The Smartest Dividend Stocks to Buy With $1,000 Right Now

As a newish investor, I used to get my head turned all the time by the next exciting growth stock. Growth stocks can be great, and more than a few of them have helped my portfolio grow well. But as I've gotten older and more experienced in investing, I've really come to appreciate dividend-paying stocks.

Here's a look at how powerful dividend stocks can be, and an introduction to a few you might consider for your own long-term portfolio.

Image source: Getty Images.

What's so great about dividends?

Check out the table below, because it might surprise you.

Data source: Ned Davis Research and Hartford Funds.

The table shouldn't be that surprising, though, because in order for a company's management to feel comfortable committing to a regular dividend payment, the company will typically have grown to a certain size, with fairly reliable income.

Note, too, that the best dividend stocks are, on average, ones that increase their payouts -- or that have just started paying dividends. Here are some promising dividend payers to consider.

1. Pfizer

Pfizer (PFE -0.67%) is a pharmaceutical company with a fat recent dividend yield of 6.9%. That payout has been growing, too, though not as briskly as that of UnitedHealth (discussed below). Its total annual payout was recently $1.71 per share, up from $1.38 in 2018.

Pfizer's dividend yield is fat largely because its stock is down -- by about 16.4% annually, on average, over the past three years. (Yikes!) But that has plumped up its dividend yield, and those who believe in the stock's long-term promise will be paid well to wait.

Part of Pfizer's problem is that after being a COVID-19 vaccine star, demand for the vaccine has waned. Also, some of its blockbuster sellers are facing patent protection expirations. But Pfizer has been planning for that, and it has a promising pipeline of products in development -- including oncology drugs it got via its acquisition of Seagen. Indeed, Pfizer is expecting to increase its number of blockbuster drugs from five to eight by 2030.

2. UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group (UNH -4.59%) has been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons -- such as an investigation of its Medicare practices by the Department of Justice. But the fact that its stock has fallen roughly in half over the past year has pushed up its dividend yield to a recent 3.15%.

Arguably even more important is that UnitedHealth has been a dividend grower. Its total annual payout was recently $8.51 per share, up from $6.40 in 2022 and $3.45 in 2018. My colleague Keith Speights has even suggested that UnitedHealth is the kind of stock Warren Buffett might be interested in.

It's not a stock for everyone, though, as its near-term future is a bit murky with the investigation in progress. But will it be around and doing well a decade from now? I suspect so.

3. Realty Income

Realty Income (O -0.69%) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) -- a company that owns lots of real estate, charging its tenants rent. REITs are required to pay out at least 90% of their taxable earnings as dividends, making many of them appealing dividend payers. Realty Income's dividend yield was recently 5.6% -- and unlike typical dividend stocks, it pays its dividend on a monthly basis. It has also paid its dividend for 661 months in a row (that's 55 years!) and has increased its payout for more than 30 consecutive years.

The company's portfolio of properties, as of early July 2025, featured more than 15,600 properties in all 50 U.S. states, the U.K., and six other countries in Europe -- with a 98.5% occupancy rate. Its 1,500-plus tenants include companies such as 7-Eleven, Dollar General, Walmart, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, and CVS Health.

Take some time to dig deeper into any of these dividend-paying companies that intrigue you, and see whether one or more might be a good fit for your long-term portfolio. Each one is poised to deliver plenty of income over time to shareholders.