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HomeFinance3 Dividend Aristocrats Up 20%+ YTD With More Upside Ahead
3 Dividend Aristocrats Up 20%+ YTD With More Upside Ahead
Income investors with enough experience know that dividend stocks aren’t fast-and-furious assets. Unlike big tech movers like Palantir, Nvidia, and Tesla, dividend stocks are often steady growers, which perfectly encapsulates how the companies themselves work: steady growth, sustainable cash flow, and, of course, reliable dividends. This concept is especially true for Dividend Aristocrats, a group of S&P 500 listed companies that have increased their dividends for 25 consecutive years or more.
But that doesn’t mean that they’re not great investments if you’re aiming for double-digit returns.
With that in mind, let’s look at Dividend Aristocrats that have returned more than 10% year-to-date. And better yet, I’ll only include the ones that Wall Street believes still have lots of room for future growth.
To get my list, I went to Barchart’s Stock Screener tool and used the following filters:
YTD Percentage Change: 10% or more. This simple filter limits the results to stocks that have grown 10% or more year to date.
Current Analyst Ratings: 4 (Moderate Buy) to 5 (Strong Buy). With this filter, I’ll only get Dividend Aristocrats that are well-liked on Wall Street. To be clear, high analyst scores are not a 100% predictor of future performance, but it’s always a good sign when Wall Street is bullish on these companies.
Annual Dividend Yield (Forward): Left blank. This list is mostly about performance, so I’m just adding this filter to show the yields in the results.
Investing Ideas: Dividend Aristocrat.Barchart maintains several themed lists, which are shown on the Investing Ideas page and filter. They cover a wide range of topics, including sector lists (AI, cannabis, biotech, and nuclear), technical lists (golden cross, J-pattern, and 3-day bounce), and even cross-theme lists, such as stocks with unusual options activity or those with the highest insider trading within the last 60 days. Today, I’m sticking with Dividend Aristocrats.
With these filters in place, I ran the screen and got eight results, which I then arranged from highest to lowest percentage change.
Now, let’s discuss the top three, starting with number one:
When you think of construction and mining equipment, chances are you’re thinking of Caterpillar Inc.’s black, white, and yellow logo – and for good reason. The company is a leader in the space, and its extensive portfolio includes diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives.
Today, Caterpillar pays $1.51 quarterly, which works out to $6.04 annually, or approximately a forward 1.3% yield. The company also increased its payout in June 2025, marking its 31st consecutive year of dividend increases. CAT stock has grown 27.83% year-to-date, while a consensus among 21 analysts rates the stock a “Moderate Buy” with a flat 4.0 average score and a high target price of $540, which suggests 16% in potential upside.
Next up is Cardinal Health, a health care services company. Cardinal Health operates two segments. The first is Pharmaceuticals, which includes the manufacture and distribution of branded, generic, and specialty drugs, as well as healthcare systems, including radiopharmaceutical services and pharmacy support.
The other segment is Medical, which covers branded clinical supplies and equipment like gloves, gowns, suction systems, and more.
Cardinal Health pays $2.044 per year in dividends, which translates to an aprox. 1.3% forward yield. And, despite recent volatility, the stock has returned 25.95% to investors YTD. And yet, Wall Street seems to think that the stock still has gas in the tank; a consensus among 15 analysts rates CAH a “Strong Buy” with an average score of 4.47. Its high target price is set to $203, representing as much as 36% upside.
Last and certainly not least is AbbVie. The company was originally part of Abbott Laboratories (another notable Dividend Aristocrat and King) and was spun off as a separate pharmaceutical company in 2013. Today, AbbVie is known for its blockbuster drug Humira, which is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and other similar conditions.
Today, AbbVie pays $6.56 per share in annual dividends, which translates to approximately a 3% forward yield. ABBV stock has also grown 22.98% year-to-date.
Even better, a consensus among 28 analysts rates ABBV stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average score of 4.21, and a high target price of $270, which translates to approximately a 23.5% upside.
Dividend Aristocrats may not swing as wildly as the most popular tech stocks out there, but that doesn’t mean they don’t offer decent returns, especially for more conservative investors. Case in point: these three stocks have had a great run year-to-date, and Wall Street seems to think that they have more room for growth.
Still, it’s never a sure thing. Always do your research, check if the stocks on the list fit your overall investment goals, and, remember, past performance is not indicative of future returns.
On the date of publication, Rick Orford did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com
