Top Wall Street analysts like these 3 dividend stocks for enhanced returns

Core Viewpoint - The article highlights the importance of dividend-paying stocks as a strategy for investors to enhance returns amid macroeconomic uncertainties, featuring three specific stocks recommended by top Wall Street analysts. Group 1: McDonald's (MCD) - McDonald's offers a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $7.08 per share and a dividend yield of 2.4% [3] - The company has increased its annual dividend for 49 consecutive years, positioning itself to become a dividend king [3] - Jefferies analyst Andy Barish has reiterated a buy rating on McDonald's with a price target of $360, citing near-term acceleration in U.S. same-store sales and medium-term unit growth as key drivers [4][5] - Barish also noted improved international same-store sales, benefiting from McDonald's value proposition and competitive advantages in size, scale, and advertising [5][6] - The analyst expects global unit growth to accelerate to 4% to 5% and highlighted the company's strong free cash flow generation to support dividends and share repurchases [6] Group 2: EPR Properties (EPR) - EPR Properties, a REIT focused on experiential properties, recently increased its monthly dividend by 3.5% to $0.295 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $3.54 per share and a dividend yield of 6.2% [8] - Stifel analyst Simon Yarmak upgraded EPR to buy from hold, raising the price target to $65 from $52, citing improvements in the cost of capital and potential for external growth [9] - Yarmak noted that EPR's weighted average cost of capital has improved to about 7.85% from nearly 9.3%, enabling the company to pursue acquisitions [11] - The analyst expects continued improvement in the theatre industry fundamentals to enhance EPR's earnings over the coming years [12] Group 3: Halliburton (HAL) - Halliburton offers a quarterly dividend of 17 cents per share, leading to an annualized dividend of 68 cents per share and a dividend yield of 3.3% [14] - Goldman Sachs analyst Neil Mehta reaffirmed a buy rating on Halliburton with a price target of $24, highlighting that about 60% of HAL's revenue comes from international markets, providing resilience [15][16] - Management anticipates growth from unconventional completion opportunities and market share growth in directional drilling, which could enhance margins and support strong free cash flow [17] - Despite expected pricing softness in North America, Halliburton aims to maintain a premium due to its differentiated technology and long-term contracts [18]