These five dividend stocks are preferred by top Wall Street analysts during challenging market conditions.

Investors are increasingly drawn to dividend-paying stocks due to the market's recent volatility.

Before adding a dividend-paying company's stock to their portfolio, investors must examine the company's fundamentals and its capacity to maintain those payments in the long run.

According to TipRanks, Wall Street's top experts have identified five attractive dividend stocks.

Civitas Resources

This week, CIVI, an oil and gas producer with assets in the Denver-Julesburg and Permian Basins, is first on the dividend list. The company paid a dividend of $1.74 per share in late September, which consisted of a quarterly base dividend of 50 cents per share and a variable dividend of $1.24.

Civitas recently agreed to purchase oil-producing assets in the Midland Basin of West Texas for $2.1 billion. The acquisition, expected to close in January 2024, is predicted to increase CIVI's free cash flow per share by 5% in 2024.

Lloyd Byrne, a Jefferies analyst, sees the acquisition as beneficial because it increases the company's size in the Midland at a reasonable cost.

Byrne stated that CIVI acquired one of the remaining few Permian privates that is beneficial to asset quality.

Byrne raised his price target for CIVI to $102 from $100 and reiterated a buy rating, stating that the stock remains undervalued with an estimated free cash flow yield of approximately 23% in 2024.

Among more than 8,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks, Byrne ranks No. 64. His ratings have been profitable 62% of the time, with each delivering an average return of 32.1%. (See Civitas’ Stock Charts on TipRanks)

Bristol Myers Squibb

BMY declared a quarterly dividend of 57 cents per share in September, payable on November 1st. This represents a 5.6% year-over-year increase. The company's dividend yield is currently at 4%.

BMY announced an agreement to acquire Mirati Therapeutics for up to $5.8 billion on Oct. 8. The acquisition will strengthen the company's oncology portfolio and help mitigate the loss of sales due to patent expirations in the future. Additionally, BMY will gain access to Krazati, a key lung cancer medicine that was approved in December 2022.

Chris Shibutani, a Goldman Sachs analyst, believes that the ongoing commercial launch of Krazati presents a strategic positive for BMY. The proposed deal could serve as a bridge for BMY as it continues to develop its new product portfolio, with much of its value not yet realized in the near-term.

In the second quarter of 2023, Krazati generated sales of over $13 million, and Goldman Sachs predicts that the drug will generate sales of $347 million, $1.8 billion, and $2.1 billion in 2025, 2030, and 2035, respectively. The analyst anticipates that the Mirati acquisition will provide both commercial and pipeline support to Bristol Myers Squibb.

BMY was given a buy rating by Shibutani, who placed 288th among more than 8,500 analysts on TipRanks. Additionally, 42% of his ratings have been profitable, with each generating an average return of 18.9%. (See BMY Blogger Opinions & Sentiment on TipRanks)

Chesapeake Energy

Umang Choudhary, another Goldman Sachs analyst, is optimistic about the oil and gas exploration and production company (CHK). The company has returned approximately $515 million to shareholders year-to-date through the second quarter through a combination of base and variable dividends and share repurchases.

The company recently increased its quarterly base dividend per share by 4.5% to $0.575. Based solely on the base dividend, CHK provides a dividend yield of approximately 2.6%.

After meeting with Chesapeake's management, Choudhary maintained a buy rating on the stock with a price target of $91. The analyst pointed out that due to the unpredictability of natural gas prices, the company is concentrating on preserving operational adaptability to adjust its capital expenditure in response to gas price fluctuations.

The analyst stated that management emphasized the importance of maintaining a strong balance sheet, including achieving investment grade status, and generating capital returns, including increasing fixed and variable dividends based on commodity prices and counter-cyclical share repurchases.

Chesapeake Insider Trading Activity on TipRanks shows that Choudhary ranks No.478 among more than 8,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 77% of the time, with each delivering a return of 39.4%, on average.

EOG Resources

Another energy company, EOG, declared a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share in August, payable on Oct. 31. This results in an annual dividend rate of $3.30 per share and a dividend yield of 2.5%.

EOG has pledged to return at least 60% of its annual free cash flow to shareholders through regular dividends, special dividends, and share repurchases. In the first six months of 2023, the company generated $2.1 billion in free cash flow. Overall, EOG's strong free cash flow supports its appealing shareholder returns.

In anticipation of the company's third-quarter results, which will be released in early November, Mizuho analyst Nitin Kumar maintained a buy rating on EOG stock and slightly increased the price target from $157 to $158.

EOG is expected to generate strong free cash flow, which may lead investors to focus on a potential special dividend and a hike in base dividend. However, the analyst also advises paying attention to inventory depth and quality due to the underperformance of Eagle Ford and Permian wells. The analyst predicts that EOG's third-quarter 2023 EBITDA will be $3.205 billion, higher than the consensus estimate of $3.185 billion.

Kumar stated that we anticipate a slight increase (approximately 0.6%) in 3Q23 EBITDA from EOG, with volumes in line and pricing slightly above the consensus.

Among more than 8,500 analysts on TipRanks, Kumar ranks No.33. His ratings have been profitable 75% of the time, with each delivering an average return of 20.4%. (See EOG Financial Statements on TipRanks)

Cisco Systems

This week's final dividend stock is the computer networking giant, CSCO. In fiscal 2023 (ended July 29), the company distributed $10.6 billion to shareholders through cash dividends and stock repurchases. This was the 12th consecutive year that Cisco increased its dividend. The company's dividend yield is currently 2.9%.

Ivan Feinseth, a Tigress Financial analyst, recently maintained a buy rating on Cisco stock and raised the price target from $73 to $76. (Source: Cisco Hedge Fund Trading Activity on TipRanks)

The analyst anticipates that the company's long-term prospects will remain positive and that it will continue to benefit from increased spending on information technology due to the need for increased speed, network security, and artificial intelligence implementation. Additionally, the analyst believes that the recent acquisition of cybersecurity firm Splunk will serve as an additional catalyst for growth.

Feinseth stated that CSCO's dominant industry position and robust brand reputation allow it to capitalize on significant secular IT trends, such as cloud migration, AI development, the rapid expansion of 5G networks, WiFi 6, and the growing demand for connectivity in the IoT.

The analyst believes that Cisco's robust financials and healthy cash flow could enable its growth plans, strategic purchases, and increase shareholder returns.

Feinseth ranks 349th among more than 8,500 analysts on TipRanks. He has a successful rating record of 57%, with each rating generating an average return of 9.6%.