Top Wall Street analysts are pounding the table on these 3 dividend stocks

Dividend-paying
stocks
can
enhance
investors’
portfolio
returns
and
provide
certainty
in
shaky
markets.

Investors
can
track
Wall
Street
analysts’
ratings
to
select
stocks
of
dividend-paying
companies
that
have
attractive
growth
prospects,
which
could
boost
earnings
and
cash
flows
to
support
higher
dividends.

Here
are
three
attractive dividend
stocks,
according
to Wall
Street’s
top
experts on
TipRanks,
a
platform
that
ranks
analysts
based
on
their
past
performance.

Northern
Oil
and
Gas

This
week’s
first
dividend
stock
is


Northern
Oil
and
Gas
(NOG).
The
company
engages
in
the
acquisition,
exploration
and
production
of
oil
and
natural
gas
properties,
mainly
in
the
Williston,
Permian
and
Appalachian
basins.

NOG
paid
a
dividend
of

40
cents
per
share
for
the
first
quarter,
reflecting
an
18%
year-over-year
increase.
The
stock
offers
a
dividend
yield
of
4.1%.
The
company
also
enhanced
shareholder
returns
through
stock
buybacks
worth

$20
million
in
Q1
2024.

NOG
recently
announced
an
agreement
to
acquire
a

20%
undivided
stake
in
the
Uinta
Basin
assets
of
XCL
Resources
for
$510
million.
The
deal
will
be
made
in
partnership
with
SM
Energy.

Reacting
to
the
news,
RBC
Capital
analyst

Scott
Hanold
reiterated
a
buy
rating
on
NOG
stock
with
a
price
target
of
$46.
Following
discussions
with
management,
the
analyst
noted
that
similar
to
NOG’s
strategy
in
the
Permian
and
Williston
Basins,
there
is
a
possibility
of
further
expansion
in
the
Uinta
Basin
through
additional
deals.

Hanold
said
the
deal
was
in
line
with
NOG’s
strategy
of
collaborating
with
high-quality
operators
like
SM
Energy
to
capture
lucrative
opportunities.
“This
is
NOG’s
fourth
large
JV
[joint
venture]
and
meaningfully
adds
to
its
diversity,
returns,
and
inventory
runway,”
he
said.

The
analyst
boosted
his
2025
earnings
per
share
and
cash
flow
per
share
estimates
by
11%
to
12%
and
increased
his
free
cash
flow
per
share
forecast
by
10%,
given
that
the
XCL
deal
is
significantly
accretive.
He
thinks
that
the
solid
free
cash
flow
outlook
could
enable
NOG
to
hike
its
base
dividend.
Hanold
estimates
a
10%
to
15%
increase
in
dividend
in
2025.  
 

Hanold
ranks
No.
23
among
more
than
8,900
analysts
tracked
by
TipRanks.
His
ratings
have
been
profitable
67%
of
the
time,
delivering
an
average
return
of
26.7%.
(See

NOG
Stock
Buybacks
on
TipRanks)  

JPMorgan
Chase

JPMorgan
Chase
(JPM),
the
largest
U.S.
bank
by
assets,
is
the
next
dividend
pick.
Last
month,
the
bank
announced
its
plans
to

increase
its
dividend
by
about
9%
to
$1.25
per
share
for
the
third
quarter
of
2024.
JPM
offers
a
dividend
yield
of
2.2%.

JPM
highlighted
that
this
potential
increase
in
the
Q3
dividend
would
mark
the
second
dividend
hike
this
year.
In
March
2024,
the
bank
announced
an

increase
in
its
dividend
to
$1.15
per
share
from
$1.05.
Moreover,
JPM’s
board
has
authorized
a
new
share
repurchase
program
of
$30
billion,
effective
July
1,
to
boost
shareholder
returns.

Recently,
RBC
Capital
analyst

Gerard
Cassidy
reaffirmed
a
buy
rating
on
JPM
stock
with
a
price
target
of
$211.
The
analyst
cited
several
reasons
for
his
bullish
investment
thesis,
including
a
strong
management
team,
JPM’s
impressive
business
lines
that
rank
among
the
top
three
in
the
banking
space
and
a
robust
balance
sheet.

“We
believe
that
as
the
company
builds
economies
of
scale
in
its
consumer
and
capital
markets
businesses,
it
will
realize
enhanced
profitability
by
taking
market
share
from
its
weaker
competitors,”
said
Cassidy.

The
analyst
also
highlighted
JPM’s
well-diversified
business
model
that
derives
revenue
from
Consumer
and
Community
banking
(41%
of
Q1
2024
revenue),
Corporate
and
Investment
Banking
(32%),
Asset
and
Wealth
Management
(12%),
Commercial
Banking
(9%)
and
Corporate
(5%).

Cassidy
ranks
No.
128
among
more
than
8,900
analysts
tracked
by
TipRanks.
His
ratings
have
been
successful
63%
of
the
time,
delivering
an
average
return
of
14.7%.
(See

JPM
Stock
Charts
on
TipRanks) 

Walmart

Finally,
we
will
look
at
big-box
retailer


Walmart
(WMT).
Earlier
this
year,
the
company
increased
its
dividend
by
9%
to
83
cents
per
share.
This
increase
represented
Walmart’s

51st
consecutive
annual
hike.

In
the
fiscal
first
quarter,
WMT
returned

$2.73
billion
to
shareholders
through
$1.67
billion
in
dividends
and
$1.06
billion
in
share
repurchases.
With
a
payout
ratio
of
37.5%,
the
company
sees
the
possibility
of
further
growth
in
its
dividend.

Recently,
Jefferies
analyst

Corey
Tarlowe
reiterated
a
buy
rating
on
WMT
with
a
price
target
of
$77,
saying
that
the
stock
remains
his
firm’s
top
pick.
The
analyst
thinks
that
Walmart
is
in
the
early
phase
of
its
artificial
intelligence
and
automation
journey.

Tarlowe
thinks
that
AI
and
automation
could
help
double
the
company’s
operating
income
by
fiscal
year
2029
compared
to
fiscal
year
2023,
delivering
more
than
$20
billion
of
incremental
earnings
before
interest
and
taxes.
The
analyst
expects
the
increased
operating
income
to
be
driven
by
several
factors,
including
automation
efficiencies,
advertising,
theft
mitigation
and
autonomous
driving.

Among
the
recent
AI
developments,
the
analyst
highlighted
WMT’s
strategic
investment
and

partnership
with
Fox
Robotics,
which
provides
the
world’s
first
autonomous
forklift.
He
also
mentioned
the
deployment
of
automatic
receipt
verification
arches
at
Sam’s
Club
as
part
of
the
company’s
AI
strategy. 

“Overall,
we
expect
WMT
to
command
an
increasingly
large
share
of
customer
spending
through
bolstered
omnichannel
capabilities,
partnerships,
and
services,”
said
Tarlowe.

Tarlowe
ranks
No.
266
among
more
than
8,900
analysts
tracked
by
TipRanks.
His
ratings
have
been
successful
67%
of
the
time,
delivering
an
average
return
of
19.7%.
(See

WMT
Technical
Analysis
on
TipRanks)