Dividend investors usually face a difficult trade-off. The stocks offering the most income aren't always the ones showing the strongest momentum, while the market’s fastest-moving names often offer little or no yield.
But with the latest earnings season largely behind us and the third quarter nearing its end, there is fresh information to work with. That makes this a good time to look for companies where income and momentum are showing up in the same place.
So I screened the S&P 500 for dividend-paying stocks that are already positive this year and still have support from Wall Street. The results were more interesting than I expected.
Let’s dive in.
How I Came Up With These Stocks
Using Barchart’s Stock Screener, I selected the following filters to get my list:
- YTD Percent Change: At least 1%, ensuring every stock is positive for the year. I then ranked the results from highest to lowest.
- Annual Dividend Yield (FWD): At least 2%, keeping the focus on stocks that still offer meaningful income.
- Number of Analysts: 12 or more. The higher the number, the broader the analyst coverage.
- Current Analyst Rating: Companies rated “Moderate” to “Strong Buy, according to Wall Street.
- Index Groups: S&P 500.
I ran the search and got 69 companies. In this article, I'll cover the top three with the highest YTD percent change.
Let’s start with the first company:
Texas Instruments (TXN)
Texas Instruments is heavily invested in the kind of chips that quietly keep modern electronics running. Its analog and embedded products help optimize everyday systems, giving the company exposure to a wide range of industries without depending too heavily on any single one.
More recently, TI unveiled an 800V power architecture for next-generation AI data centers developed around NVIDIA’s reference design.
On the income side, the company pays a forward annual dividend of $5.68, or a yield of about 2.09%. Among the stocks that passed the screen, TXN is also the top performer, up 56% YTD.
A consensus among 33 analysts rates the stock a “Moderate Buy,” with potential upside of up to 48% over the next year based on its high target price.
Merck & Company (MRK)
Merck & Co. is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, with a portfolio built around major medicines and vaccines. Its biggest strength is oncology, led by Keytruda, while the rest of its business spans several other major treatment areas.
Merck is also partnered with Google Cloud on an agentic AI platform for use in research, manufacturing, and other parts of the business.
For shareholders, the company pays a forward annual dividend of $3.40, translating to a yield of about 2.25%. The stock is also up 43% YTD.
Meanwhile, a consensus among 28 analysts rates the stock a “Moderate Buy”, with nearly 22% upside potential over the 12 months if it hits its high target price.
LyondellBasell Industries NV (LYB)
Last but not least is LyondellBasell Industries, a global chemical company that makes plastics, chemicals, and other materials used for a wide variety of products. The company operates in industries such as agriculture, construction, infrastructure, consumer goods, healthcare, and transportation, giving it diversified revenue. That’s always something you’d want in a dividend stock.
Speaking of dividends, LyondellBasell pays a forward annual dividend of $2.76, or about a 4.6% yield. Despite choppiness at the beginning of the year, the stock has done well, growing 40% year-to-date.
On top of that, analysts still see upside. A consensus among 21 Wall Street experts rates the stock a “Moderate Buy,” with the high target price of $88 - or roughly 46% potential upside - for the next year.
Final thoughts
These three companies prove that dividend investing is far from boring. Sometimes, you do not have to choose between consistent income and upside.
The key is finding businesses that can offer both. A decent yield gives investors something to collect along the way, while strong share-price performance shows there is still room for growth in the story.
On the date of publication, Rick Orford did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.