10 Best Dow Jones Dividend Stocks According to Wall Street Analysts

5. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Upside Potential as of February 6: 16.23%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is an American multinational telecommunications company that provides a wide range of communication services to its consumers. The company continued to benefit from strong wireless growth as seen in its recent quarterly earnings. Its wireless segment remains its primary revenue driver, posting a 3.1% year-over-year increase to $20 billion. Notably, this marked the 18th consecutive quarter of revenue growth. The company reported 568,000 total postpaid net additions during the quarter, including 426,000 net additions for wireless retail postpaid phones. Verizon also highlighted that Q4 saw its highest postpaid phone gross additions in five years.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) also demonstrated a solid cash position in FY24. The company generated $37 billion in operating cash flow during the year and reported a free cash flow of $19.8 billion, an increase from $18.7 billion the previous year. Analysts remain positive about its growth prospects, especially after its collaboration with NVIDIA to create an AI-powered enterprise solution aimed at optimizing AI applications on its secure 5G private networks with private Mobile Edge Computing. In addition, the company is advancing other AI-driven initiatives, including network slicing and satellite connectivity, to expand revenue opportunities and strengthen its market position.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), one of the best dividend stocks on our list, currently offers a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share. The company has been rewarding shareholders with growing dividends for the past 18 years. As of February 6, the stock has a dividend yield of 6.80%.

With a collective stake value of over $3.2 billion, 57 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held positions in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) at the end of Q3 2024. Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners was the company’s leading stakeholder in Q3.