My 2 Favorite Dividend Stocks to Buy Right Now

• Realty Income is 1 of the astir resilient REITs successful the market.

• Energy Transfer is 1 of the champion midstream MLPs.

• Both stocks volition pull much income investors arsenic involvement rates decline.

• 10 stocks we similar amended than Realty Income ›

Many dividend stocks slumped successful 2022 and 2023 arsenic rising involvement rates drove investors toward higher-yielding CDs, bonds, and T-bills. However, the Federal Reserve reduced its benchmark rates six times successful 2024 and 2025 arsenic ostentation cooled off.

As those rates declined, high-yield stocks became much appealing again. Let's instrumentality a person look astatine 2 of my idiosyncratic favorites -- Realty Income (NYSE: O) and Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) -- and wherefore they're inactive rock-solid stocks for income-oriented investors.

Realty Income is 1 of the world's largest equity existent property concern trusts (REITs). It buys up properties, leases them out, and splits its rental income with its tenants. As a triple-net lease REIT, its tenants are liable for covering their ain attraction fees, insurance, and spot taxes. It besides indispensable wage retired astatine slightest 90% of its taxable income arsenic dividends to support a little taxation rate.

Realty owns much than 15,500 commercialized properties crossed the U.S. and Europe. It chiefly leases its properties to recession-resistant retailers, including drugstores, convenience stores, and discount stores. Its largest tenants are 7-Eleven (3.3% of its annualized basal rent), Dollar General (3.2%), and Walgreens (3.1%).

Some of its tenants struggled with store closures successful caller years, but its stronger retail tenants opened much stores to offset that pressure. Its occupancy complaint has remained supra 96% since its IPO successful 1994, and this ratio has held dependable twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth astatine 98.7% successful the 3rd 4th of 2025.

Realty's resilient portfolio of income-generating properties enables it to wage monthly dividends, and it has raised its payout 132 times since its nationalist debut. It expects its adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per stock to emergence from $4.19 successful 2024 to $4.25-$4.27 successful 2025. That should easy screen its guardant dividend complaint of $3.22, which translates to a important guardant output of 5.6%.

At $57, Realty's banal inactive appears to beryllium a bargain astatine 13 times its estimated AFFO per stock for 2025. Its precocious output and debased valuation should bounds its downside successful this choppy market, and its precocious dividends should gully successful much income investors arsenic involvement rates decline.

Energy Transfer, 1 of the apical midstream companies successful America, operates implicit 140,000 miles of pipeline successful 44 states. It provides delivery, storage, and terminalizing services for earthy gas, liquefied earthy state (LNG), earthy state liquids, crude oil, and different refined products.