 64 consecutive years, while Altria has increased its payout 60 times over the past 56 years. Coca-Cola pays a forward yield of 2.7%, while Altria pays a much higher 6.5% yield.

Those consistent dividends indicate both companies can weather the near-term headwinds and bounce back from any economic downturns. Those strengths should make them great safe-haven stocks to buy, hold, and forget in this unpredictable market.

Leo Sun has positions in Altria Group and Coca-Cola. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Chevron. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.