Investors looking for income-paying stocks can find some bargains in dividend aristocrats, according to Wolfe Research. Dividend aristocrats are companies that have increased their dividends in each of the past 25 years. “After recent underperformance, Dividend Aristocrats’ relative PE vs. the S & P 500 is at a historically inexpensive ~.83x with a dividend yield of ~2.5%,” analyst Chris Senyek said in a note Tuesday. NOBL YTD mountain ProShares S & P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF year to date He attributes that underperformance to the group’s defensive nature. The largest sector weights are in staples, industrials and financials, while just 3% is in technology, Senyek said. While it’s his favorite strategy to play defense, it is among the dividend themes that can be used in any market, he noted. To that end, Senyek and his team compiled a list of 30 dividend aristocrat stocks that also hit on two other themes he likes — high dividend growth or those in the second quintile of dividend yield. Here are some of the names that hit all three — they are dividend aristocrats that have a last-12-month dividend growth greater than the market and are in the second quintile of dividend yield. Becton Dickinson ‘s stock has a 2.19% dividend yield and is down 16% year to date. The medical technology company’s fourth-quarter earnings topped expectations last month, but its revenue came in below the consensus estimate. Becton Dickinson, which was targeted by activist investor Starboard earlier this year, announced in July that lab equipment maker Waters will buy a spin off of its bioscience and diagnostics unit . The stock has an average analyst rating of overweight and 3.7% upside to the average analyst price target, according to FactSet. Abbott Laboratories also has an average rating of overweight by analysts who cover the stock. It has 15.4% upside to the average price target, per FactSet. The health-care company issued disappointing results in October on both the top and bottom line for its third quarter. ABT YTD mountain Abbott Laboratories year to date In November, Abbott said it would buy Exact Sciences , which makes cancer test Cologuard. The deal, worth up to $23 billion , is one of Abbott’s largest in nearly a decade. It is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026. “Exact Sciences’ innovation, its strong brand and customer-focused execution are unrivaled in the cancer diagnostics space, and its presence and strengths are complementary to our own,” CEO Robert B. Ford said in a statement at the time. The stock has a 1.84% dividend yield and has moved 11% higher so far this year. Lastly, General Dynamics has gained 27% year to date and yields 1.81%. The defense and aerospace company raised its full-year earnings guidance in October. It also reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street’s expectations. “Each of our four segments grew earnings and backlog in the quarter, reflecting solid execution coupled with growing demand,” CEO Phebe Novakovic said in the earnings release. “The Aerospace segment in particular performed impressively, growing revenue 30.3% and expanding margins by 100 basis points from the same period a year ago, with order activity for business jets remaining very strong.” General Dynamics has an average analyst rating of overweight and 14.5% upside to the average price target, per FactSet.
