Dividend stocks are favored by plenty of investors -- and why not? No matter where you are on your investing journey, you could use some solid dividend stocks in your portfolio.

If you're a newer investor and still have years until retirement, then owning stocks that pay a consistent dividend is a great way to turbocharge your returns. Simply reinvest your quarterly or monthly payout into your portfolio and take advantage of the magic of compounded returns.

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And if you're in retirement, dividend stocks provide a reliable income stream that you can use for monthly bills, all the while reducing the amount that you're withdrawing from your account for basic living expenses. Dividend stocks can be the secret ingredient to making your retirement years happy and prosperous.

Of course, finding the best dividend stocks can sometimes be challenging. For this exercise, I used a stock screener to help me narrow the field. Because I wanted established companies, I limited the screen to companies with a market capitalization of $1 billion or more. Then I screened for companies reporting revenue growth of at least 20% and a year-to-date increase of at least 10% in price. Finally and most importantly, I limited the screen to stocks that pay a dividend yield of at least 1.75%.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD), Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG), and Equitable Holdings (NYSE: EQH) are among the top names that I found. And best of all, you can own a share of each of them for just $200 total.

Toronto-Dominion Bank

Toronto-Dominion Bank is the parent company of TD Bank, which in the U.S. operates from the Northeast to Florida. The bank is one of the biggest in Canada and the sixth-largest in North America by assets, and has nearly 28 million customers.

Earnings for the second quarter were CA$22.9 billion ($16.7 billion), up a whopping 66% on a year-to-date basis thanks to the company's sale of its 10% stake of Charles Schwab for $14.6 billion. The transaction came after TD Bank undertook a strategic review following a $3.1 billion fine it paid in 2024 in a money laundering investigation that also saw U.S. regulators impose an asset cap of $434 billion that restricts future growth in the U.S.

For shareholders, the money laundering fine was a disaster, but the company is on its way to recovery. It took CA$8 billion ($5.9 billion) from the Schwab sale for a stock buyback campaign that solidified TD Bank's stock price. The stock is up 39% so far this year, rising sharply since April, and 14 of 16 analysts who cover the stock on Yahoo! Finance have either a buy or hold recommendation.

Investors can also take comfort in knowing that Toronto-Dominion stock provides a 4.1% dividend yield and still trades 13% off its all-time high. So there's still plenty of room for growth.

Carlyle Group

Carlyle Group is a global investment firm that had $453 billion of assets under management at the end of Q1, up 6% from a year ago.

The company manages investments through private equity funds, assets, and by investing (or buying) companies that it can improve and sell for a profit or run efficiently. Carlyle has a record of investing in more than 20,000 companies since its founding, and it currently has more than 425 active investments.

Revenue in Q1 was $973.1 million, up from $688.4 million a year ago. Net income was $130 million, which was nearly double from the $65.1 million the company posted in 2024's Q1. Carlyle Group also pays a dividend yield of 2.7%. The stock is up 16% so far this year.

Equitable Holdings

Equitable is a New York-based insurance and financial services company that works with individuals and small businesses. The company says it has more than 3 million clients and just over $1 billion in assets under management, up from $975 million a year ago.

It has a primary focus on retirement planning. Its insurance portfolio focuses on full life and term life policies, as well as long-term care. It also has asset management and wealth management products. Equitable stock is up 13% so far this year and provides a dividend of 1.7%.

Should you invest $1,000 in Toronto-Dominion Bank right now?

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Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $671,477!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,010,880!*

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Charles Schwab is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Patrick Sanders has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Charles Schwab and recommends the following options: short June 2025 $85 calls on Charles Schwab. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• BYD isn't a typical Buffett stock, but has qualities that fit his philosophy.

• VeriSign makes the internet function as we know it today.

• Buffett loves Coca-Cola for the soda as well as as the company.

Warren Buffett is one of the most legendary figures on Wall Street. The longtime CEO of Berkshire Hathaway turned the company into a dominant conglomerate that has its hands in everything, including real estate, insurance, energy, consumer goods, and healthcare.

Under Buffett's leadership, Berkshire's portfolio gained 5,502,284% from 1965 to the end of 2024. By way of comparison, the S&P 500 gained 39,054%, including dividends, in that same period. Now 94 and planning a well-deserved retirement at the end of the year, Buffett undoubtedly belongs on the Mount Rushmore of investors.

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Buffett's philosophy involves buying quality businesses that have distinct competitive advantages. He invests for the long term, often holding stocks for decades, and tends to prefer companies with strong management, reliable earnings, and a consistent dividend.

Now that the calendar has turned to July and we're halfway through the year, this is a good time to take a cue from the Oracle of Omaha himself and choose stocks that are held in Buffett's portfolio. If you're looking for a new investment, you can't go wrong with these three Warren Buffett stocks: BYD (OTC: BYDDY), VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN), and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO).

BYD: An outlier that fits the Buffett mold

On the surface, BYD doesn't look like a Buffett stock. The Chinese company, which got its start in 1995 as a rechargeable battery maker, now is one of the world's biggest manufacturers of electric vehicles (EVs). It also works in rail transit, new energy, electronics, and power storage. Berkshire's stake in BYD is more than 162 million shares, valued at $2.5 billion.

Berkshire actually got involved with BYD because of the influence of Charlie Munger, the longtime Buffett confidant and late Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman. But the company fits with Berkshire's portfolio because of the key position it has in the Chinese EV market. BYD is by far the biggest supplier of EVs in China, delivering 3.52 million vehicles in 2024. The company in second place, Wuling, had just 673,279 deliveries.

Earnings for the first quarter showed revenue of $23.77 billion, up 36% from a year ago. Profits totaled $1.27 billion, up 100% from the same quarter a year ago.

VeriSign makes the internet functional

VeriSign is one of those businesses that you may not know a lot about, but as it turns out, you use its products every day. The Virginia-based company provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure -- in short, it's the exclusive registrar for websites that end in .com or .net.

The company says it provides support for 169.8 million domain names that end with .com or .net, and processes more than 428.1 billion domain name system (DNS) queries each day. The scope of its work, and its massive competitive moat are exactly the qualities that Buffett looks for when choosing a stock.

First-quarter financials included revenue of $402 million, up 4.7% from a year ago. Net income was $199 million and $2.10 per year, compared to $194 million and $1.92 per share in the first quarter of 2024. Buffett feels strongly enough about VeriSign that Berkshire owns 14.3% of the company, holding nearly 13.3 million shares.

Coca-Cola is a longtime Buffett favorite

Buffett is passionate about Coca-Cola, both as a beverage and as a company. He famously downs five cans of Coca-Cola per day, and once told Fortune magazine that he gets 25% of his daily calories from the carbonated drink.

But Coca-Cola does a lot more than its namesake soda. As people started looking for healthier options, Coca-Cola expanded its offerings to include bottled water, sports drinks, tea, and juices. It's even started a line of alcoholic beverages.

Earnings for the first quarter showed revenue down 2%, to $11.1 billion. But on the plus side, the company managed to improve its operating margin to 32.9% from just 18.9% in the first quarter of 2024. And earnings per share grew 5%, to $0.77 per share.

Berkshire owns 400 million shares of Coca-Cola stock, representing a 9.3% share. Its stake is worth a whopping $28.45 billion.

Should you invest $1,000 in BYD Company right now?

Before you buy stock in BYD Company, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and BYD Company wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $699,558!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $976,677!*

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*Stock Advisor returns as of June 30, 2025

Patrick Sanders has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway and VeriSign. The Motley Fool recommends BYD Company. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

These are challenging times. There's conflict here in the U.S., war breaking out in the Mideast, trade wars, and tariffs, as well as rising prices and recession fears. As gold prices soar and investors seek safe havens, how does one stay in the stock market and hedge against uncertainty?

Defensive, recession-resistant stocks are the way to go, and in that category, Kroger (NYSE: KR) stock deserves a closer look.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Kroger is a grocery giant that walks under the radar. Sure, it's not a flashy artificial intelligence stock, but it's one of the nation's largest grocery store chains and offers reliable earnings, rewards its shareholders, and plays an indispensable role in the communities in which it operates.

Kroger reported first-quarter earnings before the opening bell today. So, let's take a look at three reasons why Kroger stock is a buy now.

1. Kroger is a classic, defensive play with broad reach

There are few businesses that are more stable than the ones that provide our food. Even when people tighten their budgets, cancel vacations, or delay big-ticket purchases, they're still going to spend money at the grocery store.

Kroger currently operates more than 2,700 stores across the United States, including brands like Fred Meyer, Ralphs, King Soopers, Harris Teeter, and, of course, Kroger. It also operates more than 2,000 pharmacies in its stores and 1,500 fuel centers. That helps expand Kroger's reach into several revenue streams.

In addition, Kroger has nearly three dozen food production and manufacturing facilities where it produces private-label, low-cost products. These store brands are usually much cheaper than name-brand items and provide Kroger with greater profit margins -- particularly when customers are looking to stretch their grocery dollars.

2. Kroger has a reliable dividend

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett would likely be the first to tell you that the best stocks to hold represent companies that take care of their shareholders. And Kroger is definitely one of those.

Kroger stock currently offers a dividend yield of around 2% and the company has increased its dividend payout annually for the last 19 years. In addition, Kroger is providing more value to shareholders through a $7.5 billion share repurchase authorization, which includes a $5 billion accelerated buyback that was announced after its bid to acquire Albertsons failed.

Solid dividends and share buyback programs are important for any investor who is looking to build a portfolio with sustainable wealth. And perhaps that's why Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio contains 50 million shares of Kroger stock, valued at about $3.5 billion.

3. Kroger stock is cheap

One thing that you want to avoid when choosing defensive stocks is picking one that will negatively surprise the market when it gives a quarterly report. That's another reason to like Kroger: It consistently delivers in its quarterly reports, matching or beating analysts' expectations for earnings in each of the last four quarters.

That trend continued this week when Kroger issued its first-quarter numbers. Adjusted earnings per share of $1.49 were $0.04 better than expectations, and the company's gross margin increased from 22% a year ago to 23% now. The company just missed the revenue estimate, posting $45.12 billion versus analysts' consensus expectations of $45.16 billion. Investors were pleased, and the stock is up 7% at 10:15 a.m.

Kroger also announced it was taking a $100 million impairment charge related to the planned closings of 60 locations in the next 18 months. It increased its full-year identical sales guidance (excluding fuel sales) from an increase of 2% to 3% to an increase of 2.25% to 3.25%. This metric looks at sales in locations open five or more quarters.

While the company didn't break down its sales by segment, it said its e-commerce sales were up 15% on a year-over-year basis.

"We continue to believe that our strategy focusing on fresh, Our Brands and eCommerce will continue to resonate with customers and our resilient model positions us well to navigate the current environment," Chief Financial Officer David Kennerley was quoted as saying in the company press release.

Another thing that stands out is Kroger's valuation. Its forward price-to-earnings ratio of about 15 is attractive, as well as its price-to-sales ratio of around 0.3. It's much cheaper than competitors Walmart, Amazon, and Costco Wholesale.

KR PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

So, Kroger is providing great value and security in a challenging economic environment, and is doing so while being a dominant player in the grocery market.

The bottom line on Kroger stock

Kroger is a great long-term play that investors should consider right now. As uncertainty rises, it makes sense to gravitate toward stocks that are steady, essential, and take care of their shareholders.

While it was a disappointment that the Albertsons deal failed to materialize, I'm comfortable with the moves that Kroger is making now -- shedding unprofitable stores, focusing on e-commerce and its in-house brands. That's the kind of steady performance that I'm looking for when I consider defensive stocks.

Should you invest $1,000 in Kroger right now?

Before you buy stock in Kroger, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Kroger wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $659,171!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $891,722!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 995% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025

Patrick Sanders has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, Costco Wholesale, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends Kroger. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.