2 No-Brainer, High-Yield Stocks to Buy With $2,000 Right Now

The S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is trading near all-time highs and has a pretty miserly 1.2% or so dividend yield. If you are an income investor, that suggests that you have your work cut out for you right now. But there are great investment options with high yields out there if you take the time to look. Two no-brainer choices today, if you have $2,000 or $20,000 to invest, are Brookfield Renewable (NYSE: BEP)(NYSE: BEPC) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX). Here's what you need to know.

Brookfield Renewable is positioned to grow

Brookfield Renewable owns a globally diversified portfolio of clean energy assets. On the geographic front, its portfolio spans across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. On the technology front, the business has exposure to hydroelectric, solar, wind, energy storage, and nuclear power assets. It is as close to a one-stop shop as you can get in the renewable energy space.

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The interesting thing here, however, is that Brookfield Renewable is not a regulated utility. It largely sells its power under long-term contracts to others, including both companies and utilities. This actually gives it a lot of room to grow as the world increasingly shifts from carbon-based fuels toward cleaner alternatives. For example, it recently inked a deal with Microsoft to provide around 10.5 gigawatts of power that the technology giant will use to support its data center build-out. Basically, Brookfield Renewable can grow as it sees fit without having to kowtow to regulators who may put limits on its investment plans.

And this brings up another interesting fact: Brookfield Renewable is run by Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM). Brookfield Asset Management has an over-100-year history of investing in infrastructure on a global scale. And it plans to increase its clean-energy investments, where Brookfield Renewable is a key source of funding, by around 100% by 2030. Buying Brookfield Renewable lets you partner with Brookfield Asset Management on that growth.

There are two ways to buy in here. Brookfield Renewable Partners has a 5.6% yield. Brookfield Renewable Corporation has a 4.6% dividend yield. Both represent the exact same entity and have the exact same dividend payment. The yield difference is because demand for the corporate share class is higher, which makes sense given that large institutional investors are often barred from owning partnerships.

Either way you go, Brookfield Renewable appears well positioned to expand its business as the world goes green. And you can collect a fat yield that has been regularly increased if you buy in right now. A $2,000 investment will get you 75 shares of the partnership units and 60 shares of the corporate shares.

Chevron is out of favor for two reasons

Chevron is a globally diversified, integrated energy giant offering an attractive 4.7% dividend yield. The dividend has been increased for an incredible 38 consecutive years. That's incredible because oil and natural gas prices tend to be highly volatile, which means that Chevron's top and bottom lines tend to be volatile, too.

However, Chevron has an ace up its sleeve in the form of a strong balance sheet. A low level of leverage allows it to take on debt during industry downturns so it can continue to support its business and dividend. When oil prices recover, as they always have historically, it pays down debt in preparation for the next downturn. In addition to this rock-solid financial foundation, Chevron's diversified business also helps. With investments in energy production (the upstream), energy transportation (the midstream), and energy processing (the downstream), the peaks and valleys of oil prices get muted to some degree.

That said, Chevron is out of favor right now, which has led to the lofty yield. Part of the reason for that is generally weak energy prices. Those low prices are impacting the entire energy sector. But Chevron also has some company-specific issues. First, it is attempting to buy Hess, but the process has turned out to be more complicated than hoped. Second, Chevron has investments in Venezuela, a tenuous country in which to invest. Those assets have become a bit of a political football. Neither of these things is good, but they aren't likely to derail Chevron over the long term.

The currently high yield is an opportunity for investors who can think long term. You may have to suffer through some near-term lagging performance, but if you buy now, you'll get paid well for waiting around. A $2,000 investment in Chevron will get you around 13 shares.

Looking for yield, start with this pair of high yielders

With lofty yields, Brookfield Renewable and Chevron should both be attractive to dividend investors. But the real key to the story here is that both have strong businesses to support those dividends. If you think in decades and not days, these two high-yield stocks could be no-brainer additions to your portfolio right now.

Should you invest $1,000 in Brookfield Renewable right now?

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Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in Brookfield Renewable Partners. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Chevron and Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends Brookfield Asset Management, Brookfield Renewable, and Brookfield Renewable Partners and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.