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Top Wall Street analysts recommend these 3 dividend stocks for income investors
DRIDarden Restaurants(DRI) CNBC·2025-04-06 11:18

Group 1: Rithm Capital - Rithm Capital (RITM) is a global asset manager focusing on real estate, credit, and financial services, operating as a real estate investment trust (REIT) for tax purposes [3][4] - The company announced a dividend of 0.25pershareforQ1,withtotaldividendspaidsinceinceptionamountingtoapproximately0.25 per share for Q1, with total dividends paid since inception amounting to approximately 5.8 billion, resulting in a dividend yield of about 8.9% [4] - RBC Capital analyst Kenneth Lee reiterated a buy rating on RITM with a price target of 13,notingthecompany′sshifttowardsanalternativeinvestmentmanagermodel[5][6]−ManagementisconsideringrestructuringtoaC−corpstructureandevaluatingapotentialspin−offofNewrez,whichwouldallowRITMtoreallocatecapitalintootherinvestmentareas[7]Group2:DardenRestaurants−DardenRestaurants(DRI),ownerofOliveGardenandLongHornSteakhouse,reportedbetter−than−expectedearningsforQ3FY25butmissedrevenueexpectationsduetoadverseweather[9]−Thecompanydeclaredaquarterlydividendof13, noting the company's shift towards an alternative investment manager model [5][6] - Management is considering restructuring to a C-corp structure and evaluating a potential spin-off of Newrez, which would allow RITM to reallocate capital into other investment areas [7] Group 2: Darden Restaurants - Darden Restaurants (DRI), owner of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, reported better-than-expected earnings for Q3 FY25 but missed revenue expectations due to adverse weather [9] - The company declared a quarterly dividend of 1.40 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.8% [9] - JPMorgan analyst John Ivankoe reaffirmed a buy rating on DRI, raising the price target to 218from218 from 186, and highlighted strong comparable sales trends for Q4 FY25 [10][11] - Darden's operating margin is expected to expand from 12.1% in FY25 to 12.3% in FY28, supported by promotional strategies and the rollout of Uber Direct at qualifying locations [12] Group 3: Enterprise Products Partners - Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD) is a midstream energy services provider that paid a cash distribution of 0.535perunitforQ42024,reflectinga3.90.535 per unit for Q4 2024, reflecting a 3.9% year-over-year increase [14] - EPD stock offers a yield of 6.4% and has achieved 26 consecutive years of distribution growth, with a distributable cash flow coverage of 1.7 times the declared distributions [15] - RBC Capital analyst Elvira Scotto reiterated a buy rating on EPD with a price target of 37, citing a project backlog increase to $7.6 billion, primarily in Permian gathering and processing [16][17] - Scotto expressed optimism about EPD's consistent cash flows and solid balance sheet, which will support planned growth expenditures and additional opportunities [18]