I’m Buying 4 Incredible Beaten-Down Dividend Aristocrats Hand-Over-Fist

Investors love dividend stocks because they provide dependable passive income streams and an excellent opportunity for solid total return. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends, and distributions realized over time. In other words, the total return on an investment or portfolio consists of income and stock appreciation. Let’s examine the concept of total return. If you purchase a stock at $20 that pays a 3% dividend ($0.60 per share) and the price rises to $22 in a year, your total return is ($22 + $0.60 − $20) = 13%. This combines the price appreciation and the dividend received.

After a massive rally off the April lows, we decided to screen the Dividend Aristocrats, one of our favorite total return ideas, looking for value and bargains, and we were not disappointed. Four of our favorite stocks have been moved to the penalty box after a very weak showing in the first half of 2025. Not only are they priced right now, but the yields on all of these top companies have gone exponentially higher as the shares’ prices have fallen. Additionally, three of the four are Buy-rated by top Wall Street firms.

Investors seeking defensive companies that pay substantial dividends are drawn to the Dividend Aristocrats, and with good reason. The 66 companies that made the cut for the 2025 S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats list have increased their dividends (not just maintained the same level) for 25 consecutive years. But the requirements go even further, with the following attributes also mandatory for membership on the aristocrats list:

• Companies must be worth at least $3 billion for each quarterly rebalancing.
• Average daily volume must be at least $5 million transactions for every trailing three-month period at every quarterly rebalancing date.
• They must be a member of the S&P 500.

Why do we cover the Dividend Aristocrats?

S&P 500 companies that have paid and raised their dividends for 25 years or longer are the types that growth and income investors want to buy and hold in their stock portfolios for the long term. These stocks are mostly conservative, and should we see a dramatic market correction, they will likely keep their ground much better than volatile technology names.

PepsiCo

This top consumer staples stock reported disappointing first-quarter earnings, but it will continue to supply all the goods for summer picnics and parties. Despite a decline of almost 11%, this is an incredible buy. PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is a worldwide food and beverage company.

Its Frito-Lay North America segment offers:

• Lays and Ruffles potato chips
• Doritos, Tostitos, and Santitas tortilla chips
• Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, branded dips
• Fritos corn chips

The company’s Quaker Foods North America segment provides:

• Quaker Oatmeal
• Grits
• Rice cakes
• Natural granola and oat squares
• Pearl Milling mixes and syrups
• Quaker Chewy granola bars
• Cap’n Crunch cereal
• Life cereal
• Rice-A-Roni side dishes

PepsiCo’s North America Beverages segment offers beverage concentrates, fountain syrups, and finished goods under these brands:

• Pepsi
• Gatorade
• Mountain Dew
• Diet Pepsi
• Aquafina
• Diet Mountain Dew
• Tropicana Pure Premium
• Sierra Mist
• Mug

UBS has assigned a Buy rating with a target price of $169.

Stanley Black & Decker

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (NYSE: SWK) is the world’s largest tool company, with 50 manufacturing facilities in the United States and more than 100 worldwide. With the potential for the economy to slow down some, you can bet that the do-it-yourself legions will fix rather than buy new, and this legendary stock is a solid idea now, especially down almost 13% in 2025. The company provides hand tools, power tools, outdoor products, and related accessories in the United States, Canada, Other Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Its Tools & Outdoor segment offers professional-grade corded and cordless electric power tools and equipment, including:

• Drills
• Impact wrenches and drivers
• Grinders, saws, routers, and sanders
• Pneumatic tools and fasteners, such as nail guns, nails, staplers and staples, and concrete and masonry anchors; corded and cordless electric power tools
• Hand-held vacuums, paint tools, and cleaning appliances
• Leveling and layout tools, planes, hammers, demolition tools, clamps, vises, knives, saws, chisels, and industrial and automotive tools
• Drill, screwdriver, router bits, abrasives, saw blades, and threading products
• Toolboxes, sawhorses, medical cabinets, and engineered storage solutions
• Electric and gas-powered lawn and garden products

This segment sells its products under these brand names:

• DeWalt
• Craftsman
• Cub Cadet
• Black+Decker
• Huslter

The company’s Industrial segment provides:

• Threaded fasteners, blind rivets and tools, blind inserts and tools
• Drawn arc weld studs and systems
• Engineered plastic and mechanical fasteners
• Self-piercing riveting systems
• Precision nut running systems
• Micro fasteners
• High-strength structural fasteners
• Axel swage, latches, heat shields, pins, couplings, fittings, and other engineered products
• Attachments used on excavators and handheld tools

This segment sells its products through a direct sales force and third-party distributors to the automotive, manufacturing, electronics, construction, aerospace, and other industries.

UBS has a Buy rating on the shares and a target price of $100.

Target

This American retail corporation operates a chain of discount department stores and hypermarkets. Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) remains a solid and safe retail total return play, and after a rough first half of 2025, down almost 23%, it is a stellar buy. The retailer is a general merchandise retailer in the United States. It offers apparel for women, men, boys, girls, toddlers, infants, and newborns, as well as jewelry, accessories, and shoes. The company also offers a range of beauty and personal care products, baby gear, cleaning supplies, paper products, and pet care products.

Target also provides:

• Dry grocery, dairy, frozen food, beverages, candy, snacks, deli, bakery, meat, and food service
• Electronics, which includes video game hardware and software
• Toys, entertainment, sporting goods, and luggage
• Furniture, lighting, storage, kitchenware, small appliances, home décor, bed, and bath
• Home Improvement
• School/office supplies
• Greeting cards, party supplies, and other seasonal merchandise

In addition, the company sells merchandise through periodic design and creative partnerships, shop-in-shop experiences, and in-store amenities. It also sells its products through its stores and digital channels, including Target.com.

The company suffered a “Bud Light” moment a few years back after the disastrous merchandising of LGBTQ products, which struck a nerve among many shoppers. While not as severe as the beer giants’ conundrum, it was a significant negative that has seemingly subsided.

Guggenheim has a Buy rating, accompanied by a $115 price target.

T. Rowe Price Group

This top mutual fund company with tremendous assets under management pays a substantial dividend, and the Dividend Aristocrat is down almost 13% year-to-date. T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (NASDAQ: TROW) is a financial services holding company that provides global investment advisory services to investors.

The company offers a range of investment solutions across equity, fixed income, multi-asset, and alternative capabilities, catering to clients from individuals to advisors, institutions, and retirement plan sponsors.

The firm also provides specific investment advisory clients with related administrative services, including:

• Distribution
• Mutual fund transfer agent
• Accounting
• Shareholder services
• Participant record-keeping
• Transfer agent services for defined contribution retirement plans
• Brokerage services
• Trust services
• Non-discretionary advisory services through model delivery

It distributes its array of active investment solutions through a diverse set of distribution channels and vehicles.

These vehicles include a variety of U.S. mutual funds, collective investment trusts, exchange-traded funds, subadvised funds, separately managed accounts, and other sponsored products.

Wells Fargo has an Equal Weight rating with a target price of $98.

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