Even as the major averages have recently hit fresh records, there are plenty of catalysts that could shake things up, including geopolitical tensions and the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

Investors seeking some stability in their portfolios may want to consider high-quality dividend stocks, especially those with a track record of steady income payments.

Analysts conduct thorough research of companies’ fundamentals and their ability to pay and increase dividends over the long term.   

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.

Enbridge

Energy infrastructure company Enbridge (ENB) is this week’s first dividend-paying pick. The company moves nearly 30% of North America’s crude oil production and about 20% of the natural gas consumed in the U.S.

Enbridge has increased its dividend for 29 years. It has a dividend yield of 7.7%.

Following its recent investor day event, RBC Capital analyst Robert Kwan reiterated a buy rating on ENB stock. The analyst thinks that recent developments, including regulatory approval of the acquisition of the East Ohio Gas Company, would support the market’s confidence in the company’s ability to grow its earnings.

It is worth noting that East Ohio Gas is the largest of the three utilities (the other two are Questar Gas and the Public Service Company of North Carolina) that Enbridge agreed to acquire from Dominion Energy.

“Dominion utilities represent the next episode in Enbridge’s series of growth platforms,” said Kwan.

The analyst highlighted that the company extended its growth targets through 2026 and now expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization growth in the range of 7% to 9% from 2023 through 2026. That compares with the previous growth outlook of 4% to 6% from 2022 to 2025. Additionally, the company anticipates that this forecast will enable it to increase its annual dividend.

Kwan ranks No. 191 among more than 8,700 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 67% of the time, with each generating an average return of 10.2%. (See Enbridge Hedge Funds Activity on TipRanks)

Bank of America

Next up is Bank of America (BAC), one of the leading banking institutions in the world. The bank returned $12 billion to shareholders via dividends and share repurchases in 2023.

The bank announced a dividend of 24 cents per share for the first quarter of 2024, payable on March 29. BAC stock offers a dividend yield of 2.6%.

Recently, RBC Capital analyst Gerard Cassidy reiterated a buy rating on Bank of America with a price target of $39. The analyst is optimistic about the leadership of chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan, who is helping the bank steadily generate improved profitability through a focus on expenses and solid credit underwriting principles.

Cassidy also noted that BAC has a solid balance sheet, with a common equity tier 1 ratio of 11.8% and a supplementary leverage ratio of 6.1% as of Dec. 31, 2023.

“Also, due to its strong capital position and PPNR (pre-tax, pre-provision revenue), it should be capable of paying and increasing its dividend throughout a downturn,” said Cassidy.

The analyst highlighted the bank’s growing deposit market share, its dominant position in global capital markets, and the stock’s attractive valuation. He expects BAC’s profitability to gain from the increased adoption of its mobile offerings.  

Cassidy ranks No. 143 among more than 8,700 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 62% of the time, with each generating an average return of 14.9%. (See BAC Technical Analysis on TipRanks)

PepsiCo

This week’s third dividend pick is snack food and beverage giant PepsiCo (PEP). Last month, the company reported better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter, even as its revenue declined and missed analysts’ expectations due to pressure on demand in the North American business.

Nonetheless, PepsiCo announced a 7% hike in its annualized dividend to $5.42 per share, effective with the dividend payable in June 2024. This increase marked the 52nd consecutive year in which it boosted its dividend payment. PepsiCo currently has a dividend yield of 2.9%.

Overall, PepsiCo is targeting cash returns to shareholders of about $8.2 billion in 2024, including $7.2 billion in dividends and $1 billion worth of share repurchases.

On March 18, Morgan Stanley analyst Dara Mohsenian upgraded PepsiCo stock to buy from hold with a price target of $190. The analyst cited two reasons behind an earlier downgrade of the stock – valuation concerns and his opinion that the consensus organic sales growth (OSG) guidance seemed too high.

However, Mohsenian noted, “Both of these issues have now played out, and we would be aggressive buyers here ahead of a powerful inflection in H2 after PEP bottoms fundamentally in Q1, and returns to above consensus and peer OSG, with PEP’s valuation compression overdone.”

The analyst named PepsiCo a top pick, contending that the market is not fully pricing in the growth prospects of the company’s international business.

Mohsenian ranks No. 383 among more than 8,700 analysts tracked by TipRanks. The analyst’s ratings have been profitable 68% of the time, with each generating an average return of 9.2%. (See PepsiCo Stock Buybacks on TipRanks)

JPMorgan Chase said Thursday that second-quarter profit slumped as the bank built reserves for bad loans by $428 million and suspended share buybacks.

The actions reflect Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon’s increasingly cautious stance. “The U.S. economy continues to grow and both the job market and consumer spending, and their ability to spend, remain healthy,” he said in the earnings release.

“But geopolitical tension, high inflation, waning consumer confidence, the uncertainty about how high rates have to go and the never-before-seen quantitative tightening and their effects on global liquidity, combined with the war in Ukraine and its harmful effect on global energy and food prices are very likely to have negative consequences on the global economy sometime down the road,” he warned.

With this outlook, the bank has opted to “temporarily” suspend its share repurchases to help it reach regulatory capital requirements, a prospect feared by analysts earlier this year. Last month, the bank was forced to keep its dividend unchanged while rivals boosted their payouts.

Shares of the bank fell 3.5% in premarket trading.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

Earnings per share: $2.76 vs. $2.88 expectedManaged revenue: $31.63 billion vs. $31.95 billion expected

Profit declined 28% from a year earlier to $8.65 billion, or $2.76 a share, driven largely by the reserve build, New York-based JPMorgan said in a statement. A year ago, the bank benefited from a reserve release of $3 billion.

Managed revenue edged up 1% to $31.63 billion, helped by the tailwind of higher interest rates, but was still below analysts’ expectations, according to a Refinitiv survey.

The bank’s miss on earnings “is not terrible” because non-Wall Street operations performed well as deposits grew and borrowers continue to repay debts, bank analyst Mike Mayo said Thursday in a research note. But it would be more palatable if the bank lowered guidance on expenses, he added.

JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, is closely watched for clues on how the banking industry fared during a quarter marked by conflicting trends. On the one hand, unemployment levels remained low, meaning consumers and businesses had little difficulty repaying loans. Rising interest rates and loan growth mean that banks’ core lending activity is becoming more profitable. And volatility in financial markets has been a boon to fixed income traders.

But analysts have begun slashing earnings estimates for the sector on concern about a looming recession, and most big bank stocks have sunk to 52-week lows in recent weeks. Revenue from capital markets activities and mortgages has fallen sharply, and firms are disclosing writedowns amid the broad decline in financial assets.

Importantly, a key tailwind the industry enjoyed a year ago — reserve releases as loans performed better than expected — has begun to reverse as banks are forced to set aside money for potential defaults as the risk of recession rises.

The bank had a $1.1 billion provision for credit losses in the quarter, including the $428 million reserve build and $657 million in net loan charge-offs for soured debt. JPMorgan said that it added to reserves because of a “modest deterioration” in its economic outlook.

Back in April, JPMorgan was first among the banks to begin setting aside funds for loan losses, booking a $902 million charge for building credit reserves in the quarter. That aligned with the more cautious outlook Dimon has been expressing. In early June he warned that an economic “hurricane” was on its way.

Asked on Thursday to update his forecast, Dimon told reporters during a conference call that it hadn’t changed, but that the concerns had edged closer, and that some of the financial dislocations he had feared had begun to materialize.

The slowdown in Wall Street deals stung JPMorgan, which has one of the biggest operations on the Street. Investment banking fees fell a steep 54% to $1.65 billion, $250 million below the $1.9 billion estimate. Revenue in that division was impacted by $257 million in markdowns on positions held in the firm’s bridge loans portfolio.

Fixed income trading revenue jumped 15% to $4.71 billion, but that was still well below analysts’ $5.14 billion estimate for the quarter, as strong results in macro trading were offset by weakness in credit and securitized products. Equities trading revenue also jumped 15%, to $3.08 billion, which edged out the $2.96 billion estimate.

One tailwind the company has is rising U.S. rates and a swelling book of loans. Net interest income jumped 19% to $15.2 billion for the quarter, topping analysts’ $14.98 billion estimate.

JPMorgan said at the firm’s investor day in May that it could achieve a key target of 17% returns this year, earlier than expected, thanks to higher rates. In fact, the bank hit that level this quarter.

Shares of JPMorgan have dropped 29% this year through Wednesday, worse than the 19% decline of the KBW Bank Index.

Morgan Stanley also reported earnings Thursday and like JPMorgan, its results were shy of Wall Street’s expectations. The bank was hurt by a drop investment banking revenue.

Wells Fargo and Citigroup are expected to post their results on Friday and Bank of America and Goldman Sachs are slated for Monday.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.