Interest Rates Tumble: Grab Our 5 AllTime Favorite Safe 6%+ Dividend Stocks Lee JacksonOctober 18, 2025 at 2:49 AM 0 shapecharge / Getty Images Investors love dividend stocks, especially those with safe high yields, because they provide a substantial income stream and offer significant total return ...
- - Interest Rates Tumble: Grab Our 5 All-Time Favorite Safe 6%+ Dividend Stocks
Lee JacksonOctober 18, 2025 at 2:49 AM
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Investors love dividend stocks, especially those with safe high yields, because they provide a substantial income stream and offer significant total return potential. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends, and distributions realized over time. In other words, the total return on an investment or a portfolio consists of income and stock appreciation. At 24/7 Wall St., we consistently emphasize the potential of total return to our readers. It is one of the most effective ways to enhance the prospects of overall investing success. Once again, total return refers to the collective increase in a stock's value, including dividends. With interest rates trending lower, our favorite all-time dividend stocks are looking increasingly attractive for those seeking passive income.
There are over 12,000 publicly traded stocks in the United States; not even the most intelligent investors with the best tools can find them all immediately. Many investors and traders typically maintain a small list of key stocks they follow when seeking capital gains or high-yield dividends. We decided to screen our 24/7 Wall St. high-yield database to check up on our favorite companies, while looking for those yielding at least 6% with solid dividend coverage. Five well-run companies hit our screens, and all look like timely buys now as interest rates trend lower.
Why do we cover dividend stocks?
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Since 1926, dividends have contributed approximately 32% of the total return for the S&P 500, while capital appreciation has contributed 68%. Therefore, sustainable dividend income and capital appreciation potential are essential for total return expectations. A study by Hartford Funds, in collaboration with Ned Davis Research, found that dividend stocks delivered an annualized return of 9.18% over the 50 years from 1973 to 2023. Over the same timeline, this was more than double the annualized return for non-payers (3.95%).
Altria
Altria is one of the world's largest producers and marketers of cigarettes and tobacco-related products. This tobacco company offers value investors a compelling entry point and a generous dividend yield of 6.21%. Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) manufactures and sells smokable and oral tobacco products in the United States through its subsidiaries.
The company's dividend payout is based on free cash flow, ranging from 64% to 80%, depending on the quarter. In recent quarters, free cash flow has exceeded dividend payments, providing a solid buffer. Altria generates strong cash flow from its core tobacco business, which provides a stable base, albeit with regulatory risk, and yields are among the highest in the S&P 500, at least for now.
The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand, as well as:
Cigars and pipe tobacco, principally under the Black & Mild and Middleton brands
Moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands
on! Oral nicotine pouches
e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand
It sells its tobacco products primarily to wholesalers, including distributors and large retail organizations, such as chain stores.
Altria used to own over 10% of Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A. (NYSE: BUD), the world's largest brewer. In March of 2024, the company sold 35 million of its 197 million shares through a global secondary offering. That represents 18% of its holdings but still leaves 8% of the outstanding shares in its back pocket. At the same time, Altria also announced a $2.4 billion stock repurchase plan partially funded by the sale.
Stifel has a Buy rating with a $63 target price.
Conagra Brands
Conagra Brands Inc. (NYSE: CAG) manufactures and sells products under various brands in supermarkets, restaurants, and foodservice establishments. This is the ideal company for nervous investors, as it pays shareholders a substantial and secure 7.53% dividend, which has increased following the stock price drop. However, the payout's sustainability is supported by a payout ratio of about two-thirds of earnings. Conagra and its subsidiaries operate primarily as a consumer packaged goods food company in the United States.
The company operates through four segments:
Grocery & Snacks
Refrigerated & Frozen
International
Foodservice
The Grocery & Snacks segment primarily offers shelf-stable food products through various retail channels.
The Refrigerated & Frozen segment provides temperature-controlled food products through various retail channels.
The International segment offers food products in various temperature states through retail and food service channels outside the United States.
The food service segment offers branded and customized food products, including meals, entrees, sauces, and various custom-manufactured culinary products packaged for restaurants and other food service establishments.
The company sells its products under these familiar brands:
Birds Eye
Marie Callender's
Duncan Hines
Healthy Choice
Slim Jim
Reddi-Wip
Angie's
Barclays has an Overweight rating with a target price of $21.
Enterprise Products Partners
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) is an American midstream natural gas and crude oil pipeline company headquartered in Houston, Texas. This company is one of the most extensive publicly traded energy partnerships, paying a very reliable 6.85% dividend.
The company's debt-to-EBITDA ratio ranges from 3.1x to 3.4x, which is moderate for a midstream energy company, and the interest coverage ratio is 5 times. Enterprise Products Partners generates strong free cash flow, with an operating cash flow of approximately $8.8 billion. This results in around $4.2 billion in free cash flow annually, after deducting capital expenditures. Another significant benefit for shareholders is that most of the corporate debt is fixed-rate, thereby limiting the risk of rising interest rates.
Enterprise Products Partners provides various midstream energy services, including:
Gathering
Processing
Transporting and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL), and fractionation
Import and export terminalling
Offshore production platform services
The company has four reportable business segments:
Natural Gas Pipelines and Services
NGL Pipelines and Services
Petrochemical Services
Crude Oil Pipelines and Services
One reason many analysts like the stock might be its distribution coverage ratio. The company's coverage ratio is well above 1x, making it relatively less risky among the MLPs.
J.P. Morgan has an Overweight rating with a $38 price objective.
Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs. This top pharmaceutical stock, which pays a huge 6.47% dividend, was a massive winner in the COVID-19 vaccine sweepstakes, but has been crushed over the last two years as many people have not received boosters. Pfizer discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It pays a dependable dividend, which has risen yearly for the past 14 years.
The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including:
Cardiovascular, metabolic, and women's health under the Premarin family and Eliquis brands
Biologics, small molecules, immunotherapies, and biosimilars under the Ibrance, Xtandi, Sutent, Inlyta, Retacrit, Lorbrena, and Braftovi brands
Sterile injectable and anti-infective medicines and oral COVID-19 treatment under the Sulperazon, Medrol, Zavicefta, Zithromax, Vfend, Panzyga, and Paxlovid brands
Pfizer also provides medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, such as:
Pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease, and tick-borne encephalitis
COVID-19 under the Comirnaty/BNT162b2, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, Trumenba, and the Prevnar family brands
Biosimilars for chronic immune and inflammatory diseases under the Xeljanz, Enbrel, Inflectra, Eucrisa/Staquis, and Cibinqo brands
Amyloidosis, hemophilia, and endocrine diseases under the Vyndaqel/Vyndamax, BeneFIX, and Genotropin brands
Pfizer anticipates full-year 2025 revenues in the range of $61.0 to $64.0 billion. This includes the expectation that revenues from COVID-19 products in 2025 will be broadly consistent with those in 2024, after excluding approximately $1.2 billion of non-recurring revenue for Paxlovid in 2024.
Jefferies has a Buy rating, accompanied by a $33 target price.
Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications company that continues to offer tremendous value. It trades 9.13 times its estimated 2026 earnings, pays a 6.55% dividend, and is up almost 9% in 2025. Verizon provides a range of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and government entities worldwide.
Verizon's interest coverage ratio is 4.6× to 5.0× trailing 12 months, which offers more than enough cushion for dividend payments. With a very predictable revenue stream from telecom services, the company has less exposure to commodity cycles. In addition, the large scale helps in financing and absorbing shocks.
It operates in two segments:
Verizon Consumer Group
Verizon Business Group
The Consumer segment provides wireless services across the United States through Verizon and TracFone networks, as well as through wholesale and other arrangements.
It also provides fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband through its wireless networks and related equipment and devices, such as:
Smartphones
Tablets
Smartwatches and other wireless-enabled connected devices
The segment also offers wireline services in the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States through its fiber-optic network, Verizon Fios product portfolio, and copper-based network.
The Business segment provides wireless and wireline communications services and products, including:
FWA broadband
Data
Video and conferencing
Corporate networking
Security and managed network
Local and long-distance voice
Network access services to deliver various IoT services and products to businesses, government customers, and wireless and wireline carriers in the United States and internationally.
Goldman Sachs has a Buy rating and a $50 price target.
Four Stocks That Yield at Least 12% Are Passive Income Kings
Source: "AOL Money"
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