Top Wall Street analysts are upbeat about these 3 dividend stocks

Investors seeking a steady stream of income in these uncertain times can consider adding some attractive dividend stocks to their portfolios.

The selection of the right dividend stock involves a thorough analysis of the fundamentals of a company and its ability to sustain its dividend payments. Bearing that in mind, investors can follow the recommendations of Wall Street’s top analysts to pick dividend stocks that can boost their total returns.     

Here are three lucrative dividend stocks, according to Wall Street’s top experts on TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

This week’s first dividend stock is Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP), which operates a diversified portfolio of assets across the utilities, transport, midstream and data sectors.

Brookfield made a quarterly distribution of $0.3825 per unit on Dec. 29, 2023, which reflected a 6% year-over-year increase. On an annualized basis, BIP offers a dividend yield of 4.9%.

Earlier this month, BMO Capital analyst Devin Dodge reiterated a buy rating on BIP stock, calling it one of his top ideas for 2024. He raised the price target to $40 from $38 to reflect the impact of moderating long-term interest rates on his valuation methods. He finds BIP’s valuation compelling and predicts more than 6% growth in its annual distribution.

The analyst expects BIP to deliver an attractive rise in its funds from operations, as he thinks that key growth drivers could generate a low double-digit increase this year and possibly beyond. In fact, he thinks that there is room for an upside surprise compared to management’s outlook of FFO/unit growth of over 12% in the next one to three years.

Dodge also highlighted that Brookfield has a solid pipeline of new investment opportunities that are projected to generate returns above the company’s targeted range of 12% to 15%.

“In our view, BIP offers a compelling risk/reward underpinned by double-digit FFO/unit…