With investors’ upbeat sentiment toward stocks unabated heading into 2025, analysts are eyeing a collection of dividend stocks as a way of betting on the market, mitigating risk and picking up some income along the way. Stocks remain near all-time-high levels, despite Wall Street taking a breather from a strong year-end rally in the wake of the presidential election. To aid in the search, CNBC Pro screened for so-called dividend aristocrat stocks that analysts also recommend. Dividend aristocrats are companies that have raised their dividends in each of the past 25 years. To build our screen, we used the following criteria to narrow down the list: Each stock is in the ProShares S & P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) . Each pays a dividend yield of at least 1.3% (above the S & P 500). At least 55% of analysts covering the stock have a buy rating. The average analyst price target implies at least 10% upside. Here is a look at the stocks that turned up on the screen. Shares of pharmaceutical firm AbbVie , up more than 13% in 2024, made the list. Three out of five analysts polled by FactSet have a buy rating on AbbVie, with the sell-side’s average price target calling for more than 15% upside over the next 12 months. In the meantime, AbbVie pays a dividend equivalent to a 3.7% yield. TD Cowen named AbbVie a best idea in a Tuesday report, with the investment bank highlighting its dividend yield as one of the catalysts driving its buy rating. The analyst there also cited AbbVie’s underappreciated pipeline of new drugs and treatments. The bank’s $225 per share price target suggests about 27% upside for AbbVie stock. ABBV YTD mountain AbbVie stock. “ABBV’s appeal is based on expectation for meeting or beating guidance, top dividend yield, and reasonable valuation,” TD Cowen analyst Steve Scala said. “The pipeline gets little attention, yet ABBV ranks high among peers in development prowess.” Chevron , the country’s second-largest integrated oil company, also made the list. Shares have advanced about 6% in 2024, and Chevron pays a dividend equal to a yield of 4.2%. Bank of America named Chevron a top pick for 2025 on Monday, adding the San Ramon, California-based company to its U.S. 1 list, representing the firm’s best investment ideas. “We believe near term starts of multiple growth projects, as well as continued growth in key regions such as the Permian, should drive meaningful FCF inflection through the middle of the decade,” analyst Jean Ann Salisbury said. BofA rates Chevron a buy, and its $180 per share price target, up 7% from a previous $168, implies 15% upside over the coming year. Other names that appeared on the screen were Coca-Cola and NextEra Energy .
