Steady income is preferred by top Wall Street analysts for these dividend stocks.

To generate consistent income amidst the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and economic instability, investors can consider adding dividend-paying stocks to their portfolios.

Investors can find it difficult to choose the best dividend-paying stocks from a large pool of options. Analysts from top Wall Street firms can provide valuable insights and recommendations to help investors make informed decisions about which stocks to invest in.

Three dividend-paying stocks recommended by Wall Street's top pros on TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.

AT&T

One of the world's leading telecommunications companies, AT&T, announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2775 per share on its common stock, payable on Nov. 1. The dividend yield is 5.2%.

Ivan Feinseth, a Tigress Financial analyst, slightly increased his price target for AT&T stock from $29 to $30 and maintained a buy rating, stating that the company's gains in wireless and wireline subscription growth continue to position it as a leading provider of converged 5G and fiber wireline services.

In the second quarter, AT&T reported 419,000 postpaid phone net additions and an industry-leading postpaid phone churn of 0.70%. Additionally, the company witnessed 239,000 AT&T Fiber net additions, marking the 18th consecutive quarter with over 200,000 net additions.

The analyst is optimistic about AT&T's future growth, as the company is on track to pass more than 30 million consumer and business locations with its fiber network by the end of next year. He also expects the company to gain from the iPhone upgrade cycle, as well as the continued rollout of 5G and fiber network as well as broadband.

The analyst believes that AT&T is a good investment opportunity due to its high dividend yield and strong business portfolio, despite the company's efforts to cut costs and reduce debt.

Feinseth ranks 202nd among over 9,100 analysts on TipRanks, with a profitable rating 61% of the time and an average return of 13.2%. (Check out the AT&T Stock Buybacks on TipRanks)

Realty Income

The second dividend stock for this week is (O), a real estate investment trust that specializes in commercial real estate and has a portfolio of over 15,400 properties across the U.S., the UK, and six European countries.

The company Realty Income is renowned for its monthly dividends. On Oct. 8, the company declared a monthly dividend of $0.2635 per share, payable on Nov. 15. The stock provides an appealing dividend yield of 5.1%.

Brad Heffern, an analyst at RBC Capital, updated his estimates and price targets for net lease REITs, including Realty Income, to reflect the impact of a lower interest rate environment. He raised the price target for Realty Income from $64 to $67 and reaffirmed a buy rating on the stock. The higher price target reflects a much lower cost of debt/equity capital that the company and its peers in the net lease REITs group are benefiting from.

Realty Income has a high-quality net lease portfolio and a large proportion of public reporting tenants, which is why Heffern is bullish on the company, according to several reasons cited by the analyst. Additionally, Heffern expects the company to benefit from strong acquisition volumes.

In our view, a low cost of capital is essential for operating in net lease, and O's cost of capital is among the lowest in the peer group.

Among more than 9,100 analysts tracked by TipRanks, Heffern ranks No. 542. His ratings have been profitable 48% of the time, delivering an average return of 12.1%. (See Realty Income Stock Charts on TipRanks)

McDonald's

The fast-food chain MCD announced a 6% increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.77 per share, payable on Dec. 16. This marked the 48th consecutive year of dividend increases for MCD. The stock has a dividend yield of 2.3%.

David Tarantino, a Baird analyst, maintained a buy rating on MCD stock and raised the price target from $280 to $320, indicating positive signs of growth in U.S. comparable sales. Additionally, Tarantino increased his third-quarter U.S. comps estimate from a 2% decline to 0.5%.

The analyst believes that the improvement in U.S. comps may have been due to the success of the $5 Meal Deal, which was launched on August 13 and reportedly sold out within one to two days, as well as easier comparison with the prior-year period.

Despite low visibility outside the domestic market due to macro challenges, Tarantino is optimistic about MCD's performance, as he believes its robust business model can generate strong results in various economic conditions.

On TipRanks, Tarantino is ranked No. 162 among over 9,100 analysts. His ratings have been successful 66% of the time, resulting in an average return of 13.7%. (Check out McDonald's Hedge Fund Activity on TipRanks)