The stock market has gotten off to a rough start this year, as Wall Street focuses on the possibility of a recession. One way to weather market volatility is to focus on quality dividend stocks, and this is the perfect time to consider adding some to your portfolio.
Lower share prices have driven up the yields of strong businesses that have been paying regular dividends for decades. Here are two to consider buying right now.
1. Target
Target (TGT 8.56%) is an established retailer that has paid a dividend since 1967. Higher inflation hit Target harder than other retailers over the last few years. Its focus on non-essential categories like apparel makes it more vulnerable to weak consumer-spending trends, which contributed to sales declines the past few years, while competitors like Walmart continued to grow. This has driven the stock down but bumped its dividend yield above 4%.
NYSE: TGT
Key Data Points
Target is showing signs of turning around. It posted a fourth-quarter comparable sales increase of 1.5% year over year, driven by higher store traffic and online sales. Moreover, the most economically sensitive categories like apparel notched a notable sales improvement over Q3.
Analysts expect Target to grow sales by 1.2% this year before improving to 3% next year, according to Yahoo! Finance. The stock offers solid value trading at less than 12 times this year's earnings estimate.
The company pays half its earnings in dividends, which provides plenty of wiggle room to sustain the dividend. With the quarterly payment currently set at $1.12, the forward dividend yield is 4.27%. That's more attractive than the S&P 500's trailing yield of 1.35% at the time of this writing. Target's dividend would translate to $427 in income over the next year on a $10,000 investment.
Target is an essential stop for millions of people. Management noted that recent traffic increases translated to 350 million more guest trips to its stores in 2024 compared to 2019. It is aiming to gain over $15 billion of additional revenue over the next five years. Buying shares today should continue to pay dividends for many years, with the added bonus of stock price appreciation potential from a low valuation today.
2. Realty Income
Realty Income (O 1.76%) is another top choice for investors looking to boost their passive income this year. This business operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT), so it's required to distribute at least 90% of its taxable income (excluding capital gains) to shareholders in dividends. It owns and leases more than 15,000 properties, providing a steady stream of rent income from established industry leaders like Walmart and FedEx.
NYSE: O
Key Data Points
The company's focus on leasing properties to strong businesses that can withstand a recession ensures dividend stability. Its high-quality property portfolio has translated to 30 consecutive years of dividend growth.
It also pays dividends on a monthly basis. Its current payout is $0.2685, bringing the forward yield to an attractive 5.65%. This is a sustainable payout of 76% of trailing adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) of $4.19. Over the next year, the current monthly payout would earn an investor $565 in dividend income on a $10,000 investment.
The stock is down 30% over the last three years from rising interest rates, which puts downward pressure on real estate values. But this is why investors can get the stock at such a great yield and valuation. The stock is currently trading at a relatively low price-to-AFFO multiple of 13.
The stock also offers attractive long-term return potential. Management sees a strong pipeline of investment opportunities and forecasts $4 billion in investment volume this year. Realty Income has the resources and scale to land large transactions at attractive valuations. It recently closed a $770 million sale-leaseback deal with 7-Eleven, which is now its top client at 3.5% of the REIT's annualized rent.
