Paralysis analysis. It's what happens when you have so many alternatives to evaluate that overthinking causes you to be unable to make a decision.
This condition can easily occur when selecting dividend stocks. Over 4,000 stocks traded on U.S. exchanges offer dividends. But income-seeking investors don't have to suffer from paralysis analysis. Here are three no-brainer dividend stocks to buy with $1,000 right now.
1. Brookfield Renewable Partners
Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP -2.10%) (BEPC -2.11%) offers a distribution yield of over 4.2% for its limited partnership shares (traded under the BEP ticker) and over 3.8% for its corporate shares (traded under the BEPC ticker). With either stock, you'll get a piece of the same underlying business.
That business is poised for tremendous growth. Brookfield Renewable currently operates hydroelectric, wind, solar, and distributed energy facilities that together generate roughly 25 gigawatts of power. The company's development pipeline should add another 110 gigawatts of capacity.
Are Brookfield Renewable's expansion plans overly ambitious? Not at all. Governments and major corporations across the world are pushing hard to reduce their carbon emissions. The demand for renewable energy will almost certainly continue to soar over the coming decades.
Brookfield Renewable shouldn't have a problem achieving its plans, either. CEO Connor Teskey stated in the first-quarter conference call that the company is on track to commission around 5 gigawatts of capacity this year. Brookfield also recently announced the acquisition of Australia's Origin Energy. This deal will enable Brookfield to add another 14 gigawatts of capacity.
The company expects to deliver total returns of between 12% and 15% per year on average over the long term. This translates to investors' money doubling every five to six years. That sounds like a no-brainer pick to me.
2. Enterprise Products Partners
While a transition to renewable energy is in progress, the use of fossil fuels won't diminish anytime soon. Actually, the demand for certain fossil fuels -- especially cleaner-burning natural gas and natural gas liquids -- could grow quite a bit. This makes Enterprise Products Partners (EPD -0.65%) a great option for income investors.
Enterprise is a midstream energy provider. It operates over 50,000 miles of pipeline plus other assets including natural gas processing plants, liquids storage facilities, and deepwater docks.
The company's dividend yield currently tops 7.5%. Even better, Enterprise has increased its distribution for 24 consecutive years. That streak is likely to continue.
Thanks to Enterprise's business model and financial strength, investors can depend on its dividend distributions. The company's revenue doesn't swing up and down along with commodity prices. Enterprise also avoids taking on too much debt and risk, which helps make its dividend one of the safest in the energy sector.
3. AbbVie
Some might be surprised to see AbbVie (ABBV 0.92%) on a list of no-brainer dividend stocks to buy. After all, the company's top-selling drug, Humira, lost U.S. patent exclusivity. The declining sales for Humira are dragging down AbbVie's total revenue, profits, and share price.
However, I'd argue that this scenario is what makes AbbVie a great contrarian pick right now. Many investors are only looking at the short-term prospects for the drugmaker, which indeed look dismal. But AbbVie's woes should only be temporary.
The company expects to return to growth in 2025. Two successors to Humira, Rinvoq and Skyrizi, are key factors behind that confidence. AbbVie believes the two drugs will together generate peak annual sales that exceed Humira's highest sales levels.
Investors will also be paid handsomely while they wait for AbbVie's business rebound. The company's dividend yield is over 4.1%. AbbVie is a Dividend King with 51 consecutive years of dividend increases. Look for the big drugmaker to extend its streak of dividend hikes.
