Stock Market Crash: The 4 Best Dividend Stocks to Buy Right Now

Core Viewpoint - The article emphasizes the importance of identifying stocks with attractive dividends amidst market volatility, particularly due to the impact of tariffs on stock performance. Group 1: Energy Transfer and Enterprise Products Partners - Energy Transfer and Enterprise Products Partners are two major midstream master limited partnerships (MLPs) in the U.S. with strong distributions well covered by their distributable cash flow [2][3] - Energy Transfer has a forward yield of 8.3%, while Enterprise Products Partners has a yield of 7.4% [2] - Both companies benefit from increasing natural gas demand and have a fee-based business model, which helps protect cash flow during economic downturns [3] - They are currently in growth mode, but tariffs on products like steel may increase project costs, potentially affecting project returns [4] - Energy Transfer trades at an enterprise value (EV)-to-EBITDA multiple of 8.1 times, while Enterprise trades at 9.8 times, both below the historical average of 13.7 times [5] Group 2: Philip Morris International - Philip Morris International is a growth stock in a defensive industry with a current yield of 3.6% [6] - The company has minimal exposure to tariffs, as its products are primarily sold and manufactured outside the U.S. [7] - Growth is driven by its smokeless portfolio, particularly Zyn and IQOS, with Zyn volumes increasing by 46% last quarter [8] - Zyn has six times the product contribution level compared to traditional cigarettes, while IQOS has 2 to 2.5 times [9] - The stock is attractively valued with a forward P/E ratio of just over 21 times and a PEG ratio under 0.4, indicating it is undervalued [10] Group 3: Verizon - Verizon Communications offers a 6.4% yield and is considered attractive due to the essential nature of its services during economic downturns [11] - The company has experienced modest overall revenue growth but strong subscriber growth in wireless and broadband [12] - Verizon is leveraging its network for the AI market with its AI Connect solution, which is being utilized by major companies like Alphabet and Meta Platforms [13] - The company generated $19.8 billion in free cash flow last year, significantly exceeding its$11.2 billion in dividends, allowing for potential dividend increases and investments [14]