24\/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding new ideas for investors and traders alike. The calls seen in the past week show that analysts still favor tech stocks, even though the sector has soared in the past year but struggled lately.<\/p>\n
Many of the recommendations this past week called for investors to consider stocks that pay solid dividends. Worries about the impact on the economy of the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant, rising inflation–is it temporary or permanent–and an end to the Fed’s easy money policy suggest that dividends may become an investor’s new best friend.<\/p>\n
Here are five top dividend-paying stocks that are solid choices.<\/p>\n
KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) is a regional bank that serves individuals and small- and medium-sized businesses. The bank’s market cap is almost $19.5 billion and it beat earnings and revenue estimates handily when it reported quarterly results last month. Seven analysts rate the stock a Buy and nine give the shares a Hold rating. Last week, Morgan Stanley reiterated an Equal Weight rating and lowered its price target from $26 to $25 while RBC maintained an Outperform rating and raised its price target from $33 to $36.<\/p>\n
The median target is $22 and the stock closed Friday at $20.33, implying a potential upside of around $10%. KeyCorp pays an annual dividend of $0.74 for a yield of 3.54%.<\/p>\n
In addition to its regional corporate and consumer banking services, Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) also offers wealth management services. The bank’s market cap is about $19.1 billion and, like KeyCorp, Regions beat on both the top and bottom lines when it reported second-quarter results last month. Morgan Stanley reiterated an Overweight rating but lowered its price target on the stock from $24 to $19.29 after the earnings report. Citigroup had initiated coverage before the report with a Hold rating and a price target of $19.29. The median price target is $23 and 12 of 25 analysts have a Buy or Strong Buy rating on the shares.<\/p>\n
The stock closed Friday at $19.96, implying an upside potential of 15%. Regions pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share for a yield of 3.18%.<\/p>\n