# Three dividend stocks the top analysts like now

> Energy Transfer, Permian Resources and Sempra, and the case each top-ranked analyst makes for owning them.
- Title: Three dividend stocks the top analysts like now · CNBC
- Summary: Energy Transfer, Permian Resources and Sempra, and the case each top-ranked analyst makes for owning them. Yield alone is not the reason to buy. Each of…
- Keywords: dividends, investing, energy, utilities, stocks, business, finance, Three, dividend, top, analysts, like
- Source: CNBC — https://cnbc.com/2026/09/13/top-wall-street-analysts-recommend-these-3-dividend-stocks-for-higher-returns.html
- Author: TipRanks.com Staff
- Published: 2026-09-13T11:53:35+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: dividends, investing, energy, utilities, stocks, business, finance
## Income plus upside
Dividend payers give you a steady cheque while you wait for the share price to move. In a choppy market, that income is the part you can count on.
## Why analyst picks matter
TipRanks ranks Wall Street analysts by how their past calls actually performed. These three names come from pros with track records you can check.
## Energy Transfer pays 6.3%
The midstream operator runs about 140,000 miles of pipeline across 44 states. It paid 34 cents per unit for Q2 2026, or $1.36 annualised.
## A raised guidance, a raised target
JPMorgan's Jeremy Tonet kept his buy and nudged his target to $25 after a Q2 beat. Energy Transfer lifted 2026 EBITDA guidance to $18.8B-$19.1B and tightened capex.

> All in, we see ET well positioned to continue capitalizing on organic growth opportunities across the value chain.
## Pipelines coming online
Hugh Brinson Phase 1 hit full capacity of 1.5 bcfd by September 1, with Phase II's 0.7 bcfd due by Q1 2027. Talks are closing on 250 mmcfd for Oklahoma power plants.
## Permian Resources buys its future
The oil and gas producer yields about 2.7% on a $0.64 annualised dividend. Goldman's Neil Mehta raised his target to $27 from $22 on better production and efficiency.

> We see the continued success of PR's ground game as constructive toward future inventory replenishment.
## The ground game math
Permian has closed roughly $1.05 billion in bolt-on deals this year. Mehta expects free cash flow per share to compound at 20% a year through 2028.
## Sempra, cheap for a reason
The utility yields about 3.1% and trades 14% below electric peers on worries about Texas transmission spending and a failed California bill. Jefferies upgraded it to Buy anyway.

> We are early on the upgrade but see limited downside at current levels as the market is pricing in little transmission upside.
## Key takeaway

Yield alone is not the reason to buy. Each of these three has an analyst pointing to a specific cash-flow engine behind the payout.